Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“No, I need you to hear me. I need you to hear that I love you, and I won’t be a burden. I know you can’t afford the massive house that my father can, and that’s fine. I don’t need that. I don’t need expensive jewelry. I don’t need designer bags or anything like that. The only thing in my life I need is you and my cello. I can bring in some money with the Philharmonic, and if that’s not enough, I will get another job. I can… handle it. I want to do this. I want to build a life with you. A real life, not some romantic, princess fantasy.” I was rambling, but I couldn’t stop.
I needed him to know I meant every word.
“Charlotte,” he said again, and I expected to see regret in his eyes or something that told me he had already made the choice to leave me, and he was just here as a courtesy.
Instead, I found mischief. His eyes sparkled with humor as his lips twisted into his signature cocky smirk.
“What?” I asked. “Did you already take the money? Is it too late?”
“You’re right. Your father offered me money.”
“Did you take it?”
His eyes turned cold as he loomed over me, his hand moving to my throat.
Not choking me, there wasn’t even any pressure, just the reminder that he could.
He would never hurt me, but I knew he liked showing me that he was in charge.
My heart was pounding as his thumb rested on my pulse point.
“That is the last time you insult my integrity. I love you, you are mine. Only mine, always mine, nothing will come in between us, especially not something as common and insignificant as money.”
“You say that now, but what happens if—”
“Nothing will happen. And you don’t have to work if you don’t want to, baby. Princess, I can take care of you.”
“I know you can, and I’m saying that I don’t need everything that my father provided. That I don’t need—”
Reid cut off my words with a consuming kiss, slamming his mouth over mine, devouring my lips, his hands roaming down my body, and that stupid machine started blaring again.
He reached over and hit the large red button himself, silencing the high-pitched beeping that would call my nurse.
I wasn’t aware that was a thing we were allowed to do.
“I listened to you, Charlotte. I listened to your concerns. Now I need you to listen to mine, okay?”
My stomach was in knots, and I was still convinced that he was going to tell me it was over.
“Money will never be a problem for us.”
“I know, because we don’t need it. Well, we need it, but we don’t—”
He cut off my further ramblings. “Princess, I’m a ridiculously wealthy man.”
CHAPTER 36
REID
“So you lied to me?” She wasn’t yelling, but there was definitely a tone.
“What did I just say about insulting my integrity?” I loomed over her, not wanting to jostle her wounds, but needing to make my point.
“How am I supposed to react when you insult my intelligence?” she bit back.
This version of her, my princess turning into a queen, was sexy as fuck.
There was a fire in her eyes as her shoulders pressed back, lifting those gorgeous tits barely covered by the thin layer of fabric.
Even in a hospital gown with no makeup, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
“Watch yourself, princess,” I growled. “I never lied to you. I just didn’t tell you my net worth.”
“No, you lied. Why would someone so wealthy live in such a tiny apartment?”
“Because not all of us need a ten-million-dollar mansion filled with useless shit to feel good about ourselves.”
“If you have all this money, why are you working for my family?”
“Because I’m in security. I have the training. I have the skills, and until I laid eyes on you, I thought it would be an easy fucking gig.”
“But if you’re rich, why do you need any gigs at all?” she shot back.
She was pressing her fucking luck.
“Because unlike most people with my net worth, I don’t like sitting on my ass all day playing at being useful. I make myself useful and I give myself goals. And I don’t have to explain a damn thing to you.”
“You do! You owe me explanations. Where did you get this massive net worth?”
“Princess, just because you’re in the hospital doesn’t mean that I won’t take you over my knee right now and paddle that sweet little ass. You know I’ll do it, and then you know I’ll make you like it.” My words came out a husky growl that made her breath quicken, and that fucking machine behind her started beeping again.
“You wouldn’t,” she gasped.
The last thing I wanted was for that nurse to come back in here, so I silenced the machine by ripping the cord out of the wall.