Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Danny went willingly, but he didn’t leave before giving her a final glare. It was a warning. One Leah knew she needed to be ready for. Danny blamed her. The man was such a child he couldn’t accept responsibility for his own fuckups.
“You’re going to make an enemy of him,” Leah said, turning toward Cain.
“My son is already my enemy. The problem is, he is too sloppy. He doesn’t like working hard and refuses to put in the necessary work to get the job done. Are you ready?” Cain asked.
She looked at him and then glanced down at her dress. “Are you for real with this dress?” she asked.
“There is nothing wrong with your dress.”
Leah couldn’t help but laugh. “What happened to it? Did it shrink in the wash or, I don’t know, just like failed to be complete?”
“You look stunning,” Cain said.
She tried not to let his words get to her. He was the first man to ever call her beautiful. She rolled her eyes, and in response he gave her a wink. She would not let it affect her.
“Are you ready, or would you like to complain about my other choices?” he asked.
“This was not a complaint, but an observation. I was not complaining.”
He frowned as he stared at her.
“What?” she asked. “What is it?” She repeated her question as he continued to stare at her without an answer.
“There is something missing.” He reached into his jacket pocket and then held up a diamond necklace. It was stunning and seemed to glimmer within the lights.
“I can’t wear that.”
“You are, as it is going to complete the look. Trust me. You’re going to love it.”
There her heart went again, pulsing within her chest as he urged her to come forward. She took the last few steps down and then turned, lifting her hair to give him access to her neck.
This is fine. He’s just putting a necklace on your neck. It is not a big deal. Just a necklace.
She knew she shouldn’t care about how good it felt when the backs of his fingers brushed against her neck. Maybe she was so devoid of human touching that she was gravitating toward Cain. It wasn’t like her history was filled with lots of hugs and cuddles. It was filled with anything but.
The necklace lay against her neck, and she dropped her hair and turned toward him.
“Stunning,” he said. “Now you look like you’re ready to go to the ball.”
She wasn’t ready, but she didn’t put up any argument. Cain presented his arm to her, and they left his home together. There was already a limousine waiting.
Leah had to keep reminding herself she’d been to plenty of these events in the past few months. This one was no different, and yet, it felt like it was.
****
Cain looked around at the charity event. Leah hadn’t said a word since she read what the charity was for, but he saw it was pissing her off.
Men and women were in groups, some discussing other business affairs. Others were talking about how hard it was for children within the foster care system. He tried to keep Leah away from those groups as he knew she could only take so much before she gave up.
“Do you enjoy coming to these events?” Leah asked as he took some champagne from a passing waiter.
“No.”
“Why do you do it?” she asked.
She didn’t take a sip of her drink. He’d noticed she never drank. In fact, if she wasn’t aware of what the drink was, and it was alcoholic, she left it. There was no water, and he knew from experience she hated sparkling water.
“Business,” Cain said.
“There must be another reason. I’ve watched you conduct business multiple times and not once have I seen you do something you very clearly hate as much as this.” She glanced around the dining room.
He’d already noticed a lot of men were admiring her. The moment their gazes caught his and they realized who she belonged to, they averted their eyes. He knew what they were all thinking. They were imagining her naked, wrapped around them, wondering if her cunt would feel just as good on their cocks as her mouth probably would.
He would kill anyone who dared attempt to get close to her. Fucking destroy them. No man was having her.
He’d seen the way his son looked at her tonight, and knew he’d have no choice but to be on guard. Danny blamed Leah for all his troubles because it was easier for him to do so. The little shit didn’t even realize he was the main cause of all his problems.
He took a sip of the champagne and wasn’t interested with the taste.
Several couples had already made their way onto the dance floor and were moving together.
“This is why you had to teach me how to dance?” Leah asked.