Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“Yay, you get to be the hero. What do I get?”
“Well, if you behave, I’ll let you go back to the room you were in before."
I nearly snort. The one connected to his room? I think not.
"Is it really necessary to keep me so close?"
A look of possession fills his features, and his eyes narrow like he’s trying to weasel his way under my skin. "I don’t think you understand how important all of this is. Do you want to go to jail for killing a man? Is that what you want?" His teeth snap together with each word, and he gives me a little shake as if the answer will fall out of me.
I swallow around the fear swarming my throat, closing it, making it impossible to speak. I shake my head hard. No, that’s not what I want. Part of me still thinks killing Yanov was a dream. But it’s not. This close I can see the toll this whole situation has taken on Sebastian. He’s got dark circles under his eyes and an impatient tick to his jaw. I want to pretend like I don’t care but I’m not him. I can’t simply shut off my emotions.
“Maybe it would be better if I stayed with Bel and Drew?”
He transforms into a thunderstorm right before my eyes. His gaze darkens as he presses closer. Maddening possession makes him appear unhinged. The look in his eyes terrifies me, but it also warms me to the core. He hauls me tighter into him, until there is only an inch of space between us, and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Danger is near, and my instincts tell me to run and hide, but there’s no time for that.
He nearly growls his next question against my lips. “What do I need to do to show you that you’re my wife?”
I don’t get the chance to answer him, because he heads towards the door, dragging me behind him.
CHAPTER 10
SEBASTIAN
I'm trying to be gentle, trying to be kind, trying to wrap my fucking head around her and the thoughts running rampant in her mind, but it’s hard to think of her needs when I’m consumed by white hot fury. She is mine. My wife. Mine to protect.
I’ve failed her before, this I know, but I won’t fail again. Not again.
I try to take measured breaths as I walk, but her struggling only irritates me more. "Stop it!" I snap.
She freezes in the hall, and I close my eyes, taking a moment to get a better grasp on my anger. Once I feel like I won’t explode, I round to face her. "Can you stop struggling and simply follow me? Please?” I tack on belatedly.
Her blue eyes are wide and red-rimmed from crying, and her pert mouth is set into a frown. "Why can't I stay with Drew and Bel?"
"Because we are married, and that’s not what married people do." I try to keep my tone calm, neutral, even, but her flinch tells me I've failed.
Why is it always a fight with her? I turn back to the hall and continue walking toward the rooms I'd given her after I found her sleeping in closets and hiding from ghosts.
I guess not ghosts, since I've faced them now, too. Next time, we'll face them together, and we'll win—if I can make her understand my side of things.
For now, I'll put her here until she feels safe again, and then, when I've made her understand how good we are together, how much we need each other, I'll bring her back into our bed. I flip on the light switch and cross the room to the fireplace, hitting the button and turning it on so it emits a soft, warm glow in the hearth.
The room has already been cleaned, the sheets turned down. It's cozier than the other room she'd been staying in; plus, my door connects to it so if she breathes a little too hard I'll be able to get to her.
She spins and stares at the bed, tugging her hand out of my grasp but gently this time. I choose to release her and hate the coldness on my skin at the absence of her touch.
"This will work for now, until you're more comfortable."
A door down the hall slams closed, rattling the fucking walls. Fucking Lee. Startled, Elyse jumps, her entire body flinching. Like she senses danger, she rushes across the room, putting the king-sized bed between us.
It’s amusing she thinks a bed will stop me from getting to her if I want.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Ely. At least, not in any way you wouldn't want me to."
Her forehead wrinkles as she studies my face, a red flush traveling up her neck and into her pale cheeks. I can only imagine the wicked thoughts popping into her head.