Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
I’m not alone in here. Fear wraps around me like a tight belt. Each step I take farther into the room tightens the belt another notch.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” the voice that has haunted my dreams purrs from the shadows.
I turn my head in his direction, but there’s not much I can see. Even with the lamp, he is bathed in darkness, but the whites of his eyes shine in the dim light.
“Are you here to play, little dove?”
That made me step closer, teeth bared and ready to fight. “My name is Phoenix.”
“I’m well aware of your name. But it doesn’t fit or work under the circumstances, so I’ve changed it.”
“You can’t change it on me. I have a say. I’m not frail or weak.”
“No. You are just a pawn I will use to my advantage.”
I place my hands on my hips in defiance. “You think so little of my father that you can lure him into a trap?”
“Not little,” he says, but he doesn’t clarify his meaning.
“Then what?”
“He loves you. He will do anything to get you back. I will use this to my advantage.”
“Will you kill him?”
He leans forward in his chair, the light now hitting the sharp lines of his face. The way he looks at me makes my insides tremble. The usual smirk is long gone, and the playfulness in his eyes has disappeared.
Only malice and hatred stare back at me.
He is every bit the killer right now that the rumors spoke of.
“Killing him would be too easy.”
I charge forward, not knowing what I’m doing, but as soon as I do, I realize my mistake because he grabs my arms, twisting and pulling, until he’s on top of me.
My back hits the couch, my hands drawn together in his grasp above my head.
He’s too damn close, his rock-hard body against mine. “Do not test me,” he hisses as I try to break free. “I don’t like to be tested.”
“Let me go.” The pressure of his body against mine has me going into fight-or-flight mode. I try to move my hands to push him off me.
It’s useless.
“Not until you calm down. I don’t want to lock you up. I don’t want to hurt you. But if you don’t put your claws away, I will.”
I can’t move. Completely immobilized. My chest heaves with each attempt, but it’s no use. We stay in this position for too long. His warm breath fans my face, my body pliant beneath his. He could try to take me, and the thought makes me tense.
“You don’t have to fear that,” he says as if he has a window into my soul, like he can hear my nightmares as they replay in my head.
“Sure.”
“I don’t need to force anyone.” His voice is cocky, and I know he’s not lying. There’s no hint of anything but arrogance. He doesn’t need to take because women must throw themselves at him. Beg him.
Not me. I’ll never beg. Nor would I ever want this man.
No matter how beautiful he is from the outside, the inside is rotten to the core. Time crawls slowly as I inhale and exhale, trying to calm the anger inside me.
When it finally subsides, he stands and releases my hands.
“Let me go.”
“You chose to be a stowaway. It’s not my fault you ended up stuck on my yacht.” The bastard smirks.
“I didn’t know you were going to leave the port.”
“I made an announcement. You must have been busy searching my office. Did you find anything?”
“Fuck you.”
“You don’t want to be my enemy, dove. Now be a good little bird and go back to bed. We have much to discuss tomorrow.”
I stand, fixing my now disheveled robe. “I won’t stop until I burn you to the ground.”
“You can try.”
12
Alaric
“She’s sleeping?” Cristian asks as he steps out into the warm air. I’ve been here for the past hour—ever since I walked Phoenix to her room. I brought out a glass and a tumbler of scotch.
“Can’t you hear it’s quiet?” I gesture to the seat across from me. “Grab a glass and have a drink with me.”
“Should I gather the men?”
“That would probably be an excellent idea,” I say, lifting the drink to my mouth. It doesn’t take long. Soon, five of my best men surround me at the table. A few light cigars, and everyone drinks.
When my glass is empty, I lean forward. “What have you heard from Michael? Has he put two and two together yet?”
“He’s been quiet. No one has seen or heard from him. But seeing as Peter dropped George’s body in the middle of the square, wrapped up like a Christmas present, we have to assume he got the message. It’s been two days since he’s probably spoken to her. He must know we have her.”
“So, then what the fuck is he waiting for? He needs to crawl out of the hole he’s hiding in.”