Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51889 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51889 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
I bent over the stove to light it. I had never cooked for myself before. All of this was new to me. Thankfully, Vice was patient and had taught me how to do the basics, including lighting the fancy gas stove.
Eventually, I hoped to be good enough to cook something for him.
The thought fo doing something so feminine and wifey for Vice warmed my heart as I reached up into the cabinet for a mug. I was lost in a daydream of domestic bliss as I started fishing around for the hot chocolate. I knew we had some… though Vice hadn’t made me any in a week or so. I felt the box on the top shelf, but instead of grasping it, I inadvertently pushed it further away. I stretched as far as I could, my prize being just out of reach. I felt the familiar pang over my lack of stature. I was what they commonly called ‘petite’ but I knew it was just a nice way of saying ‘short’.
If I was taller, maybe I would have been able to protect myself. But that would have meant I didn’t need Vice. And I liked needing him.
Besides, I wasn’t taller. I wasn’t meaner. I wasn’t the sort of person with the aggression or ambition necessary to participate in the family business, let alone run it.
I was on my tippy toes when I heard Vice come into the room and curse. I turned to look at him over my shoulder, my arm still raised, my toes still carrying the majority of my weight. I blinked at the intense look on his face.
His eyes were wide as he stared at me. Not at me. Or at least, not at my face. He was staring at my body.
I realized suddenly that the cabinet lights were on in the dark room, and that my nightie was damp and more than a little bit sheer. I was practically naked to his heated gaze. He didn’t even try to hide the look of lust on his face. He didn’t even try to disguise where he was looking. And looking. And looking. His eyes traced my body from head to toe and back again. He was taking his time giving me a thorough inspection as I stood there frozen in shock.
His eyes took in my legs. My bottom. The curve of my breast. Every inch of me was observed, clocked, and stored away in his brain.
And then he finally looked at my face. Our eyes locked. Mine panicked, his… hungry. He spoke.
“What the hell are you trying to do to me, Anastasia?”
His voice was rough. Angry. Vice was furious with me.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t lust in his eyes. Maybe it was disgust. I lowered my arm hastily and tried to cover myself.
“I was… I thought I would make some hot cocoa. But I couldn’t find the chocolate…”
He cursed and walked towards, staring down at me. I waited but he didn’t do anything. He just looked, inches away, not saying a word.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Vice
Was she trying to kill me? Or have me killed? It suddenly occurred to me that Anastasia was far, far more dangerous than her cousins.
She was dangerous to my peace of mind. Dangerous to my ability to think straight. Dangerous to retaining all of my body parts if I touched her before the wedding.
Never mind the fact that I knew my life would have no meaning for me without her.
Hell, she wasn’t just dangerous. The woman was perilous.
And right now she was tempting me beyond all reasoning. Just standing there, with her body barely covered… all her curves visible through her thin cotton nightie… I was beyond the point of return.
I could not touch her.
I would die if I touched her.
But I would die if I didn’t touch her.
“Are you trying to kill me, woman?” I growled before I gave in to the beast inside of me, the animal who would not be tamed. The wild cave man who took what he wanted and did not hesitate to think of the consequences.
My mouth crashed down on hers. I could taste the surprise on her lucious lips. I didn’t kiss her gently. I did not wait to tease her mouth open gently. My tongue drove between her lips, tasting, taking, and plundering without any thought to her innocence, to her murderous cousins, to her virginity.
All I thought of was my own hunger for her. Of the feeling of her against me. After wanting her for so long, I could not stop myself from taking what was right in front of me. The truth was, she had pushed too far. The thin thread of control had finally snapped, after being worn down for nearly a month of just being near her, unable to touch her or act on my base desires.