Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“I know.” It was true, and there was nothing I could do about it.
This continued for the rest of the day, and by the time Willem finally gave us the signal to disperse, my jaw was aching from too much dimple-flashing.
As I turned away, Marcus came up to me with one of his usual sexy, heart-stopping smiles. “Ciao, bambina.” He was dressed a bit more formally today, with a dark blue flannel shirt tucked into a pair of chinos. “I thought you might need this.”
He handed me a bottle of ice-cold water, and I took it gratefully. “Thank you.”
“The other one is for you, of course.” Marcus handed the other bottle to my younger sister.
“Thank you!” Fleur blew him a kiss. “I knew you were the perfect one for my sister!”
I turned red. “Fleur!”
She quickly jumped out of my reach. “Just kidding!” She backed away, saying mischievously, “Or not!”
“FLEUR!” I tried to go after her, but Marcus laughingly pulled me back, his fingers wrapping around my wrist.
As always, his touch made me forget everything else, and I stilled. Were we going to play again?
He suddenly laughed, and when I looked up, startled, he whispered into my ear, “I know what you’re thinking—-”
I gulped.
“—-and it’s not what good girls are supposed to think about.”
He leaned away.
I wetted my lips.
His eyes blazed.
And I heard myself ask, “D-do you want to play?”
Marcus’ jaw clenched, and I held my breath. He had never refused to play before, but there could always be the first time. It wasn’t like I was the most irresistible girl—-
“Anneke.”
A shiver ran down my spine at the sound of my name on his lips. “Y-yes?”
“Where’s the closest place we can meet that’s private?”
Oh. My head went blank. We were going to play then.
“Anneke,” Marcus growled under his breath. “Where?”
“Umm.” It was hard to think, with my body already trembling with anticipation at the thought that we were going to...play. “We could...” I forced myself to concentrate, and the answer eventually came to me. “Fifth floor in the De Konigh museum,” I said breathlessly. “It’s a private area, so only the family has access to it.”
I gave him the passcode, and Marcus nodded curtly. “I’ll meet you there in ten minutes. Now go.”
He didn’t have to ask me twice.
I made my way to the museum, my heart once again pumping out blood like it was juiced up. This past week had been unbelievable, and even now I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I hadn’t dreamt any of it up. Even now I couldn’t believe that I had done such things—-
X-rated memories flashed in my mind.
Marcus giving me a deep, open-mouthed kiss while we were on a shopping trip with Fleur and my sister had turned away as she browsed the new dresses hanging on a rack—-
Marcus cornering me in the kitchen, fucking me with his fingers while my family retired to the library and waited for coffee—-
Marcus making me sneak into his bedroom and letting me touch his cock for the very first time—-
By the time I made it to the fifth-floor hallway, I was red-faced and struggling not to pant.
What we were doing was so bad, so dangerous, so—-
Nothing that Anneke de Konigh should be doing, I thought.
But even so, I couldn’t help it.
Marcus Ravelli had become an addiction, and I wasn’t sure I wanted a cure for it.
Pulling out a chair without bothering to open the lights, I sat down and thought about the things Marcus and I did that had nothing to do with playtime.
And there were a lot, I realized in surprise.
He had gone to town with me a few times now, and not once had he complained while I thrift-shopped to my heart’s content. Not once had he made me feel like my penny-pinching ways were foolish, considering I was an heiress.
And then there were the times when we would just talk. Somehow, he had made me confess all my fears, like the way Willem seemed to be methodically turning himself into an unfeeling machine because of work or how I was terrified about Jaak’s increasingly distant attitude towards the whole family. Somehow, Marcus had even found a way to make me admit that I believed I was boring, something that he rejected and which we eventually agreed to simply disagree on.
He knew me inside and out, which was why when my phone suddenly rang and I saw his name show up on the screen—-
I knew he knew I was smart enough to guess what the call would be about.
“Hello.” My voice was carefully blank.
“I’m sorry, Anneke.”
I didn’t say anything.
“I need to fly back to Italy.”
Was that the best excuse he could give me?
“My father’s died.”
The words stunned me, and I felt guilty and ashamed all at once. “I’m so sorry, Marcus,” I whispered.
“Is there anything I can do?” I bit my lip. “Would you like me to come with you?”