Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
“I don’t know if that’s true. Maybe you were hoping she would pick some squeaky-clean golf-playing finance prick. Because you knew I would just turn into a killing machine for you. The last of my conscience would be gone and I’d be twice as ruthless.”
“You can’t get any more ruthless than you already are.”
“Take her away from me, Karson, and watch me prove you wrong.” He looks at the door, his fingers flexing. As if he is restraining himself from returning to her. After a single minute of being in this office. “There has been a…development.”
“Something besides you taking Magnolia’s virginity?”
He swallows a moan, goddamn him. “Yes.”
“I’m waiting. Don’t drag it out.”
Very slowly, he lifts his eyes to mine and alarm digs its way beneath my skin. “She ran away this afternoon after she and I…fought. Climbed out of her window—and met the agent who has been watching the house.”
The bourbon I drank turns to acid in my stomach. “And?”
“And…” He launches to his feet, plowing five fingers through his hair and beginning to pace. “And she knows him from her time in foster care. He’s…Jesus, I think he’s as obsessed with her as I am. He’s been looking for her for years. Mateo is his name, but she calls him Matty.”
Impatience claws at me. “What. Happened.”
“They…” His chest dips and rises. “He went down on her. Blew his wad all over her perfect face.” Am I imagining it? Or is he…turned on by what he’s just told me? Am I? My balls are certainly rock hard, my dick starting to tingle ominously at the image he painted. “All of that happened before she realized he was a Fed. That’s when she ran away. Back to the house. When she climbed in through the window, she fell and hit her head. Lost a lot of blood—”
“Jesus Christ.” I drop the crystal decanter knob, an object lodging in my throat. “Is she okay? Does she need a doctor?”
“No.” He hesitates. “This is where shit it going to start sounding crazy.”
I’m still thinking of that bright girl in pain, in need of her guardian. And where was I? Making deals with demons. Dammit. “I’m waiting, Pace.”
“A woman named Maura healed her…but she cursed her at the same time. An exchange for saving her life. And now…”
“Out with it.”
“Now she’s insatiable. In bed. She’s begging to be fucked. But she can’t achieve…pleasure. She’s in pain, Karson. Nothing we do makes her come.”
The back of my neck tightens like a bolt. “Who the fuck is we?”
Another brief hesitation. “Me and Mateo.”
“The FBI agent?” My voice has turned icy, a lot like my blood. “He’s in this house?”
“Believe me when I tell you he’s more here for Magnolia than to incriminate you, but yes. His arrival was unannounced and…inconvenient.” He pauses. “At first.”
“You’ve both fucked her? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Lust flickers in his eyes, surprising me. “Yes. We both fucked her. So hard. She’s…”
“She’s what?”
“She a miracle.” He’s breathing accelerates. “I should be arrested for how rough I banged that little virgin, but she only whined for it harder. You wouldn’t believe the way she wraps around your dick and squeezes—”
“That’s enough!” I shout, slamming my fist down on the edge of my desk, hoping the pain will stop my cock from swelling. I have no business getting worked up like this. Especially not over thoughts of two grown men pounding away at that sweet, ripe girl. It’s sick. It’s depraved. And it’s not what I wanted for her. Not to mention, this entire explanation is fucking preposterous. “You really expect me to believe some bullshit about a curse? You messed up. Don’t try and explain it away with a fairytale.”
“I’m not bullshitting you, Karson,” he growls, taking two lunging steps in my direction. “If I didn’t experience all of this, I’d never believe it, either. But I’m telling you, she’s been cursed and we don’t know how to break it. And every second that passes without relief is torture for her. Banish me, punish me, kill me if you must…but I need her pain taken away.”
Now, I’m pacing. Is it possible he’s telling me the truth? Pace isn’t a liar.
Not to mention, a curse of this nature isn’t something even the most imaginative person would make up. Not unless they were fucked up in the head.
“Where is the FBI agent now?” I open my desk drawer and remove my Glock, checking the clip to make sure it’s fully loaded. “He’s entered my home. As far as I’m concerned, he’s fair game, so I hope she hasn’t gotten too attached to him.”
“He went to find Maura. The women who cursed Magnolia.”
As if on cue, there’s a firm knock on the door.
Pace and I exchange a look. I slowly tuck my gun into the rear waistband of my pants.