Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Instead of answering, she digs into the coq au vin and mashed potatoes. She spears a glazed carrot, eating with a softly erotic moan. “Damien, this is seriously good.” She lets out another moan and her eyes roll back in her head. “Damn.”
I laugh. “So, I’m forgiven?”
She freezes with a forkful of mashed potatoes halfway to her mouth. “Oh, I see,” she says, her brown eyes dancing with amusement. “Is this your sex meal?”
I laugh. “My what?”
“Sex meal,” she says, grinning. “The meal you cook when it’s time to get naked.”
She’s curious about me. Another good sign. “I don’t have a sex meal, Francesca.”
Her lips pull together into a pout, her brows lifting in disbelief. “Oh, come on. You’ve never done it?”
“No,” I answer honestly. “Because I don’t cook for women. Until today.”
“What? Why the hell not? You’re an incredible cook.”
I shrug. “It gives women the wrong impression.” It’s a lesson I learned the hard way shortly after making my first billion, but well before that, if I’m being honest. “I just don’t need the headache.”
“And what impression should I glean from this delicious meal?” she asks before taking another bite. “Because damn, I can see why you don’t do this for every woman you date.”
My smile widens, genuinely amused. Her words send a rush of warmth through me I haven’t felt in forever. “You should glean that I want to know more about you. What you like, what you love. What pisses you off. All of it.”
“So, you want my secrets?” she questions playfully.
“And if I do?” This is the moment of truth, whether she’ll trust me or keep me at arm’s length.
“If you do, this is a good start. Ignoring me for a week, however, is not.”
“Message received.” Even though I know where this is headed, I like her. She’s more intriguing than any other woman I’ve known. There’s strength and confidence about her that pulls me in like a magnet. It’s why I’m here tonight. “It wasn’t my intention to ignore you,” I lie easily.
She waves me off. “Consider that your one pass, Damien. Anymore, and I’m out, no matter how charming you are.” She points her fork at me to make sure I understand she’s serious.
“Got it, but you definitely underestimate just how charming I can be.” I give her a slow and seductive smile, and the way her eyes glaze over is like a fucking aphrodisiac I feel all the way down to my bones.
Francesca sits back, staring at me with her head tilting to the side and a slow smile forming on her lips. “Believe me, it’s not possible. It’s coming out of your pores. It wafts off you like a second skin.”
Her words make me laugh, and that shocks me more than anything. “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”
“Welcome to the club.”
I lick my lips and lean forward in full seduction mode. “Any club you’re in is one I want to belong to, Frankie.”
She laughs, but her eyes are full of heat. “See, too much fucking charm. It really is ridiculous, you know.” Her smile is playful, and she’s not put off by my charm, though she’s not completely sold on it either.
“It is ridiculous,” I agree. “But you like it, anyway.”
“Maybe,” she replies before pushing her plate away. “Or maybe I’m just too enchanted by your handsome face to be objective.”
I shrug. “Works for me either way.”
“Now that’s a lie.” She calls me out, but I don’t mind. “You know you’re rich and gorgeous and smart and charming,” she begins, rolling her eyes as if extolling my virtues annoys her. “But you want someone to want you because you’re smart and funny, probably even kind. You want someone to see you, the real you, and want you despite the rest.”
“Then I guess you better get to know me. The real me.”
I wonder if she’ll like what she sees when that moment arrives.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Damien
Watching Frankie is my newest obsession. Her allure isn’t just about looks or smarts. She’s an enigma, a puzzle I need to solve with each stolen glance.
It’s a dangerous thing, this attachment. Olivia is the only one I should care about, but the pull to Frankie is powerful. Every moment we’re apart, I feel it. Her taste fades, and a physical ache takes its place. It’s alarming. Dangerous, actually.
But first, I need to break her, twist her up so she doubts everything she knows—her skills, her case, maybe even herself.
I have a job to do, several jobs, in fact. I have names to cross off The List, and a plan that will—fingers crossed—bring my sister back to the land of the living. Until I meet those goals, nothing and no one else matters.
Frankie will be mine in every way, and someday, she’ll know that the monster she’s hunting is the man who makes her feel like no other man ever has.