Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“Yes, like Roxie,” I say through my teeth.
“The Roxie that convinced you to come up here even though you thought I wanted to fuck you tonight?”
“She didn’t, I mean, I didn’t—” I glare at him. “Did you have to bring that up again?”
“Yes,” he says. “Did you wear nice underwear for me? You don’t have to show it, unless you want to.”
“You’re unbelievable. You realize this is sexual harassment, right?”
“I guess I am taking advantage of you then.” He covers his smirk with a sip of wine.
I move away from him, over to a chair, and sit down on the edge, rubbing my knee. He frowns at that, but says nothing.
“Can we just skip all this bullshit and get to why I’m here? My legs are killing me and I want to go home.”
He turns, leaning against the railing with his back to the ocean. I’d be terrified of dropping over, but he seems unconcerned.
“You want to save your brother’s life,” he says, not a question. “And you’d do almost anything to make that happen.”
“Yes,” I say, staring into his eyes.
Even sleep with you. If it came to that.
“I mentioned my father plays a part in this. Well, he was a difficult man, as I’m sure you’ve heard. Controlling to a fault, both with the Sunrise and with his family. When he passed, I found out that there’s a stipulation in his will. In order to receive his full inheritance, I need to be married and have at least one child by the time I’m forty years old. If I fail to meet that requirement, the money will be placed in a trust under the control of a half-dozen men, some of which are dead already, but those remaining remain loyal to my father even after all this time. They represent the old guard. The old Atlantic City. The old way of doing business. I want to drag this hotel and this family into the future, even if the old, fat bastards that nip at my heels don’t want me to. Which means I need to get married. And I need to reproduce. I’ve been putting it off for eight years, but now it’s time. Things are changing, Casey, and I have to change with it.”
He falls silent. I try to process all that but I’m having trouble placing the pieces in a row.
There’s a faction in his family—in his business—and they’re working against him, and somehow, he needs a wife and a baby, and for whatever reason he’s telling me about this, and—
Understanding hits me.
Like a punch to the teeth.
I sink back into the chair, my hands numb and tingling.
Adler tilts his head to the side. “Well?” he asks.
I can’t speak. I can’t make my brain work.
He wants to marry me.
“Can’t we just have sex?” I blurt out, leaning forward to put my face in my hands.
Adler laughs. He laughs loud and deep, a satisfying kind of laugh. When he finishes, he steps forward from the railing, and finishes his wine. He picks up my glass, left forgotten on the table, and drinks from that as well.
“No,” he says. “We can’t.”
Chapter 6
Casey
“I am absolutely not marrying you,” I say, throwing my hands in the air.
His smirk burns into me like a brush fire. It’s like he’s enjoying my misery. I could scream, except I’m alone on this balcony with a criminal—self-confessed, pretty much—and there’s nobody in the world that can help me.
I really, really wish Roxie had been right.
Giving Adler my virginity would beat marrying him.
At least sex would last a night.
But this? It’s too much. It’s freaking impossible.
“This isn’t my first choice either,” he says, swirling my glass of wine. “I’ve considered dozens of other options over the years, but none make sense, at least until you.”
“Why me?” I say, confused beyond reason. “I’m… nobody. I’m nothing! Just some random dealer on your floor.”
“Exactly, that’s exactly why you’re perfect. You have no ties to my world, no loyalties to anyone beyond me, and you’ll owe me everything when I spare your brother’s life.”
“Let me get this straight. You want a wife that you can completely and utterly control? Is that what you’re saying?”
“More or less, yes, that’s correct.”
“You’re insane.” I shove myself to my feet. My knee buckles, and I catch myself on the arm of the chair. He comes toward me, reaching out to help, but I swat him away. “Don’t touch me. I’m done here.”
I know when to accept help, and I also know when to tell assholes to fuck off.
“Think about it,” he says as I shuffle back into the office, hurrying to the elevator. “If you go through with my proposal, it’ll save your brother’s life. But more than that, it’ll save your whole family. Your father doesn’t work. Your mother’s getting old. Do they have enough savings to retire? Does that mean you’ll be working for the rest of your life to take care of them in their old age? Can you even afford that, and what happens if you can’t? This is your way out of that misery. I’m offering you freedom.”