Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Grabbing the armchair, he dragged it over to the side of her bed. Maybe he wouldn’t sleep, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d stayed awake this long.
He’d only just sat when she let out a small whimper. Immediately, he stood and walked over to her.
Was she dreaming about what had happened tonight? He wouldn’t blame her if she was having a nightmare.
However, hadn’t she said that she’d been suffering from nightmares for a while?
But what were her previous nightmares about?
Oleg.
Had to be. That motherfucking ass-pig had a lot to answer for. How dare he mistreat Colm’s girl?
And how could you have let her stay with him? You should have gotten her away from him earlier.
Maybe then she wouldn’t be this haunted.
He ran his finger over her face. “Shh, baby. I’m here. I have you. I’m not going to let anyone harm you.”
The whimpers stopped and the lines on her face eased.
Regret and guilt hit him hard and fast.
This was his fault.
Deep down, he’d known something was wrong. He’d let her push him away.
Fuck.
What had Oleg done to her? It was nearly killing him not to know.
But he couldn’t push her too much when she was so fragile. It was clear to see she was close to the end of her endurance. As she slept, he took in her too-thin face. How had she managed to lose so much weight in a short amount of time?
Weight she couldn’t afford to lose.
Her skin was too pale. Her skin still looked red and sore in places.
Shit. It just occurred to him that she must have scrubbed her skin raw in the shower.
Washing off Oleg’s touch?
Yeah. She was fragile. She needed care and attention.
Not for him to demand that she tell everything.
Not for him to take her to his bed and not let her out until she agreed to be his.
Definitely not for him to demand that he let him claim her. In whatever way he needed to do that.
Which right now . . . included a ring, a permanent mark, and for her to never look at or talk to another man again.
Yeah.
He might be going a bit overboard.
Chill, man.
Let her get some sleep. We can take care of everything else later.
First was her health. Both mental and physical.
Then, he’d work on her heart.
18
Sofia woke slowly.
She felt groggy and unsettled. Confused about where she was.
Glancing around, surprise filled her as she realized it was morning. Maybe even later.
She’d actually slept? And for more than an hour? Without nightmares?
It was almost unheard of.
The only issue was that she kind of felt worse than when she’d gone to sleep.
She rubbed her temples where a headache had formed and tried to stretch out her neck. It was stiff and aching.
The last thing she needed was to add to her aches and pains.
The door opened and she tensed. Surprise filled her as Colm walked in.
Not because she was surprised to see him . . . but because he was carrying a tray of breakfast.
And most importantly, coffee.
All thoughts of being embarrassed over last night or trying to keep him at arm’s length today disappeared.
Because, you know, coffee.
She held her hands up and made grabby motions. “Gimme. Gimme.”
He raised his eyebrow, giving her a stern look as he put the tray down on the bedside table.
Wow. He was hot.
Why hadn’t she taken the time to notice last night? He had a pair of black pajama pants on.
And nothing else.
The. Man. Was. Fine.
Wide shoulders. A muscular chest. Abs . . . oh God, those abs. She wanted to run her tongue down his chest and stomach. To push those pajama pants down and find out what he had going on underneath.
Calm down.
She couldn’t. She shouldn’t.
But it didn’t stop her from wanting to.
He had tattoos all down his arms and chest. They were such a mix of things that she couldn’t figure them all out at once. The chest tattoo was some sort of bird. Maybe an eagle.
It must have taken hours and hours to get the feathers all done.
Then he cleared his throat and she glanced up, embarrassment filling her as she saw the look of knowing on his face.
“You finished, baby? Looked your fill?” he asked in a low, husky voice.
His face was filled with heat. With knowledge.
She moved her gaze away, and thankfully, it hit on the one thing that might distract her.
Sort of.
Reaching out, she grabbed the coffee. Her hand shook slightly, though, making the cup wobble.
“Whoa, careful there, baby. Maybe caffeine isn’t what you need,” he said with clear concern as he steadied the cup.
“It is. I’m just wobbly because I need more caffeine.”
“Hmm. We’ll talk to the doctor about that. You’re already sleep-deprived. The last thing you need is to add stimulants.”
Wait. What?
They’d talk to the doctor?
About her and her caffeine?
Yeah, not happening, buddy.