Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 122578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
There was another door at the end, and I had to assume we were being quiet for a roommate.
Opening the door, I reached inside and flipped on the light. I took a step in ahead of her so I could check that her room was clear.
Clear wasn’t exactly how I’d describe it.
It was a disaster.
Piles of clothes covered the floor, crap strewn everywhere, books piled so high on a desk it could not be used.
There was a king-sized bed pushed sideways under a window, the covers a mess, and a mountain of throw pillows tossed on the mattress.
“What are you doing? I didn’t even invite you in,” she accused, slamming her shoulder into the doorjamb as she came inside.
I turned to glare back at her, trying not to lose my breath at the sight of her right then.
All rumpled and untamed.
White hair a mess and that fiery annoyance on her gorgeous face.
“I am not a vampire, Ms. Dae.”
Her brow furled. “Was that an actual joke? Like a haha joke or just a warning? Because I am sure you are some kind of monster, I just haven’t figured out which one yet. I’m thinking shifter. A werewolf. But not the hot kind that wants to mark you and mate you for your whole life and can’t live without you, but the kind that eats you. You’re a straight-up horror story, Mr. Greyson.”
She was back to rambling as she fumbled into her room.
It was stupid I found some comfort in her no longer shutting me out.
“I will not eat you,” I tossed out in a huff. This woman was ridiculous.
“Oh, that’s right, you won’t be eating me since you’re terrible in the sack.” A giggle slipped from between her full lips before she stumbled toward me and faceplanted onto the bed with her legs hanging off the edge.
For a moment, I stood stunned.
Just fucking gaping at the delicious disorder spread out on her bed.
The woman was taunting me.
Teasing me.
Getting under my skin in a way I couldn’t allow her.
My teeth gnashed as I was punched in the face with the vision of peeling those shorts from her body, spreading those legs wide, and eating her from behind.
But fantasizing about this riot of a woman was not why I’d come here, no matter how hard she seemed to be goading me into going there.
I stared down at her beautiful backside while I raked a hand over my head like it would clear it enough for me to figure out what to say. Figure out how to find the words that could possibly make up for the ones I’d shot at her earlier as if she were deserving of a firing squad.
I hesitated, warred, then feared if I didn’t hurry up and get this out, she might fully pass out.
“Apologies don’t come easy for me, but I am sorry, Ms. Dae.” I forced it out through the anger I could never seem to evade. “Please, give your training for Evelyn a second chance. I’ll triple your pay.”
At this rate, she was going to be making more than my CFO.
Disbelief left her on a scoff that was muffled by the blankets her face was buried in. “You think I can be bought?”
“It’s a job, so yes.”
Flipping over, she propped herself up on her elbows, her expression disgusted as she stared me down. “You are unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable, do you know that?”
I warred.
Warred with the frustration and hate. The truth that I should keep her at bay but wanted to discover her, anyway.
I couldn’t have her.
But Evelyn needed her.
I had to remember that.
Scraping a palm over my face to break up the disorder, I forced myself to give her a little of it. “I have no clue what the fuck I’m doing, okay? The only thing I know is Evelyn needs you.”
She shifted the rest of the way to sitting, taking a pillow with her. She hugged it to her chest and tucked her knees under her arms. The green of her eyes entranced like the lull of a rolling field.
Sorrow filled her expression. “Do you even care about her?”
There was no venom in it. No spite. Just this haggard care that seemed to rip her apart.
“You don’t know anything about me, Ms. Dae.” My first instinct was always to lash out. To destroy a little more.
“That’s right, I don’t. That’s why I’m asking you. I don’t know the circumstances of your lives or where her mother is, but the one thing I know is that little girl…” She trailed off, sadness taking over her voice. She looked down for a beat before she returned her gaze to me. “She needs that horse, Mr. Greyson.”
I gulped around the animosity. The feeling that came over me that made me want to go on a rampage. Hunt and seek and destroy. “She needs everything, Ms. Dae. Everything I can’t give her. And that’s why I’m asking you to provide this part for her because I’m not sure there’s anyone else who can do it.”