Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 41073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
“How? What? No!” She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. He didn’t like the tension within her body, so he stepped back. The door to his office had already been shut, and there would be no escape.
“I … I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m a good person. Just let me go. I promise I won’t tell anyone. I just want to go home.”
She wanted to go home and he couldn’t allow that to happen.
“You know, it’s good to be kind, but when you show that kindness to someone who is only used to pain and misery, well, it makes people aware of you, Grace.”
“You did all of this, didn’t you?” she asked.
Rather than answer, he went to his drinks table, pouring them both a shot of whiskey. Picking up her glass, he moved toward her. “Have a drink?”
“I don’t drink.”
He raised a brow.
“I don’t.”
“Then humor me. This is going to help you to relax.”
She took the shot glass from him, downed the shot, and then coughed, pressing a hand to her chest.
“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked.
“I want to leave.”
“Not happening. You see, Grace, I want to fuck you, and that is going to be your price.”
“You’re crazy. I would never do something like that.”
“Not even for your freedom?”
She opened her mouth, closed it, and he saw her trying to decide. Her face an open book, so easy to read.
“I just have to … sleep with you?” she asked.
“No. You have to fuck me, Grace, and before you start wondering, this wouldn’t be a one-time deal.”
“But you just said—”
He lifted a finger and shook it left to right. “No, I didn’t say fucking me once would be enough. For one year, you’ll belong to me, no questions asked.”
“A year? You’ve got to be crazy. I’ve got my job. My apartment.”
“All of them are gone.”
“What!” She shook her head. “No, that’s not possible. No. I … no.”
“Yes, yes, and yes. I can do and have whatever I want, Grace. No price is too high.”
“Why would I even agree to this? You’ve taken everything.”
“Not yet, but how about this? Give me everything I ask for, and in return, I’ll give you your life back. You can go right back to work, your apartment, and a small fortune. All you have to do is keep everything you’ve seen to yourself. The moment you think of telling a single soul, I’ll kill everyone and everything you love, making you watch before I take your life.”
He put his glass down. “And to help you decide, think of this.” To finish his pitch, he sank his fingers into her hair, tilted her head back, and claimed her lips in a kiss he’d been craving since the moment he’d seen her.
He’d been fucking exhausted after spending over twenty-four hours awake, handling some delicate business, mainly his sister’s death. James hadn’t been with him for long, but one look at Grace, and he’d fucking wanted her, craved her, and now, he wasn’t going to let her go until he had his fill.
Chapter Two
This couldn’t be happening to her.
Grace didn’t think it was possible to feel this way.
She stared at her reflection the day after, and she was sure her lips were still swollen from his kiss.
“It’s stupid,” she said.
The moment he’d broken the kiss, she’d made her escape upstairs and hadn’t returned. Glancing at the time, she saw it was before six in the morning. James wouldn’t even be waking up yet.
Still in her pajamas, she had to go and see him, to try to make sense of what was happening to her. This was crazy. She knew it was. She left her bedroom and walked down the hall, going straight to James’s bedroom, only to come to a stop outside.
The door was already open, and she looked inside to see Caleb there. He sat in the chair, staring at the boy.
She frowned as she watched him.
She’d seen Caleb on only a few occasions, last night’s meeting being the longest of their exchange, but he’d always looked angry, apart from when he kissed her. He’d looked different then. Now, he looked … sad. No, not sad, in pain. She recognized the feeling. When the police had come to her parents’ home to tell her the news, she’d felt it then. There was nothing like hearing the news about the deaths of loved ones. No one ever recovered from that, at least, she hadn’t.
Even now, she felt the pain.
Rather than be angry at Caleb, all she wanted to do was comfort him. She took a step back and wanted to slap herself. She stopped and then moved back to watch him. There was real pain there.
This man was nothing more than a stranger to her, and yet, he’d taken her from her own life and had given her this ultimatum.