Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“That’s fucking it.”
Kelsie seemed to deflate before his eyes.
He marched forward, but Tina scurried outside before he could reach her. Her shrill laugh lingered in the air after he slammed the door on her ass.
“Fuck,” he shouted, smacking the heel of his hand against the door.
The outburst made Kelsie jump and squeak behind him. He didn’t have to look to know she jolted hard enough to have her heart rate soaring.
Way to scare the skittish woman who’d been held against her will and subjected to violence, asshole.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said in a soft tone as he turned.
She stood behind him with her arms folded across her stomach. The position made her shrink in on herself, which, when combined with her ashen complexion, broke his heart. He rolled his shoulders, relaxing his stance as much as possible. Though he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and kiss her breathless, he didn’t dare touch her until she granted him express permission. The last thing he wanted to do was make this clusterfuck worse. “Kels, sorry for everything that happened this morning, but mostly for scaring you just now.”
She blinked as though surprised he was speaking to her. “What? No. You didn’t scare me. You startled me, but…” She shrugged, letting her gaze drift to his windows before returning to him. “I’m not afraid of you. I don’t know why, but you are the only person who makes me feel completely safe. Even when you want to murder your ex.”
Well, damn, he grew ten feet taller in that moment. But Kelsie still looked seconds from vomiting.
“About what she said at the end…”
Shaking her head, she held up a hand. “I need to tell you something. It’s important.”
“Okay…” Was she about to end it? Did Trina’s comment about him wanting a submissive woman in bed change her mind? It wasn’t even fucking true. Nothing was sexier to him than Kelsie holding the reins. Whatever reassurance she needed in that department, he was happy to provide.
“Can we sit?”
He nodded and gestured toward the couch. “Of course.”
Kelsie walked in front of him. Her movements were stiff and uncomfortable, nothing like the woman who’d rocked his world earlier that morning. She sat, spine rigid and expression akin to drinking sour milk.
“Fuck this,” he muttered, sitting next to her. He scooped her up, ignoring her yip of surprise, and turned her to straddle his lap. As soon as her knees hit the couch, he cupped her face and kissed her until she melted into his arms.
“W-what was that for?” she asked, cheeks pink when he finally came up for air.
“You were tense as fuck. Now, you’re not. It was a sacrifice, of course, but I didn’t want you to get a muscle spasm or anything.” He winked.
Her answering chuckle was music to his ears. “Thanks,” she whispered as she traced a tattoo on his chest with one finger. He tried to keep from popping wood, but, fuck, she was too damn hot. It was a losing battle. “You might feel differently after I tell you this.”
“Doubt it.”
Her huff of laughter held a world of sadness. “My last name is Carver. I changed it to Nichols, my mother’s maiden name, after I left home at sixteen.”
That was it? His eyebrows drew down. “Okay. If you’re worried about that, babe, you can relax. I don’t give two shits what you want to call yourself.”
“If only it were that simple.” She blinked moisture from her eyes. “Carver, Ty. Think about that name.”
What was she getting at?
“I must be dumb because the only Carvers I can think of are that fucking corrupt family on the news all the damn ti—oh… fuck.”
She stared down at her short, manicured nails resting against his chest. “Yeah,” she said with a nod.
He crooked a finger under her chin to lift her gaze. “McCarthy Carver is your father?”
“Bingo.” She smiled sadly.
Jesus, the man had superiority oozing out of his pores. Ty had never met him, but in his interviews and social media, he portrayed himself as a pompous, power-hungry sociopath who didn’t give two shits who he crushed in his quest to keep his position at the top of the country’s socioeconomic food chain.
“That family is notorious. A ruthless group of hungry sharks.”
“Yes. And the second they smell blood, they attack. Even if the bleeding person is one of their own. ‘Family first, last, and above all’ is the family motto, but it’s bullshit. It only applies if you follow my father’s lead,” she continued, making air quotes. “It’s the biggest lie. There is no loyalty to family, only money and power.”
Kelsie was a Carver. His brain couldn’t reconcile who she was with where she came from. To him, Kelsie stood for everything anti-Carver.
“Rumors have been flying around social media for years about McCarthy Carver’s long-lost daughter. She fell off the grid as a teenager, and no one in the media has seen or heard from her since. The family doesn’t mention her anymore. It’s as if she vanished.”