Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
“Breathe, dolcezza,” he urged, the low command rumbling over my neck. “You’re not hurt. You’re safe.”
A slightly mad laugh bubbled from my chest, and I jerked against the restraints. The rope shifted around me, holding me firm without biting into my flesh.
“So, is this what you do to your enemies?” I accused. Massimo had pretended to be a white knight, but he was a criminal, a killer. He’d bound me with ruthless efficiency, even if he had been careful not to hurt me.
His lips ghosted over the shell of my ear as he murmured, “Believe me, farfallina. This isn’t something I do with my enemies.”
Heat flashed beneath the surface of my skin, and my cheeks warmed at the implication. The way he was holding me was tender. Intimate.
Before I could process my body’s reaction to his nearness, he pulled away with a sigh.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” he promised. “This is for your own good.”
My maddened laugh was more giddy than bitter. I couldn’t process what was happening to me. I should’ve been terrified that a strange man was tying me up on a bed with him while I wore nothing but his shirt.
But I’d been through too much tonight, and my emotions were scrambled. Massimo had proven that he only wanted to protect me. Or maybe the prospect that my dark savior might violate me was simply too horrific for me to contemplate.
Within less than a minute, he’d bound my ankles together with a second length of rope, rendering me truly helpless. I’d be incapable of running now.
I couldn’t do anything but wriggle in protest as he lifted me up again, carrying me back into the bathroom with him. He carefully laid me down in the tub, so that the curve of the jacuzzi cradled my body. It was an odd position with my arms pinned to my back, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he informed me. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”
“This isn’t necessary,” I tugged halfheartedly against the rope, but I was so tired that I couldn’t muster up much of a fight.
“I told you, I’m not letting you out of my sight. That means you’re staying right where I want you. Don’t pretend you wouldn’t have tried to run away as soon as I gave you an opportunity.”
I pressed my lips together, refusing to lie. It would be pointless, and it would only give him reason to rebuke me when he read the truth on my face: I would do anything to get away from him.
Still, terror didn’t grip my mind, not like it should. The knowledge that I had to escape from this criminal’s fortress was more rational than instinctive. I was too exhausted for my instincts to rule me, and the rope that bound me made struggling useless, anyway.
His big hand cupped my cheek, and my breath caught. He traced the line of my lower lip with his thumb, and my sensitive skin tingled at the tender contact.
“You’re safe with me, Evelyn. I’ll protect you. Let me.”
“Let me go,” I managed to whisper, but there was no fire behind my demand. He was resolute in his determination to keep me here, and there was currently nothing I could do to resist him.
His jaw ticked, and he slowly withdrew his touch from my face, long fingers lingering on my cheek as he pulled away. My skin sparked at the contact, the same sensation that’d pinged through me when I’d first touched him at the bar, holding him back from attacking the man who’d tried to roofie me.
I was too exhausted to contemplate the way my skin pebbled and the warmth that flashed through me. My brain blanked, too tired to continue worrying about my situation.
If Massimo wanted to hurt me, he would’ve done it already. He’d had every opportunity to beat me into submission or violate me while I was bound and helpless.
Instead, he handled me with tenderness as he tugged the hem of his shirt down my thighs, ensuring I was covered to my knees. His fingertips barely brushed my sensitive skin as he did so, and more sparks danced beneath his heated touch.
When he’d ensured my modesty, he finally pulled away and got to his feet, all six and a half feet of him towering over me. I felt small and achingly vulnerable, but I still didn’t experience a flicker of fear. The world had become surreal, my thoughts going quiet. There was nothing for me to do but lay where he’d positioned me and wait for him to get cleaned up.
His silver eyes burned into me, pinning me with his full focus as his hands went to his belt. He unbuckled it and freed the button on his jeans before my slow mind processed the fact that he was stripping right in front of me.