Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
He goes down like a sack of potatoes, gasping for air as he scrabbles back from me on the floor.
An older man steps forward and lays his hand on Daniel’s shoulder, reaching down to help him to his feet and pulling him away from me. “I don’t know what is going on here, but we will not be attached to a family such as this. I knew something was wrong when they wanted to rush the ceremony.”
The pair of them head for the door, and a small group of other men and women follow quickly after them muttering and praying, then I turn to Selma’s father.
“Sir.” I do what I can to remain respectful to her father, but it’s a challenge. “I’m not here to argue. Or fight, but Selma and I are—”
“You’re not welcome here, get out of my house!”
I take a deep breath. “I know this is unexpected, but I’m an honorable man. I love Selma. Isn’t that what God is all about? Love?”
He laughs. “Honorable? You come in here and attack her fiancé, and somehow you think you’re the honorable one? Leave my daughter alone. You have no right—”
“Don’t you think we should ask Selma what she wants?” I feel the heat rise to my face. He might be Selma’s father, but I’m quickly losing my cool. “She’s old enough to make up her own mind.”
“I want to go with Ash,” she says without pausing for breath, and the tone of her voice tells me Anastasia Snow is being let out to handle this one. “I’m going with Ash.”
“I’m going to marry your daughter,” I say suddenly, no longer willing to keep it back. “With or without your blessing, we’re going to be together. So, you can either get on board with that or carry on hating me, but it’s happening either way. I’m going to give her everything, whatever she wants she’ll have. I love her more than anything else in this world, and that’s something that any God would approve of.”
Selma looks up into my face, her eyes wide. “Is that true?”
“Yes, baby. All of it. We’re going to be together forever.”
Her father scoffs. “Giving her everything. Calling her ‘baby’ like she’s some common street—”
I shoot him a look, and he falls silent. Which is lucky for him, because if he’d said the word he was about to say he would be lying on the floor in a heap right now.
“Come on, baby, we’re leaving.” I wrap an arm around her back and guide her to the front door.
“What about my things? Papa took my necklace.” Her eyes fill with tears.
“We’ll get you more things, Selma. Anything you want, you just have to say.”
“SELMA IS SITTING NEXT to me in the back of the car, and I can tell she’s nervous about something. It’s been a hell of a few days, but I want her to always be able to talk to me about anything.
“Talk to me, baby.” It turns my stomach thinking she’d feel she had to keep anything from me. “Tell me what you are thinking about right now.”
She presses her lips together then says, “I read an article in a magazine...never mind. It’s nothing.”
“Baby, whatever you need to say, just say it. I’ll never hurt you, Selma. I’d never let anyone, or anything hurt you. I’d die first.”
She nods and takes a breath. “It said that you hate religion. That you think religious people are idiots who can’t think for themselves. I may not be as devout as my father, but I still believe...”
I sigh. “I read that article, Selma. It wasn’t honest, but there’s apparently nothing I can do about it. I did say the words they quoted, but they were taken out of context, and the commentary from the article writer is all down to them. I don’t hate religion, and I don’t think people who believe in God are stupid. All I said was that many of the big religious institutions these days are, simply put, businesses. Money is their God. I’ve seen people taken in by those pretending to be holy. They’re more about the bottom line that being pious. The big churches, the big religions, they should be taxed like any other business.” I take her hand and kiss it. “I have nothing but respect for people who follow a religion of their own free will. If it brings you comfort, then I’m all for it.”
“Really?” Her eyes light up, and I nod.
“Really.”
“So you promise if I do something you don’t like, you’re not going to lock me in my room?” Her frown turns to a tentative smile.
Her hand comes over to rest on my thigh, then pushes up and grips the length of my painful erection.
“I don’t know.” I shift lower in the seat, my hands going to my belt. “Bad girls have to be punished sometimes.”