Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“I’m leopard and our society hasn’t evolved that far, so you’re in very real danger.”
“Well, don’t even think about doing something like that. I’d retaliate.”
His eyes went pure crystalline. That sea of blue made her breath catch in her throat. A slow smile spread across his face, softening the harsh lines. “How would you retaliate, baby?” His voice had dropped low. Intimate. Insinuating all sorts of carnal things.
Her body went liquid, her breasts instantly ached, nipples peaking beneath the thin material of her tee. “Something you won’t like,” she threatened, having no idea what that would be, but she loved their game.
“Tell me, baby. I can’t wait to learn what my punishment would be.”
She lifted her chin. “No sex. At. All.”
His smile turned into a smirk. “But I would be free to try to seduce you.”
Sonia hastily shook her head. “No, you wouldn’t. Absolutely not.”
“That’s the rule, and I’m up for the challenge. I’m going to strip you naked, right here, right now, and spank your beautiful ass until my handprints are all over it. Then you deny me sex, and I’ll do my best to persuade you otherwise.”
She squirmed, rubbing her thighs together as heat spread through her veins. Her sex spasmed. Clenched. Her clit pounded with hot blood and anticipation. “Don’t you dare.” That came out breathless. An invitation more than a demand.
He smiled like the predator he was. Just as he stood, his cell phone buzzed. He glanced down and frowned.
“Your friend Molly just got out of an SUV with tinted windows and is running up to the front door. Evan says she’s crying.”
15
Sonia jumped to her feet and started for the door. Joshua caught her arm. “Before you get caught up in the drama with your friend, I need to know we’re good. You and me. You’re with me.”
“Is that a question?”
“Yes, and it requires an answer.”
She nodded. She had to believe in someone. She had to trust at least one person. If he’d lied to her and ended up turning her over to Nikita, at least she could die knowing she tried.
“You’ll stay with me?”
That was much more complicated. Would she stay with him? The girlfriend of a mobster? She didn’t know that answer. “I have to think about that.”
Every bit of softness faded from his face, leaving his features scary stony, ice-cold and more than a little dangerous. She was looking at a mixture of the leopard and the mobster, not her Joshua. “Think fast, Sonia. You’re fuckin’ mine and you know it. You need me every bit as much as I need you.”
“Thanks, Joshua,” she said sarcastically, pulling out of his grip. Molly was already knocking on the door. “I love how very romantic you are.”
“I don’t know the first thing about romance, baby,” he said, his voice like steel. His eyes like a glacier. “But I know when my woman is full of bullshit. You’re fuckin’ mine. Say it.”
She glared at him and yanked open the door. Molly fell into her arms sobbing. He reached around the two women to catch the door and peer out. The gray fog obscured the view of the drive and the waiting SUV. They hadn’t turned on any lights, not outside and not inside. He closed the door as Sonia took Molly to the chairs by the fireplace.
“Molly, do you need me for anything, or is this a girl talk?” he asked.
Molly glanced up, her eyes bright with tears, her lashes wet. She tried a watery smile, shook her head and waved him away.
“I’ll be in the other room if you need me,” he said, giving them privacy. If Bastien had broken up with her or upset her in any way, Sonia would want to have words with him. The less attention they received from law enforcement, the better.
Sonia waited until he was out of the room. “Tell me what happened. Did you get into a fight with Bastien?”
Molly shook her head. “It’s worse,” she whispered. “So much worse. I don’t know how to tell you this. I love you. You’re my first real friend, and you’ve been so good to me.”
“Just say it, Molly. We’ll work it out.”
“A man came to the house. Several men, actually. They have Bastien held somewhere. They hit him, and I saw him go down. He told me to run.”
She leapt up. Molly caught her arm, shaking her head. “Don’t get Joshua. They said if I told anyone but you, they’d kill him.” She waited until Sonia reluctantly subsided. “I did run, but they caught up with me.”
“Did they hurt you?”
Molly shook her head. “No, but they scared me. They said if you didn’t go out and get into the SUV alone, they would kill Bastien and throw his body in the swamp.”
“Describe them,” she said, but she knew. Her heart sank and she felt sweat trickle between her breasts.