Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
“Home, Ms. Brennan?” Kevin asks in a gruff voice.
Home. What an odd term to use. Saverio’s house isn’t home for me, but Kevin may not know that. He may not be aware that our relationship isn’t real.
“Go straight here, please,” I say. “I’d like to go see a friend.”
I direct him to my apartment building where I pay Livy a visit. When I tell her Saverio asked me to move in with him, she’s so overcome with excitement, telling me I’m doing the right thing and wishing us only the best, that I feel every bit the despicable liar I’ve become. I don’t stay long, opting to go to my apartment to pack a few personal items, but when I insert my key in the lock, the door opens in my face.
I step back, almost losing my balance.
Saverio grabs my elbow to steady me. He stands on the threshold with a box under his arm, looking dashing in a dark suit and every bit the rebel with that hoop in his ear.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, taken aback.
He only looks at me with a tight-set jaw.
Something in his obstinate, non-faltering gaze sets my instinct on high alert.
“What are you doing in my apartment, Saverio?”
Still, he doesn’t reply.
Why do I get the feeling it’s because he knows I’m not going to like the answer?
Striking out fast, I snatch the box from him. He could’ve easily prevented me from taking it by simply raising it above his head or wrenching it out of my fingers. I can never win against him in physical strength. Yet he didn’t. He allowed me to grab that box either because he doesn’t care that I know what the content is or he thinks the fight isn’t worth it.
Holding my breath, I peer inside. Electronics fill the bottom. Between a crow’s nest of wires, button-sized microphones peek out as well as the lenses of … cameras.
My heartbeat picks up as betrayal rushes hot through my veins. When I lift my head, he meets my eyes unflinchingly.
“You spied on me,” I say in a breathless whisper.
That’s what he came to remove—surveillance equipment.
He doesn’t deny the statement. He only stands there and looks at me with a stony expression.
I take a step backward. “You son of a bitch.”
“Anya.” His voice holds a warning. “You know why it was necessary.”
It never crossed my mind. Shit. I’m such an idiot. I really am no match for him, not on any level.
“You… You intruded on my privacy,” I say, shaking with the injustice of the invasive act.
“Does that shock you?”
I clench my fingers around the box. “You bastard.”
“Are you upset with me or about your naivety?”
Tears of anger burn behind my eyes. “What about your house? Are there cameras there too?”
His answer is gruff. “It’s not necessary. We had the chat about obedience. I think you understand what’s at stake.”
My eyes flare as a thought hits me. “Did you watch me while I was naked?”
“No,” he says, his manner frank.
I search his face, looking for the lie, but he watches me with a serious, open expression, allowing me to see the truth.
“Why not?” I’m not sure if I believe him. “Why didn’t you?” I challenge him with a question, mocking his alleged chivalry. “Wasn’t it tempting?”
He closes the distance between us, stopping so close to me that the box is trapped between us. His pale blue eyes play over my face as he says in a soft but dark voice, “The first time I look at your naked body, it won’t be through the lens of a camera. The day you shed your clothes for me, I’ll be close enough to smell you.” Bending down, he inhales deeply as he presses a promise on my ear. “To touch you. To taste you.”
I backtrack so fast I almost drop the box.
A lazy smile tilts his lips as he reaches out and gently but firmly takes the box from me. “My question to you is why are you here?”
I’m still reeling from what he said. What he meant. “I told you I was going to come over to give Livy notice.”
Wait. Why am I explaining myself to him?
“I remember.” He gives me a half-smile. “My men informed me that you were on your way, but this isn’t Livy’s apartment, is it?”
“This is my place. I can come here whenever the hell I please.”
“Was.” He puts the box down and straightens in no particular hurry. “It was your place.”
“My things are still here.”
“I told you I’d have everything packed up and moved.”
“I came to pack a few personal things.”
His smile turns knowing. “Of course.”
Oh my God. Did he go through my drawers? Why wouldn’t he? After all, he planted damn cameras in my apartment.
“Do you need a few boxes?” he asks. “I can send for some.”