Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 191(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
But Aida was still trying to understand. She turned to Cole. “You told me he owed you money. He didn’t?”
Cole shook his head. She could forgive the lie. She’d been rescued. Her tormentor was dead.
Aida turned to Lucille. “You knew he was… treating me the way he did?” she asked quietly.
Lucille nodded. “He was an awful man,” she whispered. “You weren’t the only one he mistreated. I’m not sorry to hear of his demise.”
“Nor am I,” Aida whispered. She turned to Cole. “Did you know?”
He shook his head. “All I was told was that you had to get out of there, and I knew I trusted the source. Wasn’t until you told me that I knew why.”
“There was no way to get you out of there in daylight,” Lucille said. “And Cole and his men had to continue to pretend to be outlaws. Kidnapping you solidified our plan. It rousted your father, convinced Monty they were on the same side, got you out of there.”
Aida frowned. It seemed a more sympathetic plan now, but Cole… he’d spanked her. He’d taken her. He’d forced her to eat with them… but had he ever really violated her? No. She’d wanted his dominance and control, and though he’d always been stern with her, he’d ultimately had her best interests in mind.
My gripe is not with you…
Over and over he’d told her to listen to him, that it would all make sense in the end. She looked from Lucille to Cole. Cole was looking at her curiously, as if she were unpredictable and he was ready to handle whatever happened.
“Wasn’t easy,” Cole said with a bit of a smirk as he took the last swig from his frothy pint. “She put up quite a fuss.”
Lucille smiled softly. “I told you she was a handful and to be prepared to deal with her.”
“Oh, I was.”
Aida frowned. “Yes, he was.”
Lucille raised an eyebrow to Cole. “Were you rough with her, Cole?”
Cole sobered and fixed Lucille with a stern look. “What do you think? I told you I’d bring her here safe, but I told you I’d do it my way.”
Lucille sighed.
Aida frowned. She had much to think on. So much. And she wanted to change the subject. “I’m fine, Lucille. He was… rough with me.” She paused. How could she explain that she’d fallen for him? That he’d stripped her of her highbrow ways, and made her mind him, and shown her that the fierce, powerful side of her could roam free? That obedience to his authority freed her mind and bound her to him?
“What now?” Aida whispered.
“Whatever you want, honey,” Lucille whispered back.
Aida turned to Cole and lifted her chin. Her father was gone. She had Lucille back. And the only man she’d ever trusted had turned out to be her savior. “For now, I want some sleep,” she said. “And I’ll stay with Cole.”
Lucille’s eyes warmed at that. “I understand,” she said, squeezing Preach’s hand.
Cole stood. His eyes heated as he pulled her to standing and tossed some bills on the table. “Time to get some rest, darlin’,” he said.
As Preach and Lucille went ahead of them, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Yes, Daddy.”
Chapter Twenty
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved in secret, between the shadow and the soul. ― Pablo Neruda
“Come here, Aida.” Cole sat on the bed. She stood in front of the looking glass, adjusting her hair, taking each pin out and laying it on the dresser. When he instructed her, she did not move to obey.
“Just a minute,” she said. He’d wondered how she’d react after she met Lucille and knew what his mission had been from the very beginning. He’d meant to take her forcefully, and he hadn’t cared at the time if she hated him. His plan was to make her obey, and bring her safely to Lucille.
He’d never meant to fall in love with her.
“Not just a minute. You obey me,” he said. “Now come here.”
When she turned to face him, he could read her defiance, but he knew it was masking something else, something deeper. He’d probe to get to it.
“And if I don’t?” she said with a lift of her chin.
He clenched his jaw. “Nothing has changed between us, Aida. You disobeyed me several times tonight. You’re resisting me even though you know you’re happier when you don’t, and I don’t just mean because I’ll spank you.”
Her eyes softened, and she looked away from him. She swallowed.
“Now I’ll tell you one more time, before I come to fetch you. And honey? You don’t want me to fetch you.” He paused before speaking. “Come here, Aida. Now.”
He watched her intake of breath, the way color rose on her cheeks and her eyes widened. He was an observant man. He well knew that though she resisted his command, it was what she craved, what she yearned for, what she needed.