Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
I stop short when a six-foot-tall giant cuts me off. He snags a champagne flute from the tray and stares down at me, a wrinkle in his brow. "You okay, my dear?"
I risk a glance at Drew walking up behind me and give the man a megawatt smile. “I’m fine, sir. Do you need anything? Are you comfortable?”
His eyes flick to Drew, who hovers behind me, waiting, no doubt, for the opportunity to sweep back in and drag me away. I pass the man who is still staring at me, a curious expression pinching his features, and move on to others, extending the tray, doing the job I'm being paid for. When I break out of the crowd, a hand grips me by the arm and drags me through another side door. Drew shoves me hard against the concrete brick wall adjacent to the door until my shoulder blades ache with the impact. Shit.
He's scowling now, his eyes locked on me as he pinches my chin between two fingers and tilts it up. "Now, you will listen to what I have to say because you don't have a choice, wallflower."
I stare deep into his eyes, making sure he can see and feel my defiance. He doesn’t get the last say here. “That’s where you’re wrong. I always have a choice. Now tell me what you want so I can get back to work.” The question drags up all the memories of us together, of all the times I've asked him that same question and never gotten an answer. Thinking about it, he probably wanted this with me all along. Someone to fuck with and play games.
This time, he leans in and whispers against my mouth. "We never made any promises. In fact, you are the one who told me to walk the fuck away. Remember?"
I jolt as his words sink in. That's what he wants to say when he's practically kissing me? I shove at his chest. "Get the fuck off me. You're right. We didn't make promises, except the second I even look at another man, you freak the fuck out. So...that tells me something is happening right, or maybe it doesn't go both ways? You can claim to all your friends that I’m your girlfriend, so they don’t touch or mess with me. Meanwhile, you can see anyone you want, but I have to sit around until you decide to come to me?"
He huffs, his warm whiskey breath fanning my skin. "Bel..."
"No, you're right. We never made promises, but you sure as shit are going through a lot of effort to explain yourself if I mean nothing to you."
He finally steps away, and I feel like I can breathe again. It’s not worth the effort as an ache forms in my chest from the fear, anger, and fucking betrayal. Why do I feel betrayed when we aren’t supposed to be anything to each other?
This time, the words come out with all the weariness I feel. "What do you want from me?"
"Look." He gestures toward the exit door. His expression is earnest, pure, and I want to tell him to fuck off, but I don’t. "That man you saw out there isn't really me. It's the act my father forces me to play. Or else..." His frustration bleeds into his words.
I blink and crane my head forward as if I'm listening harder. "Or else what? He'll stop with your ten-thousand-dollar weekly allowance."
His eyes go sharp and dark. "Watch your mouth, Bel. I don’t give a fuck if you don’t want me anymore. I’ll still find a way to punish you.”
"What are you going to do?" I demand, not caring if I'm yelling now. "You just said we never made promises. Fine. Then you have no say over a damn thing about me. If I want to walk out into the ballroom and kiss the first man I see and tell him to take me home and fuck the daylights out of me, then I will. You, Drew Marshall, do not own me!”
His fist comes out of nowhere, slamming into the wall above my head, and I flinch before glaring up at him. "I'll repeat myself, but only once. The man out there, with that woman, isn't really me. It's me doing what my father says, taking part in the family business. It’s not what I want, Bel."
I cross my arms over my chest. "And that woman's tongue down your throat supports the family business, how?"
He cups my face as tears slip free from my eyes and trail down my cheeks. Fucking hell. I'm trying to stay strong here.
"You're the only one who sees me, Bel. The only person who sees the real me. That's what I want from you." His voice drops to a husky whisper that almost unmakes me. "I want you to be the one who tethers me to sanity. That keeps me from doing stupid shit. From ruining everything. Who doesn’t just let me give in to my demons but fucking embraces them."