Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
I’ve got Ember alone, I’m masked up, and I have a detailed recollection of every single one of her damn fantasies.
Maybe there is a god.
She doesn’t know I’ve cataloged an entire list of every fucking fantasy she’s ever posted online… and I have every intention of fulfilling these fantasies.
I’m holding back. Now isn’t the time. She’s got something to tell me, and I have to be patient.
I want to kiss her again.
I want to pin her up against this wall and claim her mouth. I want her to scream and fight me, clawing at my chest, unable to push me away until she finally melts into the kiss.
But right now, I’m focused on the fact that Ember takes risks she shouldn’t, that she lives on the edge of danger, and the fact that literally anyone could take advantage of her in this alleyway.
My hands clench into fists.
“Why don’t you—” The words freeze on her lips when she looks at me. “You’re masked. I can’t read your facial expressions, and yet I can tell you want to break something. What the hell?”
“What gave it away? Was it the clenched fists?”
“No,” she says thoughtfully. With her arms crossed over her chest in an effort to self-protect, she looks little. Scared. “I think it’s the way your body’s as taut as a bowstring, and you’re growling like an animal.”
Am I?
Fuck.
“You walked over here as if this were second nature. Like you’re going to get something to drink at a fucking coffee shop. You’re obviously familiar with this entrance.”
When I don’t continue, she shakes her head and uncrosses her arm. “Sooooo… what? Your point?”
“My point is that you’re vulnerable out here, in that shitty apartment with a lock I could break if I sneezed, and you think it’s alright that you just waltz into this dark alleyway like someone couldn’t just take you. Take advantage of you when you have a fucking predator breathing down your neck.” I take in a cleansing breath. “And I’m not talking about me.”
Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head. “Are you for real?”
“Excuse me?”
She’s getting so fucking close to my hand across her ass—
“You say you’re Bratva. The kind of men who break the law as a matter of routine?” She stares as if waiting for the connections to click before blowing out an exasperated breath. “It just doesn’t make any sense that someone who supposedly flaunts the law gets his boxers all knotted over a dark alley?” Tipping her head to the side, she pins me in place with a stare. “Explain.”
“My boxers all knotted?” The words come out like a growl.
Maybe we don’t need to play out a scene.
Maybe she’s walked herself right into a real-life one, right here, right now.
“Are you muttering under your breath?”
I clench my teeth and consider ripping off the fucking mask so I can breathe better. “Open the fucking door, Ember. Let’s go upstairs. Now. Not one more word, or I swear to fuck—”
Her lips part in what I can only describe as humor-laced defiance, the little fucking brat, her brow arching like she’s testing just how far she can push me. “Or you’ll what?” A theatrical shiver completes the effect. “Scowl at me harder?”
The smirk curling at the corner of her mouth is a spark to dry kindling. I step closer, shortening the distance between us, the heat palpable now.
“Or I’ll show you exactly what it means to walk into a scene you can’t talk your way out of.” My voice is low and measured but carries the weight of a promise. When she swallows, her throat bobs, the first real sign of fear.
About time. Now we’re getting somewhere.
When she lifts her chin up, I nod toward the door. “Upstairs. Now,” I repeat, my tone leaving no room for an argument. “You want an explanation, Ember? You’ll get one. But not here. Not like this.”
Her hesitation stretches out as her eyes search mine as if looking to check the veracity of what I’m telling her. Finally, she exhales and turns toward the door before unlocking it with a sharp twist of her wrist.
I can’t help myself. Before she can step through, my hand catches her, pulling her against me. My mouth is by her ear before she can protest.
“And when we’re done, little queen,” I whisper, “you’ll understand why some lines aren’t meant to be crossed. Not by anyone.”
Her shiver tells me she’s heard every word… and that she just might be ready to test me anyway.
“Riiiight,” she says with a tight smile before she tucks under my arm and disappears into the dark. She calls over her shoulder, “Be careful on the second stair. It wobbles.”
I want to smack that perfectly taut little ass so goddamn hard—I stumble on the second step, and she sighs. I can’t help that my feet hang off the edge of the damn things.