Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
He seemed to understand I wasn’t in the mood to talk shop, so he changed the subject. “What happened with Fleur? Did she run off again?”
“No.” I felt the smile creep on to my face, like an old friend that walked back into your life.
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “Why are you smiling like that?”
“Because I’m happy, asshole.” When times got tough, she’d stuck beside me. Any reasonable person would advise her to leave me, but she chose to be unreasonable and stay. Chose me the way I chose her from the moment I saw her. “I’m gonna marry her.”
The shock was quickly replaced by a look of horror. “I’m sorry, what the fuck did you just say?”
“Luca, you know what I said.”
“Bastien, you’ve known the girl for three months.”
“I’m aware.”
“You sound crazy right now. Crazier than usual.”
The smirk remained. “I know.”
“Look, I like Fleur and understand your fascination, but this is way too fast—”
“I didn’t say now, Luca.”
He didn’t even bother to hide his relief at that statement. “Oh Jesus…”
“Not now, but someday, she’ll be my wife. And when that day comes, I want you to tell her this story. How the two of us sat in this empty bar at three in the morning, and I told you she was the one.”
Chapter 11
Fleur
The man in black put a gun to Bastien’s head and pulled the trigger.
“Ahhh!” I ducked down behind the table and shook like an earthquake struck me.
He yanked the table off then grabbed me by the arm. “This bitch is mine now.”
“No!” I jerked up in bed and saw my dark bedroom, the curtains over the windows to shut out the light from the city. I panted as I sat against the headboard, my heart about to burst out of my chest. “Just a dream…just a dream.” I felt my own heartbeat to make sure this reality was the true one. Tears streaked from my eyes and down my cheeks. “Wasn’t real…”
I reached for my phone on the nightstand, and without thinking any of it through, I called Bastien. My mind was still in a haze, still asleep in many ways even though I felt wide awake. I knew I shouldn’t call him, but I did anyway.
It’d barely rung one time before he picked up. “Sweetheart?”
His voice was calm and strong like always, so he was alive and well.
When I didn’t say anything, he spoke again. “Talk to me, sweetheart.” There was more urgency to his voice now. “Are you okay?” Men’s voices were audible in the background like he was working, but he picked up for me anyway.
It took me a second to talk, like I was still suffering from sleep paralysis. “I’m okay… I had this dream… I don’t know why I called you.”
“You called me because I’m your man and you’re scared. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“It’s okay. You don’t need to do that—”
“I want to do that, sweetheart.” He hung up without saying goodbye.
I put the phone aside and continued to sit against the headboard, too terrified to go back to sleep, the images of the assault fresh in my mind. I could still smell the restaurant, could feel the cool tile against my hands as I kneeled on the floor behind the table. It’d been days since it happened, but it still felt like only a few hours ago.
I looked at the time on my phone. It was two thirty in the morning.
It took less than ten minutes for him to get there. I heard the front door open and close and then his heavy footsteps as he let himself into my apartment.
I turned on the lamp on my nightstand and saw him step into the bedroom. He pulled his long-sleeved shirt over his head and undressed, stepping out of his boots before removing his bottoms and crawling into bed with me.
He leaned against the headboard then enveloped me in his arms, blanketing me with the heat of a roaring fireplace. He dipped his head and pressed a kiss to the back of my head, one arm over my chest with the other across my stomach. The sheets were to my waist, so I was sealed in his warmth.
I hugged his arm and rested against his chest, his familiar scent helping me feel calm. I could feel his heartbeat against the back of my neck. He had no control over my subconscious, but just having him there made me feel safe, made me feel untouchable.
“Want to talk about it?”
“I had a nightmare…about what happened. They shot you and then came for me next.”
There was a pause. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ve never had a dream like that.”
“Nothing happened. Remember that.”
“I know, but…” It was the most terrifying moment of my life. It had only lasted a minute or two, but the fear and violence had a profound effect. Bastien had been outnumbered and caught unaware, and he still handled it.