Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
That would be fun.
Bet he’d look good in orange.
Enough about him. Back to my quest.
My path soon leads to an open room.
Dungeon.
There is no way to sugarcoat it.
This exploration will not bode well for me.
The walls are made of cold concrete, and in the corner, there are actual metal bars to hold someone.
Hell.
This is what I imagine hell looks like.
“What do we have here?” The voice comes from behind me. My breath comes out in a short gasp as I whirl around and am met with a shadow creeping out from behind the darkness.
It’s the guard.
The one from the pool deck. The one who I saw in the hallway.
I take a step back, trying to distance myself from him.
“Looks like you made a wrong turn.” He moves closer.
There is something sinister in his tone; he was the guard that corned the maid.
I remember seeing fear in her eyes. My heart starts pounding faster in my chest, squeezing and crushing until I can hardly breathe.
They’re bad men.
Before I can think better of it, I take off past him, running back down the corridor, tripping, and falling forward.
Pain radiates down my leg. It feels like someone tore through me with a jagged knife.
Shit. That hurts.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, large hands grab me under my arms and lift me.
“Get off me!” My hands turn into fists, and I start to hit.
“Shh, it’s only me, firefly.”
The fight leaves my body. It’s only Gideon, and as much as I should fear him, at this moment, I don’t. He won’t hurt me.
But the guard…
I shiver.
“Are you okay?” His voice sounds velvety smooth yet edged in steel.
“I fell,” I respond matter-of-factly. Now that I know I’m safe, my fear has been replaced with a mix of embarrassment and anger.
“I see that, but what are you doing down here?”
I bite my lip, trying to think of a plausible answer. I can’t come right out and say I was trying to escape. “You said I had free rein.”
“That I did, but I didn’t think you would come here.”
“And where is here? Is that your dungeon? Is this where you keep your prisoners?” There’s a bite to my words, but he doesn’t acknowledge my comment. Rather, he places me on the ground, towering over me.
Smart move, Sasha. Why don’t you piss off the ruthless drug dealer?
Not my finest hour.
His gaze is dark, and I can’t read it. “Are you hurt?”
“I think I’m okay.” To prove this point, I move, transferring my weight from one foot to the other. Unfortunately, I realize my mistake too late, because before I can stop myself, I’m hissing in pain.
“Let’s get you back up to your room and look at your leg.”
“Okay…”
Gideon sweeps me into his arms, and for a moment, I consider objecting, but my leg does hurt. I’m pretty sure I’m bleeding, so instead, I just allow him to carry me down the hall and up the two flights of stairs.
It feels like I’m floating.
The whole way up, I bury my head in his chest.
I shouldn’t.
I know I shouldn’t.
But my ego is bruised, and I’m too tired not to relax into him.
He smells delicious, but I refrain from inhaling. It’s already humiliating enough that he not only caught me lurking, but I also don’t need to add that to the growing list of things I have done today that I regret.
I should have just stayed in bed.
“I’ll be right back.” He places me down, and I nod as he leaves me alone with my thoughts.
Not a good thing if you ask me.
Now, without him here, I get to chastise myself.
I really am the biggest idiot ever. Who goes down a shady, dark path in an evil lair filled with criminals?
Me.
Apparently, that’s who.
Could this day get any worse?
A minute later, he returns. This time he’s carrying peroxide.
Great. Now he has to care for me too.
It’s not easy to hold on to hate when the dick is being so nice.
My hands are trembling as I brace myself for Gideon to clean out the cut. His touch is surprisingly gentle, but it’s the look in his eyes that is anything but.
They speak of need, lust, and desire.
I shiver.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just cold,” I mumble back, looking anywhere but at him. My gaze wanders around the room for something to focus on, because if I don’t, I might melt into a puddle as he takes care of me.
“Sorry about that.” His warm hands continue to touch me, and my breathing feels labored. Fingers run up my calf. My eyes flutter closed. His touch feels so good.
“Why were you running?” His voice is rough around the edges.
“I—”
“Tell me.” His deep baritone has me looking back up at him.
My hand drops to the hem of my shirt, twisting the material between my fingers. “I was scared.”
His brows knit together, two small lines forming between them. “Did someone scare you, firefly?”