Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 142939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
When I turn and see Bianca, my anger recedes, and fear takes its place.
She’s been watching. She’s been here the whole time while I’ve been lost to my vengeance and bloodlust.
But that’s the thing about Bianca.
She’s. Still. Here.
She rises from her place at the table and comes over to me, her fingers straying to my forehead. “Doesn’t this hurt?”
“No.” My voice is guttural, fucking beastly. I’m the Butcher. A nightmare to end all nightmares.
But when she gets on her tiptoes and kisses me, I become nothing more than a man in love. One who would do anything for the woman who stole his heart and cradles his bruised soul, even when it’s covered in blood.
Len breathes his last, and I claim my bride with a kiss of blood and promise. I will always protect her. As Fernando and as the Butcher. Both of them exist only for her.
24
BIANCA
“It all makes so much sense now,” I tell my sister as we get ready for my wedding. When we got back to the house, Carina and Angelica were so relieved that everyone was okay. Fernando led me upstairs, where we took a shower together, washing the blood off the both of us. None of it was mine, but Fernando was obsessed with making sure he got all of it off me.
I stood there and let him have his way, washing every inch of me, which of course led to intense sex. Is it weird to have sex after you watch your fiancé kill your father and then slice and dice another man that you were supposed to marry? Who knows and who cares? I know I don’t. I might have more of the Butcher inside me than anyone realizes.
I hadn’t felt anything for those men as they died in front of me. If anything, I was pissed about the bullet graze Fernando had taken because of my smart mouth. I still can’t believe the things I said. But I have to admit that it felt good to not only stand up for myself but him too.
“What makes sense?” Angelica asks as she puts waves into my hair. I know my Fernando enjoys it when my hair is down. He is always touching and running his fingers through it. She’d almost banged the bathroom door down wanting us to get out of the shower because we both needed to get ready.
“That Fernando is such a good cook. The man is killer with a knife.” Angelica locks eyes with me in the mirror of the vanity. “Get it?! Killer?” I snort a laugh. She tries to fight a laugh but loses it.
“You told me that your sister was sugar sweet and innocent,” Carina says from the bed. She’s stretched out across it, petting the kittens and giving their mama a break.
“That was before the Butcher got his hands on her.”
“Hey!”
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing!” My sister rushes to respond. “I mean really, it’s good. The world is tough, and I think he gives you a bit of edge while also being able to protect that sweetness you have inside of you.”
“I can’t believe Butcher is getting married. I thought for sure he was asexual.”
“Nope, he’s just Bianca sexual.” I smirk. I have no idea if anyone knows that Fernando had never been with another woman before me, but that’s our secret, and I love the two of us having our own secrets.
“Clearly.” Carina snorts.
“He gave me a wedding present.” My sister looks at my hand. I don’t have a wedding ring. I hadn’t thought about that until now. I don’t need a ring, but I want Fernando to wear one. I’d love seeing my mark on him every day.
“What was this gift? Was it a human heart?” Carina teases. “Did he at least put it in a box and wrap it up?”
“No! Fernando would never give me someone else's heart. He’s rather jealous.”
“You don’t say,” both Carina and my sister say at the same time. The two of them have gotten close. I try not to let that bother me, but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t just a little. But it’s to be expected with Carina living in the same house sometimes. I can’t help but wonder where Fernando and I will go after the wedding. I suppose we could go all the way back to the cabin.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Angelica puts the hair iron down.
“Where will I go after I’m married?”
Angelica hesitates at my question. My stomach turns.
“Honestly, I was kind of hoping you’d stay. I mean, I get it if you guys want your own place. Maybe you could build nearby eventually, but this place is giant, and you can have a whole wing, and we’ll raise our babies together and—”
“Yes!” I cut off her rambling.
“Really?”
“Of course! It’s been hard not having you close.”