 by Penelope Sky.jpg)
Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 72308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
But I underestimated just how challenging it would be.
How can you love someone that refuses to love you back?
How can you love someone that betrays you not once, but twice?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
ELISE
When I walked in the door, I almost didn’t recognize him.
His plump face was black and purple, and there were dried cuts on his skin. His nose looked out of place, like someone had cracked the bone and pushed it to the left.
He turned in his chair to regard me. “It’s as bad as it looks.”
I took the seat beside him and let my eyes roam over his face. “Did Kyle do this to you…?”
He gave a sigh. “I warned you.”
“Jerome, I’m so sorry…” At the end of the day, I had rights. If I didn’t want to sleep with someone, I didn’t have to. This type of retribution was totally unnecessary.
“Grave is paying us extra, so I guess that makes it worth it.” He grabbed the envelope and handed it to me.
I let it hang in the air between us, too guilty to take it. “You think that’s the end of Kyle?”
“I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “There’s not much left to say.”
I took the envelope of cash and stuffed it into my pocket.
“He’ll get over it eventually. The second he sees some other hot thang, he’ll forget all about you.”
“I hope so.”
“So, what is it with Grave?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is this the beginning of your retirement?”
I held his gaze while I experienced all those flashbacks. “I’m not sure. All I know is, I don’t want to fuck another client when I already have a client I like. Get paid to do what you love, and you never work again, right?”
“What’s different about Grave than the other ones? He’s a good-looking guy, but he’s not the only one.”
“I don’t know… Not sure I can explain it.”
Jerome studied me for a while. “Well, let me know when you’re ready for another client. For now, I’ll just keep collecting the payments.”
I had just stepped outside when I came face-to-face with the man I didn’t want to see.
In a three-piece suit with the glint of arrogance in his eyes, he didn’t seem surprised to see me. As if one of his men had informed him of my arrival at the bar so he could run down here to face me.
I knew this encounter was inevitable, so I held my stance and faced him with a straight spine.
His eyes swept across my face as he took in my appearance. “I’m sorry about Jerome.”
“No, you aren’t.” I stepped around and moved to the street where a car was waiting.
Of course, he chased after me. “We had a deal, Elise.”
“Deals come and go. Get over it.” I opened the back door.
He slammed his hand on the door and forced it shut. He crowded into me, coming so close his body nearly touched mine. “I’ll pay double his rate.”
“It’s not about the money, Kyle.”
“Then what is it about? He’s good in bed? Give me a try.”
“Get your fucking hand off the door.”
He leaned his entire body up against it instead. “Elise, come on.”
“Just let it go. I’m not the only beautiful woman on the market.”
“But you’re the most beautiful—and don’t pretend you don’t know that.”
I narrowed my eyes in annoyance. “I’m not worth this crusade, Kyle. I think you just want what you can’t have—and that’s very childish.” I shoved him hard in the chest so I could free up the back door. “Now leave me the fuck alone.”
I pulled up outside Grave’s building. Can I come up?
You don’t need to ask, sweetheart.
My altercation with Kyle melted off my body the second I read that. I entered his building then took the elevator to the top floor. When the doors opened and I entered the parlor, Grave was already there waiting for me. It was late in the evening, so he was in nothing but his low-rise sweatpants, his powerful chest a living slab of concrete.
I thought I’d never see this place again.
I hung my coat on the rack, one of the pockets stuffed with the envelope of cash. Then I turned into him, surrounded by his warmth immediately. My cheek rested against the hardest pillow I’d ever felt, and I sank into it.
Big arms surrounded me and pulled me close, his lips resting on the top of my head.
I could stay like that forever.
He held me like that for nearly a minute before he pulled away. “Hungry?”
“No.”
“Thirsty?”
“No.”
He stared down at me for a few seconds, and then that playful smirk emerged. “Straight down to business, then.”
My arm hooked through his, and we headed to his bedroom. The fire in the hearth had already heated the room, casting shadows along the walls, and filling the room with popping noises that made me think of camping as a kid.
With his back turned to me, he dropped his sweatpants and his boxers, showing his muscular ass before he walked to the bed. He got on top, leaned against the pile of pillows at the headboard, and stretched out his arms across the bed. “Get to it.”