Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I jerk back, eyes bulging, and nearly knock over my mug. He catches it before it spills on the floor.
“We’re what now?” I swat his hand away, leaping to my feet to put space between us.
“Married. You know, when a man loves a woman, or in this case when a man can sexually satisfy a woman multiple times per night—”
“No, don’t start playing all nice and flirting with me after dropping something like that.”
“I’m not flirting. Merely speaking truth. How many times was it?”
“You’re trying to soften me up. Stop talking about orgasms.”
“I’m only getting a feel for my future wife.”
“Finn,” I say between my teeth. “I am absolutely not going to marry you.” I cross my arms, trying to seem bigger than I am, but I’m very aware of this massive criminal and the automatic lock on the front door. I couldn’t run if I wanted to. “Coming here was a mistake, okay? I’m only in a bad spot and I thought you could help me, but clearly, I was wrong and this is way more than I wanted. Let’s just pretend like I never came here, okay? Great, it was nice seeing you again.”
He doesn’t move, only stares at me with that piercing expression. The strange gold around his irises seems to glitter in the morning sunlight. I wish I could look away, but god, the man is gorgeous, and he’s looking at me like he’s about to get up, shove me against the wall, and kiss every inch of my body.
Maybe I’m projecting a bit.
I’m on the verge of a full-on panic attack, which doesn’t help with my morning sickness, but this man is absolutely crazy if he thinks we’re going from strangers to married.
I am not a part of his world. I’m not going to put his ring on my finger just because he shoved a baby in my belly.
This is the modern freaking world. I have choices. I don’t have to get shackled to some guy because I’m pregnant out of wedlock. Nobody’s going to stone me or throw me out of the village or toss me in a river to drown.
All I wanted was some help. Not a freaking husband.
“This makes sense,” he says, his voice a purr, his lips turned into a crooked smile as he watches me. At least he doesn’t get up and come closer. “I don’t want to marry Robin. I never did, not from the start, but I was willing to do my duty for my family. And because I had no other prospects. But then you come strolling along, carrying my child.”
“Didn’t you say ending your engagement would be really, really bad?” I wave my hands in the air. “I’m not about to start some, like, mob war or whatever.”
“This is going to be bad no matter what, but I also told you that family is extremely important to my father, and children are about the biggest deal possible. If I marry you before anyone can stop me, they’ll have to accept you and my child into the organization, into the family, and once that happens, you’ll be set for life. You and my child.” He slowly stands, staring into my eyes. I back up until I bump into the wall, my heart racing into my throat.
“I don’t want to marry you,” I whisper. Although the idea of making sure my child is provided for feels tempting, the price is too high.
“But you do want to make sure our child has every opportunity in the world, don’t you? It’s one thing to provide money, but there’s so much more my family can do. There’s education, connections, friendships, partnerships, everything that comes with being a Crowley.”
“Houses across the street from Boston Commons?” I ask, blinking rapidly, head dizzy.
“Exactly,” he says, coming closer and closer. I want to scream, run away, but there’s something in the way he’s taking, in the way he’s looking at me, that keeps me pinned. “Once you’re my wife, I can protect you for real. Even if my father is angry, he would never hurt his daughter-in-law. But if you were simply a mistress I knocked up?” He tilts his head to the side, considering, and leaves the rest unspoken. “This is how I’ll protect you. This is how I’ll make sure our child is given everything in life. And in exchange, you’ll help me get out of an engagement I loathe. This is the way out for both of us.”
I let it sink in. He stops a few feet away, not close enough to touch me, but near enough that I’m aware of his body, of the way he holds his posture, so upright and intimidating. The man’s sculpted, cut from a cloth meant for gods and kings.
Here I am, a nothing girl from a nothing family, struggling to keep my head afloat.