Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
It felt so fucking good. He might act cold, but I felt the heat of him against me as well as the hard ridge of his cock pressing against my ass. Dear God, he really did want me. This was insane.
“You were married to a woman, but have you—”
“We’re not going to analyze this now. Before anything happens, there are some things you need to understand.”
“I won’t tell anyone. I swear.”
He sighed. “That’s not what I mean.”
If he wasn’t worried about someone finding out he’d been with me, then I wasn’t sure what was holding him back. It felt great to have his arms around me, but I wanted so much more.
After several moments of silence, he said, “You’re so innocent.”
“I promise you I have plenty of experience. The fact that you haven’t been with a man won’t be any problem.”
“You’re innocent about the criminal world, about what you’ve landed in the middle of.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. At least he didn’t think I was a virgin. “I hadn’t thought of myself as innocent, but after the last few days….”
“You need comfort, and I want to comfort you, but don’t misunderstand who and what I am. You don’t belong in this world.”
He was right about that, but couldn’t I enjoy myself while I was here?
“I don’t have feelings like a regular person,” Dom confessed. “Those I did have were taken from me years ago.”
He was wrong. Right now he was feeling concern for me, and he loved his sons, I was sure of that. I didn’t doubt he rarely expressed his feelings openly, but he had them.
“What happened between you and your ex-wife?” I wouldn’t have had the nerve to ask if I was looking into his eyes, but I was in his bed, he was holding me against him. He was…interested—at least his dick was. Surely that gave me the right to at least one personal question.
I might regret my question in the morning, but for now, I would take anything—touch, fucking, information—that I could get.
“I was never in love with her. Our marriage was arranged, and I simply accepted it.”
“And your sons…?”
He ran a hand through my hair, and I bit back a whimper. “You know they aren’t Lisa’s, don’t you?”
“Yes, don’t be mad at Beatrice for telling me.”
“I’m not. It’s no secret. I did love their mother, but I didn’t tell her, didn’t show her, and she hid the fact that the boys were mine. She was an addict, and I didn’t know how to deal with that. I should have gotten her help. I should….”
His voice caught, and he drew in a deep breath. “I regret a lot of things, but pretending I didn’t love her was the worst of it.”
“So you…couldn’t marry her?”
“No. That wasn’t how things worked in our family back then. Marriages were made to form alliances, and the boys’ mother wasn’t part of our society, so I married Lisa.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He huffed. “Don’t be sorry for me. I’m a fucking asshole.”
“No, you’re not, and your sons don’t think you are either.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“They told me how much they care about you.” His hold tightened, and I regretted revealing that I’d talked to them.
“They talked to you after you saw them in my office?”
“Yes. Don’t be mad at them. They wanted to make sure I was getting along with you.”
“Did they threaten you?” I considered how to answer. “Corey?”
“Not exactly. They’re concerned about you, and wanted to be sure things were going well with me here.”
“Did they tell you to take pity on me, to…?”
“No. I… What you did tonight… You protected me even when it hurt you. You’re amazing.”
“If you knew everything I’ve done, you wouldn’t say that. I killed a man a few hours ago.”
I’d heard the shot but pretended not to. “One of the guards?”
Dom nodded. “He was a spy for Lisa.”
Oh fuck. “Then I guess I understand. Who would do that?”
Dom pressed his lips to my neck, making me shiver. “He had his reasons, but we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
I pressed back against him. “I’m still scared.”
“Don’t be. You’re safe.”
“Am I?” I wanted to believe that, but tonight proved otherwise.
“Yes, because I’m here.”
“But….”
He brushed my hair off my face and spoke right next to my ear. “Not now. I’m trying to tell you about Lisa.”
“Why?”
He was silent for a moment. “I can’t explain it, but I need to.”
“Okay.”
“Lisa surprised me. No one surprises me, but I bought her act, believed she was exactly who she appeared to be—the vapid daughter of an ally who loved fashion and spent most of her time shopping or at a spa. I traveled a lot. We didn’t see each other much, and when we did, she was…accepting but never passionate. Our marriage was a sham, but that was what I’d been raised to expect.”