Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
The mattress bounced, jostling me beneath the covers, making my hypersensitive skin react all over again. I gasped, willing the zinging, sexual frustration to leave me the hell alone.
He sucked in a breath and twisted to face me.
Our eyes locked.
And so many things crashed between us.
Guilt.
Blame.
Anger.
Animosity.
He’d done what needed to be done downstairs.
We’d survived another day with Victor and his beasts.
This was our reward—hidden and safe behind a locked door. So why did it feel like the worst kind of punishment as his gaze fastened on mine and his awareness sharpened to daggers.
After the longest moment, his shoulders heaved. His voice was achingly quiet as he muttered, “You missed two.”
I frowned, bundled in my blankets. “Missed what?”
He looked away, keeping his eyes resolutely on the carpet. “Tears. There’s two on your bottom eyelashes, just waiting to fall.”
My chest squeezed.
The cost of that.
The battle he’d won to tell me.
“Thank you.” Dabbing my face again, I made sure to swipe beneath my chin for any stragglers before smoothing out the sheet and sitting tall. “You can look now.”
Reluctantly, he turned all the way to face me. Slowly, his chin tipped up, and his eyes skated over every inch. Finally, he nodded and gave me a tragic half-smile. “Better.”
I flushed beneath his intensity. “I-I’m sorry about the cufflinks. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine. They’re fine. I overreacted.”
“They obviously mean a great deal to you.”
His hand went to his pocket, patting them through the material. He gave a sad shrug. “They belong to my brother.”
My heart kicked, immediately thinking about Krish. “I have one of those too.”
“I remember.” He snorted. “Although…I can’t imagine he’s like mine.”
I shook my head, fondness and longing squeezing my chest. “No, I can safely say mine is nothing like yours. He’s…different. Wonderfully different.”
He stiffened. “Just like you’re different?” Swallowing hard, he shook his head. “Don’t answer that.”
His gaze dropped to my collar.
His hands balled.
Whatever he saw when looking at me summoned silver shadows in his stare.
Ever so slowly, he stood.
My skin prickled.
My nipples pebbled.
Every urge and ache from before returned with a desperate, unwanted agony.
I hated that I wanted him to touch me.
I cursed myself that I desperately needed him to—
“Don’t.” Looking away, he ran both hands over his face. “Christ, don’t.”
Don’t?
Don’t what?
Be vulnerable?
Be sad, afraid…needy?
I frowned. I went to ask—
“Don’t look at me with your golden eyes. Don’t—” He cut himself off, glancing at the cameras. Whatever he wanted to say, he didn’t want Victor to hear.
Victor.
The ringleader of this awful circus.
The director of every terrible, tragic thing we’d had to do to survive.
Helplessness rose inside me, knotting itself to all my fury and fear. My pulse pounded as I let just a fraction of lonely weakness escape. “I think I’m allowed to be a little on edge after what just happened, don’t you? I’m allowed to cry if I’m sad. I’m allowed to be angry that I’m trapped. I’m allowed to want—”
“Careful, Ily.” He went fatally still. “Be very fucking careful.”
I didn’t know if his warning was for the cameras or genuine.
I tried to read his stiff body language.
But I couldn’t.
And suddenly…it was too much.
I couldn’t be around him feeling the way I did.
I couldn’t allow myself to feel anything.
Especially not need or attraction or confusion or anger or resentment.
I’d say something that would get us killed.
And I probably wouldn’t regret it.
“You know what?” I crossed my arms, shuddering as I brushed my nipples. “I think I’d prefer to sleep with the other jewels tonight.”
He dropped his hands, rearing back as if I’d slapped him.
I swayed on the bed.
Where had those words come from? I hadn’t even been thinking them. I hadn’t even acknowledged where I would sleep or what would happen now we were alone. All I knew was the urge to run returned with an unbearable burn, and I didn’t know how much more I could stand.
Peter.
I wanted his prickly no-nonsense attitude. There were no shades with him. No script I had to follow. I wanted to sleep beside all the other jewels so I could strengthen my vow to stay strong and save them.
Swinging my legs out of bed, I sucked in a breath and stood.
My white negligee might as well have been nonexistent.
I felt naked and exposed.
Collared and cuffed.
And alone.
So horribly, horribly alone.
Henri glowered as I stood on the other side of the mattress. The carved wooden spirals of the four-poster bed speared toward the black-painted ceiling. “You’d prefer to sleep with him you mean.”
I frowned. “Him? Him who?”
Moving predator-slow toward me, he tipped his chin down. His shadowed eyes shot messages I couldn’t decipher. His clenched teeth tore at things he would never say. I couldn’t move as he crossed to my side of the bed, slinked his fingers through my hair, then tipped my head back.
I gasped as his lips found my ear. “We can’t talk freely in here. There are cameras fucking everywhere, and we can never forget our roles. You can’t talk to me like that and get away with it. Victor will see. He’ll challenge me to punish you. So…what is it you really want to say? Say it now, and we’ll act it off and go to sleep. God knows we both need to rest.”