Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
She sits and eats and I stand by the window, watching her. She seems so delicate and small wrapped in that big, fluffy robe, and the awful image of her nearly going over the railing comes filtering back. I try to shove it away, but the memory won’t release me.
I shouldn’t have risked my life like that to save her. If the boat had moved wrong, it easily could’ve thrown us both over the edge. We got lucky, but I can’t rely on luck to keep me going. That was one lesson my family taught me, over and over again. Luck runs out. Careful planning doesn’t. I struggle and fight and win because of skill and perseverance, not because of blind gambling.
Throwing myself at her like that was a damn stupid thing to do.
And I’d do it again.
I’d do it a thousand times if I had to.
She finishes eating and looks relaxed for the first time in a while. She’s sitting on the couch, the fire cracking in the gas fireplace, her robe slightly open enough to show her pink and flushed skin and the graceful swell of her breasts, and she’s smiling as she sips her drink.
“What?” she asks. I drift over toward her. “You’ve been staring at me like a weirdo for like ten minutes.”
“I was waiting for you to be done.”
“Well, I’m done.”
“Are you happy with the accommodations?” I stand at the edge of the couch, looking down. I finish my champagne and put the glass on the coffee table.
“You promised luxury and you delivered.”
“You seem strangely comfortable with your surroundings.” I tilt my head to the side. “Did you grow up with money, little pet?”
Her face hardens. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, but it does. See, you have secrets, and I don’t like secrets.”
“Says the guy with the most secrets of all.”
I laugh lightly and walk closer. She cringes away and I gently take her glass from her hand, finish it, and set it aside. Slowly, I sink to my knees at the edge of the couch, looking at her as she pulls her legs up and sits in the very corner on her ankles.
“That’s where you’re wrong, pet. You think I have secrets, but that’s because you don’t know me. I’m honest with my people, honest to a fault, and I won’t lie to you if you don’t lie to me. But I think you’ve been lying.”
She’s breathing fast now and wondering if I know. I’m so tempted to tell her the truth—that I’m well aware of who her sister is—but I can’t bring myself to do it. The suspense is too delicious and I want to drag her along for a little bit longer. I’ll have to break the truth to her eventually, but right now, I love the fear and uncertainty in her eyes. It makes me fucking hard, torturing her like this.
“What am I lying about?” she asks, averting her gaze. “I’m not lying about anything.”
“No? Then let’s see if I can’t get the truth out of you.” I reach out and grab one of her ankles. “Come here.”
She sucks in a breath as I yank her toward me. She slides forward, losing her balance, and ends up with her legs open and me kneeling between them. I reach out and grab her hair and she gasps, trying to get away, but I shove her back and pin her against the couch. She’s naked under that robe and only a bit of cloth separates me from her tight little body and the blood rips through my chest like a hammer through ice.
But not so fast.
“Emilio,” she says, glaring at me. “What are you doing?”
“You nearly got us both killed tonight.”
“It was a mistake. I didn’t know the storm was that bad. I was just—”
“You were trying to help? Or you were wandering around on deck in the middle of a storm when I told you not to? We could’ve both been thrown off that boat.”
“I didn’t ask you to save me.”
“No, but I did anyway, and now I’m going to punish you for it.” I push her to the side and wrench her around until her face is against a pillow, her knees are beneath her, and her ass is in the air.
I yank the hem of her robe up, exposing her beautiful flesh.
“Fuck,” she says and struggles, but I keep her held down. “Emilio, wait—”
I slap a palm down against her ass. She gasps in shock and I do it again before she has time to process. I spank her a third time and she finally tries to twist, but my fist in her hair keeps her in her place.
“Oh, fuck,” she gasps, wiggling her hips. “It was an accident. You can’t just—”
I spank her again, hard, and she half moans, half groans in pleasure and pain.