Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Lucien jabbed. I blocked the hit and countered with a kick he blocked easily.
“—now.”
He wasn’t going easy on me, but neither was Lucien beating me as soundly as when we first started. I was starting to like him calling me a natural, and how his gaze wandered down the skintight fabric hugging my boobs and thighs.
It’d been days since my sleepover with Katie. Six to be exact.
Six days since we planned the party she was throwing that Saturday night.
Seven days since Rafael met with Giovanni, Owen, Levi, and Wesley.
Seven days. That night, Rafael would bring them to the same spot to conclude their business.
“What about the engagement? The deal was you marry Victor in exchange for attending the university.” All the guys knew the truth. The deeper we got into this, the less I felt the need to keep secrets. “He’s not holding up his end, you can’t be expected to hold up yours.”
“Victor said his parents aren’t giving me, Jack, or Victor a choice. They threatened to disown him like they have Adonis.”
“They have? But that’s ridiculous. Why go to such extreme measures? What makes you the prized bride?” He inclined his head. “Besides the obvious.”
“Oh?” I stopped moving. “What’s the obvious?”
“You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and ruthless,” Lucien replied without skipping a beat. The man dropped all those compliments on my head like they were a fact of life and wouldn’t embarrass me. He was wrong about the last one. “No doubt anyone who let you go is a fool, but kicking your son out into the cold for it is more than harsh. This is between you and Victor. Getting married should be your choice—not blackmail or to avoid a worse fate.”
Lucien tossed his head. “Regalia is a backward town, and I lived through the eighteen hundreds.”
“It is more than harsh. I saw Martha’s face the night Adonis ate with them. She hated the fighting between her son and husband, and obviously wanted Adonis back. To then turn around and threaten Victor with the same thing? None of this makes sense.”
“She might have no intention of going through with the threat,” Lucien tried. “She’s just using it to get what she wants: you.”
I shivered. “Now I’m thoroughly creeped out. It’s hard to believe Martha is so desperate for me to marry into her family. The woman never misses a chance to criticize me.”
“Did Jack and your mother tell her the wedding is off yet?”
“Nope.” I swung a left hook. Lucien blocked it naturally, though he praised my form. “Jack said they’re handling one problem at a time. First, secure my transfer. Then, dump Regalia’s most eligible bachelor. That he called it a problem says he’s got no delusions about how this’ll go over.”
“I wonder what the exact terms of the deal are.”
“What do you mean? I told you that Jack pays my tuition and—”
“Not the deal between the two of you. The deal between Jack Bowden and the Wilsons. The Wilsons get something in exchange for this wedding, and they want it desperately.”
“I’ve asked Victor multiple times. He said it’s because I’m the only girl willing to marry him this soon. He needs this marriage to show his father he’s ready to step up in his place. Has to be more to it than that, right?”
Lucien’s brows drew together. “Maybe that’s why Victor was willing to do it. I have a suspicion his parents expect to get more from the arrangement.” He dropped his arms. “Let’s take a break. There’s somewhere I want to take you.”
“Take me? But I have class at ten.”
He shrugged. “Blow it off today. Professor Gray follows the same syllabus year after year. Today is her fun lesson on the different death celebrations around the world. I’ll fill in everything you need for the midterm.”
“But where are we going?”
Lucien took my hand. “Trust me. I’ll put your outfit on your bed. Be ready in half an hour.”
Confused, I let him deposit me in the bathroom. The times Lucien and I spent alone together were confined to our strolls around campus and our time in the practice room. Lately, that alone time was haunted by the memory of our kiss and how poorly I reacted after it.
Speaking of handling a kiss poorly...
Rafael came out of the bathroom on a cloud of sage-scented steam. His towel hung low on his waist, giving a peek to the top of his cheeks.
“It’s a hundred to stare.”
I jerked my head up, blushing down to my toes. “I wasn’t staring!”
“Liar.” Rafael swayed his hips, thrusting and throwing his towel-clad middle at me. “Pay up, Cloud Girl. I’ll take singles if you’ve got ’em.”
I slammed the door in his face, hearing the thud from outside as the jerk fell on the floor guffawing.
Sliding down the wood, I dropped on the floor, head in my hands. Neither of us brought up the kiss or the bit at the end where I pushed him away. I was into Rafael more than I could say. Deep down in the place where I was honest with myself, I knew it wasn’t an insult that made me push away Lucien, or timing that convinced me to end the kiss with Rafael.