Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
I smile to myself. I like that she made a friend, and a decent Greek girl from a friendly family. I hate that Camille’s been stuck in here, but I’ll admit that life has been easier ever since she gave up fighting me about the diner.
Only things have been strained. We don’t fight, but we don’t talk, either. I crave the taste of her lips against mine, my fingers dimpling her soft skin, her moans hot in my ear. I want her legs wrapped around me and her skin flushing as she comes, hot and sweaty.
Most of all, I want her. Purely her.
“Asteraki mu.”
She starts and looks over at me. “When did you get there?”
“A few minutes ago.”
“Are you creepily watching me?”
“Not creepily, but yes.”
“Seems creepy to me.” She stretches and finishes her wine. “What can I do for you, Evander?”
I look at her big eyes, at her thick hair, at her mouth. At the engagement ring on her finger. At the lack of a wedding ring.
“Come with me.” I turn toward the hall.
“Not thanks. Bravo’s got a marathon going and—”
“It’s not a request,” I say firmly, pausing to glare at her. “Come with me.”
She rolls her eyes. “The macho controlling asshole thing isn’t really my bag. Can we do this later?”
“Camille.” I speak through my teeth. This girl drives me insane when she wants to. “Please.”
“There we go,” she says, climbing to her feet. “Suddenly he gets polite.”
“I could walk over there and throw you over my shoulder.”
“How very caveman. Yawn.” She walks over, grinning, and her smile melts some of the frustration. “Where are we going?”
“I want to show you something.” Nerves jangle in my core as I lead her into the hall. “I don’t think you’ve seen this yet and I thought—” But what am I thinking? Why am I doing this now?
It was the conversation with my mother. But it’s more than that—it’s the way I’ve been feeling, it’s the rings, it’s the danger.
Every night that I go out with my gun and my soldiers, there’s a non-zero chance that I won’t return.
I don’t want to die without telling her the truth about me.
She must sense my mood because she stops making jokes. I take her on a twisting path to a different wing of the house, a wing that isn’t used much anymore. My mother’s room is at the very end, but I pause in front of the first door, a door I’ve passed through thousands of times in my life. But one I haven’t used in a while.
“This was my room before I became lord,” I say, staring at the knob.
“Oh.” Camille stands close to me. “What are we doing here?”
“You’ve heard things about me.” I push the door open. “I want to tell you the truth.”
The room is empty. No furniture, nothing on the walls. Hardwood floors swept clean. Windows with the blinds drawn. There used to be life here, my life before I took on the responsibility of the entire family.
Now it’s empty.
“Nice space,” she says, looking around. Her words echo off the emptiness.
“There were things here before I moved.” I gesture where there were couches, a television, a computer. Everything a young man needed and more. “I spent a lot of time here.”
“Ah, yes, a young Evander. I can practically smell the porn and stolen beer from here.”
I roll my eyes. “What kind of man do you think I was?”
“I think you were once a teenage boy. Tell me you weren’t.”
“I was born fully formed.”
“Ouch. Your poor mother.”
I glare at her and stand in the middle of the room. “I didn’t bring you here to joke.”
“I know you didn’t,” she says softly, leaning against the wall, watching me cautiously. “The thing is, I’m not sure I want to hear this.”
“Why not?” I ask, genuinely surprised.
“Evander, what are we? Right now, we’re nothing. I’m your fake wife. You spend all your time running around, killing people and fighting, for what? I don’t even know anymore. You come home exhausted, like you’re empty, like you’re drained out. You barely look at me. You barely act like I exist.”
“You exist for me, asteraki mu,” I say quietly, staring at her, willing her to understand. “You are too bright. You’re the only bright thing in my life.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“My life has been defined by violence. From the day I was born to now, it’s all been violence. But I was different before my father died. I laughed. There was a lightness. I haven’t had that in years, not until you came along.”
“Evander—”
“Just listen,” I say, almost pleading with her. “I need to get this out.”
She nods slowly, chewing her lip. “Okay. I’m listening.”
Chapter 45
Evander
“My father was murdered ten years ago.” I pace over to the windows, my back turned to her. “When he was killed, it felt like a hole had been ripped into my body, a wound that would never heal. I still feel that wound, even now. It drains me to this day, Camille. I wake up some mornings, thinking I’ll speak to my father, go for a walk with him, go fishing in the lake, go out on the boats. But he’s gone.”