Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Helios froze in his seat. While he had no problems hiding what had happened, he had never opened up about it, not wanting to cause MJ more distress. “MJ...”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. I got this.” And the smile she gave him was 100% the old MJ, the one who always worked hard to look for silver linings in every cloud.
“I used to ask God why did He let that happen to me. Why me? What did I do so horribly wrong that I had to go through that? But with every day that Helios made me feel loved, made me feel like the most important person in his life, I eventually understood that...maybe, maybe if that never happened, more women would have suffered the same fate, or maybe something worse if Helios hadn’t come to save me and put a stop to the entire operation. But more than that...if it didn’t happen, I might never have learned to love him as much as I love him now.”
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she continued tremulously, “If that didn’t happen, I would never have known how much Helios mattered to me, never would have allowed myself to love freely and open myself completely to the risk of being hurt. But because that happened...I can be the kind of woman who can give herself completely to the man I’ll marry. I can look straight into his eyes...”
She raised her gaze to Helios.
“And tell him,” she choked out, “that I really do love him with everything inside me and everything I can be. I will love him until my dying breath, and if it means dying now to make his life longer by just a second, I would do it. Because my every breath belongs to him. Because Helios Andreadis is my life, and I will never forget that—”
Helios had her in his arms before she broke down completely, and his lips caught hers before she could say another word. He was humbled beyond imagination at what she had revealed, knowing it was true. She was no longer looking at what happened to her with regret because for her, every second of it had been worth the lesson of learning to love freely.
“I love you,” he said fiercely against her lips. And he would love her forever.
Ten minutes later, and the priest was finally forced to stand up and go to the kissing couple. He tapped the groom’s shoulder. “The ceremony isn’t over yet, Mr. Andreadis.”
WHEN HELIOS CAME OUT of the en-suite bathroom of his yacht’s master bedroom, he found his wife at the balcony, dressed in a silk nightgown with its matching robe. The look on her face made him cross the room swiftly, and wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her back, making her lean against his chest.
When their eyes met, he told her calmly, “You look like shit.”
The vacant look in her eyes disappeared. “I do not!”
He laughed, and after a second, she made a face, realizing he had pulled one over her again. It was his way, she had long ago realized, of making her stop thinking about memories that were best left forgotten.
Feeling his lips trail down her skin, she arched her neck to give him better access. “I love you, Mr. Andreadis,” she whispered shyly.
He stopped kissing her, raising his head to look at her with a knowing smile. “You’re just calling me that so I can call you Mrs. Andreadis, aren’t you?”
Her answering smile was sheepish. “Kinda?”
Laughing, he spun her around to face him and as he kissed her, he murmured against her lips, “I love you, too, Mrs. Andreadis.” Lifting her up in his arms, he carried her back to the bedroom, figuring it would serve to meet the tradition of carrying his bride over the threshold.
Laying MJ gently on the bed, he asked her solemnly, “You’re sure about this?” Unknown to everyone, he and MJ had not made love since her abduction, Helios allowing her time and space to heal and make the most important decision about her body.
It had killed him to hear her speak about what she had gone through when she narrated her ordeal to their therapist. If he had the chance to kill everyone in that fucking warehouse again, he would have given up his entire fortune to seize that opportunity. Dying once was just not enough for what Manolito Chavez had forced MJ to undergo.
Looking down at MJ, he swore to himself that he would wait for as long as it took for MJ to trust him with her body. When she opened her mouth to speak, he readied himself for rejection, but instead all she said was, “I can’t believe you’re going to take my virginity again.”
A ragged laugh escaped him. “Did you really just say that, brat?”