Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
This man reads me like no one else. He sees through my words as easily as he smelled the innocence on me that first day in the library all those months ago. “Okay,” I concede, my pawn overtaking his castle. “I have been giving you the silent treatment.”
“Why?”
Surely, he must know, but I’ll play out this game anyway. “You’re trying to strong-arm me into a decision while keeping me in the dark.” I hold his gaze for several beats. “Until you can be straight with me, I have nothing to say to you.”
“Always at an impasse, are we?”
“I guess so.”
Folding his arms, he leans back. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
“I need you to be specific.”
“Let’s start with where we’re going then.”
“We’re going to a private island,” he answers quicker than I thought he would, and I’m stunned into silence as he makes his next move on the board, bringing my queen closer to peril. “Next question.” His expectant eyes meet mine.
“That’s it? Next question?” I raise a brow. “Just like that, you’re ready to tell me what I want to know?”
“I’m ready for us to move forward. Now that you’ve had a few days to regain your strength and process the situation, I think it’s time we come clean with each other.”
“You mean it’s time you come clean with me.”
“I’m not the only one keeping secrets, my sweet girl.”
I hide a gulp. “What secrets do you think I’m keeping?”
He gives me a knowing look. “How about we start with Landon Astor?”
My whole world comes to a standstill. Heartbeat racing, I clear my throat. “What about him?”
“You tell me.” Dressed in casual attire—more jeans and soft cotton shirts I’m not used to seeing him in—Liam is still the epitome of his title. Back rigid and spine straight, he rests his chin on a tight fist as he watches me with authority.
He thinks he has the upper hand, and maybe he does, but I’m not ready to give in just yet. “You first, Chancellor, unless you enjoy the silent treatment.”
“You know I hate it when you call me that.”
“Does the title not define you?”
He shakes his head. “When it comes to you, I want to be more than a title, more than the man who touched you first.”
I look down at my circling thumbs. “But you are the man who touched me first.” Which means that no matter how much I want to give my whole heart to Sebastian, there will always be a small piece stamped with Liam’s name. He touched me in ways a woman doesn’t forget—beneath the physical layers of pleasure and straight to the heart of my innocence.
“Being the first isn’t as important as being the last,” he says with a soft gruffness that nearly disarms me.
“You can’t expect me to choose you under these circumstances. I need to know everything.”
With a sigh, he sits forward. “A couple of months ago, you asked me why I sold the necklace. Do you remember that conversation?”
“Of course.”
“I sold it to finance a backup plan.”
“Kidnapping me was a backup plan?”
“I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I was unable to eliminate the threat Pax posed before his month arrived.”
“You were hoping to eliminate the bastard in him?” I raise a brow. “That’s ambitious.”
A twitch of a smile tugs at his lips. “No, my sweet girl. I was hoping to eliminate him from the auction.”
“How were you planning to do that?”
“By finding leverage.” A heavy beat of disquiet slips by. “Instead, I found skeletons in the House of Gemini.”
I gaze at the chess board, wondering if we need to move it out of the way for the cards we’re setting on the table. “You know about Landon?”
“I know he’s your half-brother.”
“How…when did you find out?”
“After Landon married Elise, I had my private investigator look into all the houses.”
“Your investigator must be good.”
“He’s the best.”
“Did he find out who wants me dead?”
Liam’s eyes widen. “Why do you think someone wants to harm you?”
“Landon believes someone from the Brotherhood is working with my uncle. Whoever this person is…their house is responsible for what happened to my parents.” Pain thickens my throat, and I swallow hard before continuing. “If you win the auction, Landon believes my uncle will move forward with an assassination attempt, you’ll abdicate, and he’ll get the throne.” Feeling as alone as I did the day my parents died, I gaze at the abandoned chess game. “That’s why Landon wants me to marry Sebastian. He’s the only one my brother trusts.”
Leaving his seat, Liam crouches at my side and takes my hand. “Do you believe I’m capable of such a plot?”
As our fingers entwine, I shake my head. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“I don’t know which house is working with your uncle, but I promise you it’s not mine. I’ll keep you safe.”