Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
But he stopped hurting your dad when you begged him to.
I closed my eyes and pushed that away. Even my subconscious was trying to make excuses for him.
I heard his footsteps and opened my eyes back up to pick up my fork. He put his plate down, then took the seat across from me. It was an odd thing—to have so many different emotions clamoring for the top spot. Especially when I seemed to have no control over any of them.
Fear, anxiety, arousal, regret … so many that to name them would take a focus I didn’t have.
“You have to put it in your mouth to eat it,” he said. “Staring at it does nothing.”
He was teasing me. Trying to lighten the mood. Nothing could do that, but I used my fork to cut a piece of the lasagna, then lifted it to my mouth. I knew he was watching me, but I didn’t look at him. If I let myself think too hard about what I was going to do, I’d find a reason not to. Simply because the part of me that wanted this man was fighting for its choice to be heard.
The decision wasn’t up for debate.
Since he’d cooked, I insisted that he let me clean and suggested he go take a shower. With him in the shower, I could find his keys so I wasn’t searching for them in the middle of the night. The faster I got out the door, the more likely I’d successfully escape.
The moment I heard the water running, I left the task of loading the dishwasher to start looking. I went to the sofa and lifted the cushions, then in and around the table beside the front door.
The coat he’d put on me when I stepped off the plane was my third place to search. The right-side pocket held the key fob. Sighing in relief, I left it there and went back to the kitchen. I knew where it was. All that was left was for me to wait. When he was sound asleep, I’d make my move.
By the time I was wiping down the counter, the water upstairs shut off. He was done. We hadn’t discussed sleeping arrangements. It would be easier if I could sleep down here, but that wasn’t going to happen. Sebastian wouldn’t allow it.
I wouldn’t be in bed with him for long. Besides, with him on one side and me on the other, I doubted we’d even touch. No contact would make it easier. When I reached the top step, I glanced over to see he’d left the bathroom door open.
He stood in front of the sink with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. The loose curls that gave him that sexy, messy look were wet, leaving a few ringlets near his neckline. A tattoo was on his back left shoulder that I’d not seen before, but then I had always seen his front when he was shirtless. I tried to make it out, but from here, I couldn’t tell what it was exactly.
Just as I narrowed my eyes to study it closer, he turned around, and I snapped my gaze up to his face, feeling as if I’d been caught doing something naughty. Perhaps I had been. The sight of that man, damp and bare, was impossible to look away from.
“Please, don’t let me stop you. Look all you want.”
Cocky jerk. I rolled my eyes. “I was simply trying to make out what your tattoo was. I hadn’t noticed it before.”
He walked out of the bathroom, still only wearing the towel. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go tug at it so that it fell to the ground or back away and put distance between us. I stayed where I was, not taking my eyes off him. He didn’t come toward me, but rather over to a chest with three drawers. Opening the top one, he took out a pair of navy-blue pajama pants and then swung his gaze back to me.
The towel dropped to the floor, and I sucked in a breath. Yes, his body was even more magnificent than I remembered. Snapping my eyes closed, I spun around as my face grew warm.
“You could have warned me,” I said with annoyance that was mostly aimed at me for wanting to keep looking.
“You’ve had my cock in your mouth. You can’t get any closer view than that.”
“That was before!” I shot back at him.
“Before …” He said the word as if he needed me to elaborate when he knew good and well what I meant.
“Before you kidnapped me, and I knew you were a liar.”
His hand touched my waist, and I jumped, startled.
“Come on, Ace. I’ve admitted all my lies.” His voice was husky and entirely too close to my ear.
“That doesn’t matter. I didn’t come here of my own free will, and you’re keeping me here.”