Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Real love.
“Don’t talk about him like that.” I want to be strong, but try as I might, the words come out with a snivel.
He bursts into raucous laughter. “Oh, excuse me, and apologies to you and the great Harker Jameson. I’m so sorry to have overstepped my bounds,” he snarls the sarcastic statement. “Christ, I knew you weren’t destined for greatness, but I didn’t realize you’d fallen so far from the apple tree. What? Is it because Daddy didn’t give you enough hugs as a—”
“What the fuck did I say to you?” Harker’s voice comes from behind him.
Father’s devious grin immediately disappears behind a look of shock and wide-eyed terror. “You’re back? So soon?”
Before Father can turn around to face Harker, his head flies forward in front of me and connects with the bar counter. That’s when I see Harker’s hand latching onto his crown, and my man hovering over his body.
“You’re going to apologize, and you’re going to do it sincerely,” Harker growls.
“Like fuck I am.” Father’s words are barely audible with his face pinned against the wood. Harker releases his head, and Father turns around to meet him. From an initial inspection, he doesn’t seem to have sustained any serious injury. “You should be the one groveling on your knees. You stole my daughter from me.”
I should be torn between the two men in this fight, but I’m not. My body, mind, and spirit stand behind Harker. It’s too little, too late from my father. He chose his side the moment he decided to ship me off because he finally got his son.
“You never cared about me,” I say. I didn’t have the strength to speak up when I was alone, but with Harker here, strength radiates through my body. “Harker didn’t steal me. He brought me here to show me love and affection.”
“This piece of shit?” His head snaps between me and Harker. “All he does is sit around this dilapidated piece of shit and kill people.”
“If you’re after the shock factor to scare Penelope into submission, she already knows all that.” Harker removes his jacket and starts rolling up his sleeves. “Like I said earlier, she’s under my roof now, and I won’t keep secrets from her.”
“What’s this?” Father waves a hand up and down Harker. “You’re going to fight me now? I’ll kick your ass, son. Don’t even tr—”
Harker throws a single punch, and it connects with Father’s jaw. Unlike the first attack, this one does actual damage. Father collapses to the ground and stares up at Harker.
The boxing match has started inside the ring, but with our commotion, more eyes are on Harker and my father than the fight itself.
“You’re going to apologize to Penelope and you’re going to do it now,” Harker snarls.
“Fuck you.” Father spits a mouthful of blood onto Harker’s pants.
Another vicious swing connects and instantly makes the skin around Father’s eye puff up.
It wouldn’t have mattered who Harker was beating, I’d have felt the same way. Watching him fight—or in this case, pummel someone—is already enough to melt my heart and soak my panties. But knowing that he’s doing it because my honor and pride have been attacked makes me want to throw myself at him.
Fuck, if my father wasn’t cowering on the floor, I’d have stripped naked and let Harker have his way with me over across the bar. To hell with anyone who’d see. Harker Jameson is the only person I care to please.
“Okay, fuck,” Father shakes his head to try and come back from his daze. But even as he looks up at me, I can see his eyes are still glazed over. “Penelope, I’m sorry. I’ve been a piss poor father, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you in my own special way.”
“Good boy,” Harker says and grabs him by the collar of his white coat. He hoists him to his feet and drags him toward the line of people who can’t get enough of what they’re seeing. “Now, I’m not going to let you poison her mind with your forked tongue. If you loved her, you should have shown it to her sooner.”
“No, wait, I’m not finished,” Father tries, but Harker gives him a hard thrust and he collapses back into the crowd. They start hooting and cheering while he walks back to me.
“Are you okay, my queen?” Harker snakes a hand around my shoulders and cups the back of my neck.
“I’m more than okay,” I say, but a loud gulp follows it up. He does something to me that I can’t quite explain. Maybe it’s his golden eyes or his exquisite frame. No, it’s how he treats me like an equal and shows me compassion and support that send my primal, base instincts into overdrive.
I throw my arms around his shoulders and kiss him. I latch onto him, close my eyes, and drift away in the tense embrace. Our lips lock, tongues meet, and it doesn’t take long for his thick girth to poke against my belly.