Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
He helps me from the car, pulling me to him and pressing my body to his.
“Why are you doing this? You’re just going to kill me.” I look up at him. His face is unreadable as he stares down at me.
“What have I done to make you think that?” He pulls me even closer so there is no space between our bodies.
“I just don’t understand. I know you want me here for sex,” I say. I pause for a second, and he doesn’t deny it. “I’m sure you have plenty of willing women who can do that for you.” I pull my eyes from him, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment. I have no idea why I’m talking myself out of being useful to him. I should latch on to anything I can at the moment so I can stay alive. But for some reason it hurts deep down that he wants to use me as some plaything. Maybe I should find a way to escape, but looking at this place, I can already tell it’s a fortress. And where would I go?
“No,” he says. He grabs my hand, locking my fingers with his. “It’s you I want, and it’s you I’ll have.” He walks toward the house, and I have no choice but to move my feet and keep up with him. His grip on my hand is unyielding.
When he gets to the front door, it opens for us, and a man in a uniform steps out of the way and inclines his head to Salvatore.
“Sir,” he says quietly.
“Fred, this is Thea. Thea, is this Fred.”
“Hi,” I mumble. He gives me a small nod as well but doesn’t meet my eyes.
“Everything is ready,” he tells Salvatore.
“Thank you. This way, angel. Let me show you to the room.”
We walk through the entrance and down a long marble-floored hall.
“I’m not having sex with you,” I blurt out.
My face burns with embarrassment all over again when I see an older woman trying to fight a smile as she walks by us holding a stack of towels. Salvatore ignores me like I didn’t say anything. Probably because he doesn’t care what I have to say.
He leads me up a staircase that is made of the same white marble as the hallway. At the top, we have the choice to go one of three ways: left, right, or straight ahead. He goes straight without pausing, leading me down another long hallway. All the walls are covered in paintings that look like they should be in a museum. At the end of the hall, there is a set of black double doors that must be ten feet tall.
“I’m not having sex with you,” I say again, trying to put more force behind it.
His fingers tighten on mine. Then suddenly he turns to face me, and I run into the brick wall of his chest. I look up at him and see he’s smiling down at me now. I wonder what’s made him so happy. “Stop smiling, I’m serious. You’ll have to force me,” I yell.
My breath stills in my lungs, realizing I just yelled at him. I step back, scared he might smack me or something. He’s given me no reason to think he’d do something like that. In fact, when I saw him at my door today, I felt comfort. As crazy as that feeling was, I know who he really is.
What if he’s one of those people who just flips? He goes from one extreme to another. I had a cousin like that and I did my best to give him a wide berth. You never knew who you were getting, and I’m scared Salvatore might be that way, too.
“I’m smiling because I’ve come this far already.”
I have no idea what he means. He wraps his hand around my back, removing the space I’d tried to put between us. He leans down slow enough so that I can see his intentions, and I stand still as his mouth comes down on mine.
I think it’s going to be hard and rough, but it’s not. His lips mold against mine and his eyes fall closed. I keep mine open, looking at him, not wanting to miss this. His mouth works against mine, soft and utterly sweet, like I’m delicate and he doesn’t want to spook me. Then I feel his warm tongue come out and lick the seam of my mouth.
I open a little for him as a dark part of me wants to know what he tastes like. Power flows from him in waves, and I have to know if it’s in his kiss. When his tongue touches mine, my eyes fall closed and I melt into him. My hands go to his chest and my fingers dig into his shirt. There’s not an inch of space between us, and somehow I need him closer.