Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
“It is to me. You said I don’t finish what I start? Well, I sure as fuck am going to seal the deal here.”
“You can’t be serious.”
He cocked his head sideways, dead serious. “Why not?”
I felt my neck heat up. “Why would you want to marry me?”
His nostrils flared, and his mouth thinned into a straight line. “If you want to bail on us this time, fine. Your prerogative, I guess. But I won’t be the one to fucking ruin us. Not this time.”
Us? There was no us.
“Briar.”
He grabbed the front of my throat, tilting my head up, ignoring the poor cab driver, who probably knew his identity and didn’t want to rush us. Somewhere in the back of my head, I acknowledged that Oliver and I were always a hot mess in public, and neither of us cared much, because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.
“Listen carefully.” His lips went to the shell of my ear. “I have no morals. No ethics. No fucks to give. I may be more put together than I let on, but don’t mistake my productiveness for principles. What I want, I take. And what I’ve always wanted is right in front of me. You. If you don’t want me, you better run fast and hide well. Because once I’ve had a taste of you again, I am not letting you go.”
Before I could get my head straight and answer him, his mouth clashed against mine, hard and determined, silencing my protests. Fireworks exploded inside my stomach. My hands shot out, desperate to push him away. But instead, they betrayed me, clinging onto the labels of his suit jacket.
I drew him closer, urging him to shield me with his taut muscles and imposing height. He opened his mouth, his tongue tangling with mine. I knew, without doubt, that we were being watched. Recorded. My skin prickled with awareness at the uncomfortable camera flashes, blinding me, even through my closed eyes.
This was bad.
I was losing myself all over again to the man who once discarded me.
I got drunk on his kiss. He cupped my cheeks, like I was something precious and unique, tilting me slightly to devour me even more.
Then, tires screeched to my right. Another vehicle slammed to a stop behind my cab.
Oliver cut the kiss short, suddenly and abruptly. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes pinned on mine. I nearly collapsed onto the pavement in a heap of unsteady knees and lust.
He didn’t bother helping me gather myself together. I latched onto the cab’s roof to steady myself. The disguise dropped. Gone was teenage Ollie, and in his place was a man that thrilled me.
He was cold yet intimate. Familiar yet strange.
This, I thought, is the real Oliver von Bismarck.
And against my better judgment, I wanted to get to know him.
In my periphery, three Grand Regent employees in uniform marched out of a white van. They held my suitcase and the things I’d dropped off earlier at my hotel, transferring them onto a luggage cart.
“By the way, sweetheart, I’ve made this a weekend vacation for both of us.” Oliver checked the time on his watch. “You’ll be staying with me in the penthouse. Top floor. We have reservations for a restaurant later tonight, but before that, we have a date.”
“W – what?” I chased after him as he tossed the cabbie two hundreds, breezing back into the hotel. “I haven’t even agreed to go on a date with you.”
He strode back to the conference room. When we reached the doors, two bodyguards blocked my way.
I pointed at Ollie, who disappeared inside. “Hey, I’m not finished talking to him yet.”
“My apologies, ma’am.” One of them bowed his head. “An order from above.”
“Let me take you up to your penthouse.” A pixie-sized woman materialized seemingly out of nowhere, heavily made-up and dressed in uniform. She laced her arm through mine. “Let’s get you ready for your date with Mr. von Bismarck.”
“I don’t want to go on a date with him.” I jerked my arm back but followed her, nonetheless.
Oliver had the tendency to cancel my leases and hotel rooms. I didn’t want to be homeless here just to prove a point.
“Ah, of course. The gods send nuts to those who have no teeth,” she murmured under her breath, ushering me into the elevators.
“He broke my heart,” I ground out after we rode up to the top floor.
She opened the penthouse door for me, not too impressed by this confession. “Well, he’s trying to piece it back together, isn’t he? It takes courage and dedication.”
It was becoming clear that Oliver wouldn’t let me go this time.
Problem was – I didn’t want to run away, either.
Chapter Seventy
Briar
Contrary to popular belief, distance did not make the heart grow fonder.
With space (and about fifty stories) between me and Oliver, I managed to regather my senses and restrengthen my barriers.