Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“Rookie mistake,” I whispered. “Always go for distraction before you try to attack…”
She suddenly relaxed against my hands and then lifted her head, mouth parted, lips wet.
I leaned down and chuckled. “Good girl.” My head lowered more. “Always wait until the right moment.” Our breath tangled, and my lips rubbed against hers as I whispered, “Now.”
She freed a hand and slapped me across the face.
I welcomed the burn like fucking sunshine.
I let it spread across my skin.
I let my body embrace the moment of pain where you wonder if you’re actually experiencing pleasure instead. The confusion was my drug.
I groaned, ready to almost thank her for the reminder of where my place was, and it damn well wasn’t on her or in her bed.
Didn’t she know? Never invite the monsters in.
They might just get too comfortable and ask to stay.
And that’s when the monster lets his guard down.
That’s when things went to hell.
“Better,” I said as I slowly pulled away from her, going back to my guard spot on the floor.
It wasn’t lost on me that she would always be above me.
In every way.
And I would always return to the darkness.
To my hell.
To my home.
CHAPTER NINE
“If you have a lot of what people want and can’t get, then you can supply the demand and shovel in the dough.” —Lucky Luciano
Katya
I didn’t sleep the rest of the night; instead, I pretended to sleep and listened to his deep breathing. Even his exhale was annoyingly attractive. Too bad he had so much blood on his hands, too much blood to touch me. I wondered if he saw it too, when he looked down at his hands, did the scars remain from the lives he’d stolen? Or did the ones he saved, like mine, act as a cover to the amount of souls that he’d taken from this earth?
I swallowed slowly and tried to change positions in bed. I flipped to my back, then back to my side, facing him. He was out like a light, but I knew if I made even the slightest scream, he’d have a gun trained on either me or the door within seconds. He probably slept with his gun under his pillow and a knife hidden beneath his fluffy blankets.
I let out a deep exhale and stared at the wall; beneath me, I could see his body move from breathing. His back was so muscular and built. He was lean, built like a panther.
What am I even saying?
A panther?
Two days in the house, I’m already acting just as wild as the rest of the people who keep throwing guns and drinking wine like water.
He flipped onto his stomach.
I lifted the covers up to my face so just my eyes peeked out. There were some scars on his ribs, but other than that, nothing but smooth sinewy muscle attached to a long, capable torso.
I gulped. What was I even doing? Just watching him sleep? I had enough trauma; I didn’t need to add his darkness to mine and hope for light. That’s not how things worked.
At least not in my world. But he was a welcome distraction to everything around me, from Pace’s death to my new reality, to the danger that faced all of us, and to the fact that I was abandoned because I wasn’t useful.
I couldn’t even grade on a scale what was worse out of all of it, but I also didn’t want to spend my days feeling sorry for myself because I knew Pace would be disappointed in me.
Warrior.
Warriors live, and they fight.
Unless, said warrior, can’t sleep, and then they stare at assassins.
My skin felt hot and sticky as I kicked off the comforter and then the sheets and sighed again.
“You could always ask, you know,” Santino said in a gruff voice without opening his eyes. I want to crawl under my own bed and hide. How did he know I’d been watching him?
“What?” My heart slammed against my ribs. I didn’t sound the least bit innocent.
A dark chuckle escaped his lips. It was both alarming and a bit insulting. “If you have to ask, then maybe I read you wrong. Night, Katya.” He started to turn on his side. And for reasons I’ll never comprehend, I panicked.
“Wait!” I reached for him, then jerked back my hand. What was I doing?
“Yes?” He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes drinking me in, the corners of his mouth turned up in amusement.
I made up whatever I could so I didn’t sound dumb for keeping him from sleeping. I had no questions, not really… I mean, I just… I wanted to talk, or maybe I just wanted company, a warm body? Someone to lay down next to me, to keep me safe? I was losing it.
“Is the door locked?” I collapsed onto my back on the bed, squeezed my eyes shut, and then opened them. Was that really the best I could come up with?