Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
“Belle!” I shout, racing through traffic to the park across the street. I’m nearly clipped by a truck and am vaguely aware of the driver shouting curses at me as I leap the low stonewall and land in the grass on the other side. “Belle, come out! I know you’re here!”
My voice echoes through the night, bouncing off trees, falling into silence. She must be here. She wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble to just catch a ride back to her parents’ house or–God forbid–the manor.
I call her name again and start feeling dizzy when there’s no response. I press my palm against the trunk of a tree to steady myself and remain upright. My head aches, as though a pressure is growing and my skull is about to burst like Belle’s little trick bomb. I hear the steps of random people walking down the street behind me. Someone even calls out to me, asking me if I’m okay. I rudely wave him away before falling to one knee.
“Belle…”
My phone vibrates again, and I snatch it from my pocket, my hands shaking as I unlock it and see a picture message from Belle: a grainy zoom-shot of me, here in the park, my right knee pressed into the wet grass.
It’s like a spear of electricity straight to my heart, and I look up to see a vague flicker of moss green vanishing back into the shadows. Belle’s yoga pants.
Instantly, I’m on my feet and running, driven by pure adrenaline. I catch up to her in seconds, snatch her up in my arms, and press her up against the trunk of a tree. For a brief moment, her blue eyes threaten to devour me with their beauty. I simply cannot control myself and go in for the kiss.
I’m met with a fierce knee to the balls, which causes me to double over. But I tighten my grip on her and raise myself up to see her scowling at me. If looks could kill, I’d be a dead man.
“It was you! There was no real bomb threat! This whole time it was you!”
With one hand, I pin her arms behind her back. Using the other, I snatch a handful of her hair as I press my body against her, pinning her to the tree. I can feel her nipples through her T-shirt, hard like little gum drops on her perky tits. She may be mad, but she’s also excited, like the horny little minx she is.
“Where are my men!? The ones I assigned to guard your room!?”
“Oh, them?” Belle laughs devilishly. “I made up a story about how you had found the man who made the threat and had him in custody at the manor.”
I can feel enamel scraping off my teeth as I grit them together in anger. “They are so fucking done after this.”
“That’s what you’re worried about right now? Not the fact that I’ve found you out! You’re the one who made the bomb threat!”
“I couldn’t let you marry him, Belle!” I snarl, my cock hard as I grind against her. My lust is painfully overwhelming. “You know I couldn’t, angel.”
“You stalked me!” She squeals as I press my nose to her neck, inhaling her scent that I’ve been deprived of for too long. “A pillowcase, Conrad? What did you do? Break into my bedroom when I was gone?”
I kiss her just below her ear, feeling her body tremble against mine. “Yes. Sometimes when you were there too. I couldn’t stand just watching you from afar.”
She gasps and tries to knee me again, but I twist and press into her with more force. She feels my arousal now.
“That’s insane!” she hisses. “You’re a stalker, Conrad! You’re dangerous!”
“It’s my job to be dangerous!” I snap. “But never with you, angel. Never. My only purpose in life is to keep you safe.”
“And lie to me, right? Trick me into giving you my virginity by saying you were preparing me for my husband? I can’t believe I fell for that!”
I lessen my grip on her. She’s struggling less now. “Come on, Belle. Let’s both be honest. I didn’t trick you! You wanted me. You don’t want Fitch. You never wanted him!”
Her left eyebrow raises. Her eyes twinkle in a way that causes me to tense up. “Oh, yeah? Do you know I called him?”
The world freezes around me. My muscles go tight. Something close to fear grips me. “You did not…Please, Belle, tell me you didn’t call Fitch.”
Her muscles relax more, and a devilish smiles twists over her plump, shiny lips. She nods, and my heart sinks. Has she played me again? Has this chase been just one long punishment, and now she’s about to drive the dagger home?
It can’t be.
Belle loves me. I know she does.
“I did, Conrad. I called Fitch,” she whispers, causing me to deflate, loosen my grip on her. My face falls from hers, and I press my forehead against the cold bark of the tree, beads of sweat dripping from my forehead. It’s over.