Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Ah. It seemed that Yuri hadn’t told her everything about him then. He said lightly, “It just felt like it was time.”
“I...see.” She touched her chest again, hoping her heart would be a lot calmer now, but it wasn’t. She glanced down and caught sight of a pair of pink bedroom slippers. A gasp spilled past her lips as MJ remembered exactly where they were. “Where’s M-Millie?” Oh God, she would die if this meant Helios and Millie had hooked up. Without thinking, she rose to her toes, trying to see past Helios.
It took a while for Helios to catch on. When he did, he didn’t know if he was furious or exasperated. “Are you serious, brat?” He grabbed her shoulders and gave her one good shake so MJ would look at him. “I love you. Why the hell would you think I’d be interested in another woman?”
“I...” She had no idea what to say. She was still reeling from hearing Helios saying those three words with such ease.
The look of stunned disbelief in her gaze made him grit out again, “I love you. I love you, MJ Cartwright. I love you, brat.”
Her heartbeat had raced so fast at his words her mind couldn’t keep up with it. All she knew was that hearing Helios say he loved her wasn’t going to help her move on.
Her silence was killing him, and he said tautly, “Say something.”
A hysterical laugh threatened to escape her. Say something? He was the most taciturn man she had ever met, the kind of man who would rather walk barefoot on burning coal and swim in a pool of lava than say something emotional. And here he was, telling her “I love you” repeatedly.
He was the man who could take her to heaven and hell with just one kiss, the man who she had so stupidly risked her life for because she wanted to prove to him that she loved him. She would be the world’s greatest fool to believe him now, right? It was just his guilt talking, his honor and conscience forcing him to make it up to her.
She squeezed her eyes shut. It was the only way to concentrate. Taking several deep breaths, she prayed to God that the first thing she said had nothing to do with those three words.
“MJ—”
“Have you been working out?”
Oh. God. Oh. God. Oh Gooooood. Come on. Why do you have to answer my prayer like that?
It took another full second for Helios to understand what MJ was saying. He didn’t think he had lost a couple of IQ points along the way since MJ had left him. It was only because the things she was saying were so completely unpredictable—
The realization of why MJ had said those words hit him.
Drowning in horrified embarrassment at what she had let slip, MJ slowly opened her eyes to peek at Helios’ reaction and saw a grin tug on his beautiful lips as he murmured, “You noticed?”
She lied automatically, “Nope.” But of course she did. She knew every inch of his skin very well, and he had definitely bulked up. He had been on the leaner side before, but now his muscles were more defined.
“Liar.”
The sexy teasing note in Helios’ voice made alarm bells ring inside her head. Oh no, they were definitely heading to dangerous territory if she allowed this – this thing between them – to go on. Without looking at him, she muttered, “I’ll just come back when Millie’s here.” She tried to twist away from his hold, but his grip on her shoulders remained firm.
At MJ’s words, Helios knew it was time to let MJ know of his plan. “Millie’s not coming back.” He allowed that to sink in before saying quietly, “I’m the new R.A.”
Helios was...what?
MJ’s head jerked up. “You can’t be serious,” she choked out.
This time, there was no smile on Helios’ face. He was completely serious, and his tone matched it as he said, “You said you wanted a normal life. You said you wanted a normal guy to love you – and a normal guy for you to love.”
MJ shook her head slowly. “I don’t get it...”
He gestured to the room. “This is me, being normal. I’m no longer the President of the Afxisi.”
She paled at his words, her gaze incredulous as she sought for a clue from the hard expression on Helios’ gorgeous face. Afxisi was his life. Did he really mean what he had just said?
Understanding the doubt clouding her expression, Helios said fiercely, “It was the only way for me to show you that I’m willing to give up everything for you. I mean it when I said I miss you and that I want you back. That I need you back.”
For a moment, memories of the past threatened to weigh him down, threatened to drown him with terror of being hurt again.