 by Jordan Marie.jpg)
Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Now, this filthy talking man is demanding payment, but he doesn’t want money.
He wants me in his bed, obeying his every command.
All my life, I wanted to be loved. Instead, I was ignored.
My father gave me what I wanted so he could go back to ignoring me.
Once I understood that, life became easier.
When he arranged to marry me off to the son of his biggest ally, I didn’t mind.
Marco was the older brother of my best friend and honestly, he made me burn.
I wanted to belong to him.
I wanted in his life, his bed and definitely in his heart.
It didn’t quite work out that way.
Marco treated me just like my father did—maybe worse.
Being tolerated by the man you love is a level of pain that I couldn’t endure.
So, I left.
The fact Marco didn’t fight to keep me was horrifically painful.
When one really bad decision lands me in hot water.
I reach out to the only person who has ever cared about me, my best friend Lina.
Too bad, she’s also Marco’s little sister. Marco rescues me, but he’s no white knight.
He’s a monster.
Complete Standalone Book
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
Marco
What Feels Like A Lifetime Ago
“So, it’s official?”
Those are the first words I hear as I reach the courtyard and approach the flower garden. I’m struggling with everything that just happened. I want a normal life. Shit, I’ve been in hell so long that normal looks damn tempting. Yet, the deal today will cement the fact I’ll always have a place in the world that my father has made me hate with everything in me. I agreed, because once I have my own position of power and my own money—I will systematically do everything in my power to destroy my father. I will end him—both in business and in life. Then, when I’m done, I will dance naked over his ashes and piss on the bastard.
Still, to even get a chance of doing this, I had to agree to marry a child. With a heavy sigh I look at Helena—the girl that I’ve just become engaged to. I’m way too old for her and this is only the second time I’ve met her. It seems unreal, but in my world, this is the way things are done.
Today is her birthday. Sixteen.
She’s the best friend to my sister, Melina, and has been around the family on several occasions. Not as often as Melina wants and that’s mostly because my father doesn’t like people in his home. I’ve not been around when she’s been in my home either. Truthfully, I don’t spend a lot of time with my sister. If my father knew that she was my weakness, her life and mine would be an even bigger hell than it already is. He’d use Melina against me—more than he already does—just to make me fall in line.
If it wasn’t for Melina, I wouldn’t be here now. I’d have left my father’s reach and forged my own path years ago. My brothers can fend for themselves now. Sebastian and Gio are old enough to take my place and look out for the others. Melina, though, she reminds me of our mother. She’s gentle. The bastard broke my mother’s spirit. I can’t allow him to do the same to my sister.
So, I live a life trapped.
“Marco?” Helena prompts and I turn my attention back to her.
Helena is way too young, but she is beautiful. I like women. I enjoy them, but I never let them close. If I did that, they would become just another weapon my father can use against me. If he thought she could one day mean anything to me, he would go after her. I don’t even have to question it. After all, the bastard taught me that lesson when I was sixteen and believed I was in love with the stable groomer’s daughter, Paulina. She was a year older than me and my first taste of a woman. I thought I was on top of the world. Until, one day, I came home and went to meet her in the pool house—which had become our normal meeting spot. I opened the door to find Paulina on her knees servicing my father, his spunk being shot all over her face.
My father laughed, looking right at me. I can still hear his words. “Don’t leave son. You can have her now that I’m finished. Hell, I’ll pay her extra and she’ll take us both on at once.”
The memory sours inside of me and I push it away, concentrating on the here and now. I need to reassure Helena, but at the same time, I must keep her distant. That’s best for her and me.
“It’s done. We will have a good marriage, Helena,” I vow. I’m going to keep that promise, too. I am not my father. I will respect her.
“We will? I’m afraid I’ll screw it up. I think it’s only fair to warn you, Marco, my father says I’m pretty much a failure at doing what is expected of me.”
I try to hide my smile. Helena is so earnest, the last thing I want to do is to make her think that I don’t take her serious. “I’m kind of new to the husband thing. I think mainly we need two rules between us.”
“Rules?” she asks.
“Yeah. I think, we need to understand that no matter what you and I will always be honest with one another.”
“I can do that.”
“Let’s try that out now. Do you think I’m too old for you, Helena?”
“I’m not sure. Mostly, I like that you’re older,” she whispers softly, her eyes sparkling, cheeks heating with embarrassment. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much innocence before—not even in my sister.
“What makes you unsure about me then?” I ask, unable to stop myself.
“Do you think I’m too young for you?”
I take a deep breath. Damn if that’s not a loaded question. “You are right now,” I respond, trying to be gentle.