Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
“Sociable,” I mutter as he takes yet another turn in the road. We are literally in the middle of nowhere. “You don’t seem like the farmer type.”
“I’m not.”
“So why the stables, the fields, and the pig sheds?”
“It was the most obscure and isolated place I could find.”
“Why would you need an obscure and isolated place?” I ask, sounding casual though on the inside I’m itching with curiosity.
He pulls to a stop and cuts the engine, then turns in his seat to face me. I can tell by the knowing smile on his face that he’s sensed I’m about to burst with questions. “Because one day I knew I’d meet a beautiful princess who’d need protecting from her wicked father.”
My eyes narrow. “That’s not funny.”
“You don’t approve of my attempts to lighten our situation?”
Our situation? I hate that we’re in a situation. I hate my father. “I hate that we’ve had to run away.”
Jake jumps out, circling the car and opening my door. Taking my hand, he helps me down. “Your father has the police after me, Cami. I’m not hanging around London waiting for them to catch up with me. We stay here until I’ve sorted it out.”
“And how do you plan on sorting it out?” I ask, reluctantly letting him push me toward the front door.
“I’m working on it.” He unlocks the door and pushes it open onto a massive square hallway, with doors leading off to various rooms and a staircase to the first floor.
The realization of my current situation hits home. Maybe I’m not so bothered that we’ve been forced to run away. Me and Jake. Alone. In the middle of nowhere. Maybe he shouldn’t work on fixing it, because being locked up here for the foreseeable future is suddenly very appealing.
“Is there much to do here?” I ask, wandering in, gazing around.
“I can think of plenty of things to do.” His front meets my back, and I smile on the inside. “Just me and you here. No interference.” He kisses my neck, sending a flurry of activity to between my thighs. I sigh into him, shuddering. “But first I’m taking you out for dinner.”
I frown into the space before me. I didn’t see any signs of life for miles. “Where?”
“Let me worry about that.” He turns me in his arms and stares down at me, his dark eyes roaming my face, not missing a millimeter of my skin. I let him, happy to absorb him, too. He looks so content and at ease, something I’ve not seen very often from Jake. “For tonight we forget everything and just be together.” He dips and takes my lips gently, coaxing my mouth open with light, gentle pecks. I hum and relax into his kiss, more than happy to oblige. But what about after tonight? What happens then?
* * *
Jake shows me to a bedroom, a huge space with high ceilings and detailed cornicing. A glass chandelier hangs low over the huge well-made bed, and the walls are covered in a warm mink-embossed paper. There’s an open fireplace, too, loaded with logs. It’s sumptuous but not over the top, so cozy and welcoming. It’s a far cry from the minimal space of his factory apartment.
After he leaves me to get ready for dinner, I head into the attached bathroom, finding a familiar bag. I pull out some of the contents, discovering my clothes and random cosmetics from my bathroom. I smile. How…?
Looking up to the mirror, I study myself for a few moments, falling into thought. Just me, Jake, and this big country house on acres of sprawling land. I smile again, but it quickly falls when I realize I’ve not let Heather know where I am. She’ll be worried. My phone’s off, and I just know she’ll be trying to call me.
“Shit!” I rush into the bedroom again, finding my phone on the bed, and as soon as I switch it on, I see endless missed calls from Heather. I ignore the ones from my father and call my best friend.
She answers on the first ring. “Cami, there’s a shot of you and Jake in the magazines!” she says urgently.
This is old news to me. I’m surprised. Heather is usually more up-to-date on things happening in London. “I know.”
“You do?”
“Yes, my father knows, too.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“Yes, he’s not happy.” I tell her what she’ll already know, but extend it and tell her something that she definitely won’t. “He’s paid Sebastian to press charges against Jake.”
“What?” Her volume makes me wince. “Why would he do that?”
“Because he wants Jake gone,” I breathe. “And I don’t.”
“So, you’ve not fallen for your bodyguard, then?”
“Cunny funt.”
“Indeed.” She sighs. “Where are you?”
I look around and find a window, then wander over to look out across the fields. “I don’t know,” I admit.
“What do you mean?”