Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
He gets in behind the wheel. “I’m not kidnapping you,” he growls at me. “I’m saving your stupid life.”
“Oh, stupid? You think I didn’t know the risk? Amy wasn’t answering her phone and you said my family’s going to be a target!”
“I also told you not to leave the apartment.” He drives, going faster than he should. “There’s more at stake than my pride at being disobeyed. If Burian saw you leave my place, or if he caught you wandering around somewhere you shouldn’t be, he’ll figure it out.”
I hesitate. Then I shake my head. “Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“Burian doesn’t know you’re involved yet. He’s not watching your apartment. And it wouldn’t be weird at all if I went over to Amy’s place. I’m calling bullshit.”
His jaw works. He clearly does not like that I’m questioning his logic. “Sometimes I think you’re doing this on purpose. Like you wake up in the morning and ask yourself, how can I piss off Lanzo the most today?”
“Oh, get over yourself. I was checking on my cousin to make sure your mess didn’t spill over onto her.”
“How noble. If things had gone differently, you could’ve led Burian right to her doorstep.”
“Are you just some kind of control freak? Are all these rules because you want to keep me locked up in your apartment?” I know I’m poking the bear, but I can’t help myself.
His expression darkens further. “You know damn well these rules are for your protection.”
“I think you’re just selfish. You want to keep me tied up.”
“Is that what you want, lovely Ren?” His grip on the steering wheel tightens. “You want me to tie you up?”
“No, that’s what—”
“You want me to cover your mouth while I fuck you from behind?” His voice comes out low and rough. I lick my lips, unable to help myself. “How about I handcuff your wrists behind your back and fuck your mouth like a toy? I can take what I really want if you’re going to pretend as though I’m some power-hungry monster either way.”
We park in the garage under his building. He turns, facing me, expression lost in the shadows.
“I have to be able to check on my friends,” I say quietly, head feeling light from his filthy talk. I hate the way I let him get to me. “You have to understand that.”
“And you need to understand something.” He moves closer, reaching out to touch my cheek. I turn away, but he grabs my hair instead. I gasp as he pulls me toward him. “This isn’t some cute game we’re playing. People are dying. You might get hurt, and I don’t know if I could live with myself if that happened.”
“Why?” I whisper, turning to look into his eyes, his grip still in my hair. Pulling tight enough to keep me in place, but not enough to hurt.
“You know why.” He gazes at me, looking hard.
“Tell me. Don’t shut down.”
“I care about you.”
I lick my lips again. “Is that why you liked it when I called you my boyfriend back at Amy’s place?”
He nods slowly, leans forward, and kisses my neck. “Yes.”
“Is that why you’re always staring at me?”
“Yes.”
“And why you have these rules?”
“Yes,” he purrs, biting my earlobe. “What more do you want from me?”
“I don’t know,” I admit, nipples stiffening, pulse racing between my legs. My chest glows with a bright joy I didn’t think I could feel anymore. “I don’t understand what we’re doing anymore. If it’s the job, or if it’s something else.”
“It’s the job,” he says.
Disappointment hits me. Why do I care though? I’m in this for the money, always have been. But sometime between our first kiss and now, I’ve been feeling something. I haven’t named it, haven’t examined it, only let it blossom. Now, I’m afraid it’s going to be trampled in the dirt.
Instead, his lips brush mine.
“And it’s more than that,” he whispers.
I kiss him. I can’t help myself. He returns the kiss then pulls my hair, yanking me back. I gasp in pain.
“Greedy,” he chides.
“Asshole,” I snap back, but my hands are still on his chest, fingers digging into his muscles.
“You still need to be punished. I was thinking a spanking would do.”
I bark a little wild laugh. “I bet.”
“A spanking, and I’m going to fuck your tight little ass until you scream.”
I gasp in shock as he shoves open the door, releasing my hair. He stalks to the elevator, pausing only for a moment to look back over my shoulder. His expression beckons me and makes a bleak promise: follow, and he will do exactly what he says he’s going to do.
I unbuckle my seatbelt as fast as I can, feeling both terrified and elated, and hurry after him.
Chapter 24
Renata
His palm comes down hard on my bare skin, spanking me rough. “There you go,” he murmurs when I moan, wiggling my hips in the air.