Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
I whimper with arousal and anger. My tongue presses forward, rolling around his skin. I taste blood—did I actually break skin?
I suck gently, licking at the little tooth wound.
He groans. Our eyes are locked. It’s the most erotic moment of my life.
Then I bite him again.
“Fuck, baby,” he says, baring his teeth. This time, he releases my wrists with his other hand and slips his thumb from my mouth. He rubs the little wounds right below his knuckle. “That’s the little animal I know you’ve been hiding under that prissy exterior.”
“Let me go back to my room,” I say, licking my lips. I still taste his blood on my tongue.
“You have to understand, I’m a broken, fucked-up man. I don’t deserve a pretty little thing like you. There’s no pity in me anymore.” He grabs my hand and holds it tight. He pulls me close and leans down to speak softly in my ear. “Next time, try to bite it off. Otherwise, it’s not nearly painful enough.”
I shiver at the thought of next time—almost like he wants me to hurt him.
He drags me to the door and pushes it open. Panic threatens to overwhelm me. The evening is cool and comfortable, but I feel too exposed in my low-cut dress. My heels clack on the front stoop. Down at the street, Damian’s parked and waiting. He tips his cap at me, smiling.
“Wait,” I say, desperately searching for a way out. “Let’s make a deal.”
Tigran pauses at the top of the steps. “What deal?”
“The baby,” I say, latching onto the only thing I know for sure that he wants. “If you let me stay here, I’ll give you the baby.”
It’s only after the words leave my mouth that I understand what they mean.
Let you fuck me. Let you take my virginity.
Let you get me pregnant.
He stiffens. His shoulders tense. I feel him looking at me, and I want to melt into the concrete.
Or hide back under my covers and glide my fingers into my pussy while sucking my thumb and pretending it’s his.
“We’ll start tonight,” he says, his tone rough. “And the heads of the family will come here to meet you over the next few days.”
“I pick my own clothes.”
“All right. We have a deal then.” He turns to face me. His hand tightens in mine. There’s something horrible in his eyes—something dark and bleak. Like he knows this is going to be the death of us.
Then, with a terrible wrenching of metal and a chest-pounding rush of air, the car explodes.
I barely have time to react before Tigran grabs me against him and throws his body on top of mine. Fire streaks into the air and pieces of debris land nearby. He grunts once as glass scatters around us.
Car alarms blare, but they sound like they’re underwater. My ears are ringing desperately.
“Dasha,” Tigran says, pulling back. Blood streaks down his face. There’s a cut across his scalp, oozing along his skin. “Are you okay? Dasha?”
I’m dazed, but nothing hurts. “I’m fine,” I say and can barely hear myself. “What happened? Tigran, what happened?”
He pulls himself to his feet and looks back. Pain flashes across his face as he holds me tightly against him. Mourning and rage too, as his lips pull into a snarl.
“Damian,” I say, understanding. “He might be—”
“You’re all that matters,” Tigran yells, kicking the front door open and dragging me inside.
He barks orders as the house guards gather around him. Vito appears and guides me back up into my room. The old man checks me over carefully for wounds and sits with me for a little while as the sound of chaos unfolds outside.
My ears keep ringing.
And all I can feel is Tigran’s body protecting me, and all I can taste is his blood on my lips.
Chapter 10
Dasha
My ears are still ringing an hour later.
Men swarm the house. I hear them talking and stomping around. Over the chatter is Tigran’s rage-filled voice giving orders and cursing in Armenian. Vito comes to my room once to make sure I’m still okay and ask if I need anything.
Otherwise, I keep my door locked.
I can feel the shockwave of the explosion on my skin. I hear Tigran’s labored breathing as he protects me with his own body. His blood is still staining the dress. I had to strip it off, hands shaking and lips quivering, and I barely managed to pull on a sweatshirt and sweatpants before collapsing back on the couch.
This is my worst nightmare.
Maybe not the car bomb. But the death raining down around me. Like I’m a cursed totem or something. It happened once before, and now I’m terrified it’s going to happen again.
Damian’s gone. No way he survived that bomb. I didn’t know the driver very well, but he was nice to me. He had a good smile. And I could tell that Tigran cared about him.