Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Pain.
Christ, I wanted it.
Hers, mine.
Together.
Hard and ruthless, untamed and primal.
My teeth ached as my eyes locked on her lips.
I want another taste.
She swayed backward, pressing her hips harder against my upper thighs. Her belly brushed my pounding cock, and I was seconds away from wrapping my hand in her hair and forcing her to her knees right there on the crowded dance floor.
She licked her lips.
I froze.
She froze.
Our hearts thundered, in-sync and chaotic.
For the first time in my life, I felt something deeper than darkness, lighter than sin, and a thousand times better than shame.
I looked into her turbulent, golden gaze and flinched as my decaying humanness recognised her. Recognised with a horrifying punch that out of all the girls in all the cities, this one was different.
Why the fuck does she have to be different?
My voice churned with guilt. “I told you this would be a thousand times worse for you if you kept fighting.”
“And I told you I’m not for sale! Let me go and—”
“I already told you. I can’t do that.”
“I’m not going to sleep with you. Not for all the money in all the world.”
“You say that as if you have a choice.”
“I do.” Her chin came up. “Watch me.”
Without any other warning, she sucked in a big breath and screamed.
Loud.
So loud it cut through the music and wrenched far too many eyes in our direction.
I flinched.
Shit.
A big, muscled bouncer left his spot by the wall and shoved his way through the crowd toward us.
Double shit.
My mind raced.
Panic made me do something I really shouldn’t do.
Throwing a bemused smile at the concerned people watching us, I rolled my eyes as if Ily’s dramatics were common, then planted my mouth over her screaming one.
I grabbed her hips, jerking her into me, not giving her a chance to fight as my lips silenced her cry for help.
Her scream filled my lungs.
Her helplessness and rage coated my tongue.
And I shuddered as she stopped screaming, choosing to thrash against me instead.
Only…her thrashing made me harder than I’d ever been, and I struggled to see straight. My cock rippled with the urge to come as she did her best to knee me in the balls.
Her fight.
Her exquisite, delicious fight.
It fucking destroyed me.
I’d only meant to shut her up.
But…that was the problem with me.
I’d only ever meant to be normal.
To kiss like normal.
Love like normal.
But…I wasn’t normal, and where other men knew when to stop, I merely saw it as a beginning.
Grabbing a fistful of her hair, I held her still and grunted into her ear. “One hundred thousand euros.”
She tensed.
I looked over her shoulder at the bouncer fighting his way to get to us.
She shifted against me, sending another bolt of electricity through my dick. “What did you say?”
“Just…don’t fight me. Give me one night and then you’re free. You have my absolute word.”
Liar.
You’re condemning her to hell.
Ignoring common sense, I ran my nose down her cheek and sucked in her scent. Flowers and something else. Something citrusy and vanilla-y all at the same time.
“Damn, you smell good.” I didn’t hold back my tortured exhale.
“Get off me.”
Her fight kept slicing away at my self-control.
I wouldn’t get through tonight unless she surrendered.
I wouldn’t get into The Jewelry Box unless I did what Victor had tasked.
Standing there, with her in my arms, her scent up my nose, and my heart pounding in an unfamiliar rhythm of recognition, want, and possession, I wished I’d never come to France. Wish I’d never stopped digging that blade into my leg. Wish I’d never met her.
But you did.
And now, you need her if you want to succeed.
Swallowing back so much fucking shame, I grunted, “I’ll give you one hundred thousand euros if you just agree to go with me.”
“Go with you where?”
“To a back room.” I winced. “That’s all.”
She stilled, probably sensing what I wouldn’t say.
She didn’t ask what would happen in that room and I didn’t want to think about it.
Her chin tipped up bravely. “I told you…not for all the money in the world.”
I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes.
I should release her.
I should shove her away and chase her screaming down the street.
But she was the price.
The key…
Nausea crawled up my throat. I felt fucking sick. “Name a number.”
“A number?”
“Two hundred? Three?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’d pay that much? Just to get me naked?”
I shook my head, doing my best not to picture her bare. “I’d pay that much to do what I need to do.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’m doing this for a reason and—”
“The reason because you want to sleep with me?”
I clamped my lips together. I’d hidden who I truly was all my life. I’d never shared my deepest secrets or divulged my innermost longings—not until six months ago when I met my half-brother and couldn’t stop my confessions.