Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 108119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
I looked away.
He gripped my chin. “Don’t, Alice. Don’t look away when I give you a compliment. Your blush is everything. It reminds me that this…” He pressed a hand to my chest. “…is beating, is pumping blood throughout your body. Your blush is a gift, it’s a reminder you’re alive. I need that, possibly more than you could ever imagine.”
I pressed my hand against his as my heart raced. “Do your friends know that you’re romantic?”
“I’m not romantic.” He squeezed my hand. “I was merely being honest.”
Well then!
“Okay.”
He turned and draped an arm around my shoulders. “Rumor has it, your brother’s going to come again tonight.”
I stiffened. “Why are we going out there, then?”
“To put on a fucking show.” He said through clenched teeth. “And then, I’m going to make sure he never sees daylight again. Tonight, we celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
“I’m bringing him down. Should I give you his head as a gift? His eyes?”
I gulped. “No. His life is enough.”
“No.” He his jaw flexed. “It’s not.”
I didn’t argue with him. I could feel the anger roll in chaotic waves off his body as we walked down the hall again and made our way into the main VIP area. People were dancing, drinking, the music was pumping and most of the women who were with the men, getting paid for their services, were still sober, still laughing, enjoying themselves until they were once again forced to stand in that horrible place and get sold off to the highest bidder.
“Andrei?”
“Hmmm.” He led me past one of the couples making out on the black leather couch. “Do they all get sold? Eventually?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Some are sold, some make too much money to sell and prefer to make this their home, and others don’t stand a chance.”
“What do you mean they don’t stand a chance?”
He stopped walking and stared straight ahead. “They’re the fighters that don’t give in, the women who won’t sell their bodies for the sake of their soul. They are the ones I try to save.”
“You can’t save them all…”
“One day, I will,” he rasped. “One day, I’ll raze the walls of this place and never look back.”
Andrei Petrov didn’t make empty promises.
So, when he said he would never look back.
I believed him.
Ax suddenly appeared in front of us. “They’re here.”
“Good.” Nervous energy pulsed from Andrei’s body. “Call the guys, make sure we have security at every exit, make sure he doesn’t drink too much, water down the liquor in his drinks so he feels everything.”
“Yes, boss.” Ax winked at me and then pulled out his cell and started firing off instructions as he walked off.
“Here.” Andrei pulled out a barstool for me. We were still in the VIP area but not on the couches like last time. He held up two fingers.
Two shots of vodka were poured.
He held his up and smirked. “You ready for your revenge?”
“Will it make me feel better?” I took the shot and clinked it against his glass.
“Absolutely not.” He threw the shot glass back and slammed it on the table. “But it will make me feel better knowing he’s no longer here to claim you, to touch you, to think about you when he has no right to invite you into his thoughts. You’re mine. Mine.”
“Yes.” I leaned toward him.
He gripped my chin with his thumb and forefinger holding me there like he was memorizing every plane of my face, and then he tilted his head and pressed a kiss to my neck. I felt his teeth graze my skin as I gripped the side of the bar table, and then he kicked my legs open, shoving his knee between them. I let out a shocked exhale at the contact of his knee so close to my center, so invasive and public
And then the corners of his mouth tilted up into a smile. “Wanna play?”
I looked from him to the shot glass and held it up. “I may need one more of these.”
“That intimidated?”
“Why, yes…” I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his parted lips. “The great Andrei Petrov just asked if I wanted to play…”
Heat surged between our mouths as he deepened the kiss, tugging at my hair with his right hand.
Magically, two more shot glasses appeared.
And as we clinked them together, he winked. “At least we both win.”
I let out a laugh and took the shot just about the same time a shadow cast over us. No, not just one shadow. Two.
I knew it was my brother before I even looked up.
“Well,” The word sounded funny with a piece of his tongue missing. “You wasted no time.”
I gripped Andrei’s thigh. “I don’t understand.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” he spat.
I almost stood.
Andrei’s expression was calm. “You’re in my club again. See something you like?”
“We both know this should be mine. It belongs to the De Lange family as much as the Petrov’s!”