Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
"I want a family with you. I want to look at your daughter and see your eyes and your pride and your love. I want a happy home, for both of us, so...I'll make one for us."
I tug one hand out of his crushing grip and press it low on her belly. "I could be pregnant right now. You didn't think it might be bad if my father got ahold of me again?" I would fucking die before I let him take a child of mine and do the same thing to them.
No, I’d kill him first.
He shrugs. "I won’t lie to you. I was being selfish. I was hoping you'd get pregnant and it would be further proof of our commitment to each other, for the world. So no one could doubt we're together. That you belong to me."
I let out a long shaky sigh. "Is that it? Any other big zingers you want to spring on me?”
He nods, "Oh, well...there's one more thing."
This time I glare, and swipe at my cheeks, wiping off the cold tears. "What? What else could you possibly be keeping from me? And by the way, after you tell me I’m going to fucking need that gun back."
He smiles like I’ve said something cute. I’ll show him fucking cute.
"I love you. I love you so much I can't even think around it. Everything I do, I do to protect you, to show you how I feel without the words. I love you, Elyse Arturo. So fucking much I'm afraid I'll crack under the pressure of it."
Well. Shit.
That’s not what I expected to hear. “Is that it?”
He nods, tilting to the side, like he’s waiting for my reaction.
I reach up and smack him hard across the cheek. It burns my palm, and I clutch my burning hand with the other. “That’s for trying to fucking kill me.”
It might make me stupid, but his honesty makes me love him more. Cupping his cheeks, I lean into his face and right before I press my lips to his I whisper, “I’m probably a fucking idiot for loving you as much as I do, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
CHAPTER 23
ELYSE
I’m so nervous I think I might throw up. There’s all this energy inside of me, and I don’t know what to do with it. I’ve spent the last hour pacing the study under Sebastian's watchful eye. I know why he’s watching me so cautiously. He’s afraid I’ll run. And I won’t lie—the idea is appealing to me right now.
I can't believe I agreed to this: a showdown with my father in what is now my home. Some part of me fears this place will be tainted the second he walks through the door, but the other part recognizes…this is a full-circle moment, filled with inevitability. He brought me here, planning to sell me, to discard me. Sebastian saved me, in the most twisted way imaginable.
And now I get to save myself and baptize this place…my home…anew. Banish every creeping memory of that time, and make it mine for the future I’m going to share with Sebastian.
"If you keep pacing you're going to wear yourself out," Sebastian scolds.
I shoot him a glare. "You aren't here, remember."
He gives me a lazy grin and reaches for my sweater on my next pass. I easily skirt out of reach, but it makes me smile and I guess that was his goal.
Slowly he coils himself back in the chair behind the desk, slumped down and looking very at home. Not like a businessman, but a bad boy waiting for his bad girl. Something I will never be.
I try not to think about that too hard. Not when neither of us are willing to give each other up. The thought settles me a little bit. He loves me as I am despite my enjoyment of following rules and walking on the right side of the hallway.
I check the clock on the mantle of the fireplace. Five minutes past midnight. He's late.
When I face Sebastian he shakes his head gently. "It doesn't mean anything, Little Prey. He might just be running late."
"What if he finds the open gate suspicious? I mean, when we texted him I did say I'd leave it open, and that security was light right now but he’s suspicious of everything. Do you think he suspects it’s a trap?"
Sebastian shoves the chair back and stands, a fluid movement leading to the short, sharp motions of him straightening his shirt cuffs. "No. He thinks we’re dumb, and he underestimates us, which is the worst thing you can do when facing your enemies. Never underestimate the enemy. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s excited to get the money, bring you home, and stick it to me that he won. We're going to show him how very wrong he's been about you, us, and this entire situation."