Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“Not at the moment, but you know I’ll let you know if any enticing offers come up.” I blatantly ignore his second question, and that doesn’t go unnoticed by Donovan, who peers down for a moment before lifting his glass of whiskey for another swallow.
With that, the business side of our talk is over. Donovan is less than pleased but now more firmly aware of where I stand at the moment.
Conversation is easy until the hour is done and I walk him to the door.
It’s only when the door closes that I can let out a breath I’ve been holding. I don’t move an inch before checking my phone for any update at all. And there’s nothing other than his confirmation that everything and everyone are in place. Nothing to report and nothing to concern ourselves with.
Whoever left that note could have simply been fucking with me. Someone who resents me, and that list is a mile long. Someone who heard a rumor and wanted to get to me. Someone who wants me out of their territory. Whoever the fuck it is, I will find them, but it may take time, and I’ve never had the virtue they call patience.
Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I go to the dining room of my new house, preparing. I knew I had to take this meeting, but I’ve prepared for tonight for Kiersten.
The table is set with a fine white cloth, with a sterling silver candelabra and high-end place settings.
The setting is perfect, and when the soft knock comes from the door, I dim the lights. Opening the door, my breath is taken away as Kiersten stands on the other side, utterly beautiful and elegant in a long-sleeved, ruched dark red dress that clings to her curves. My gaze immediately drops to her chest where the deep V reveals more than enough.
“Gabriel.”
“You look beautiful tonight,” I greet her, holding out a hand.
“It’s a little more revealing than I’m used to,” she admits with a grin and a slight blush. I love how I can still make her blush. Every worry relaxes as she takes my hand, letting me lead her inside and to the dining room, where soft music plays and our chef-prepared dinners now wait underneath gleaming steel domes.
“What’s this?” she asks, her eyes widened with surprise and her dark red lips pulling into a bright smile as she turns to me. I suppose she thought I wouldn’t spoil her. She should know better than that.
“I thought we could have a night, just us,” I reply easily.
“Hmm,” she answers playfully and with a softness I remember so well, looking around. Spying the wine on the table, she lifts an eyebrow. “Looks like you’re trying to romance me.” There’s a way she carries herself that entrances me. It always has. I don’t know what it is, but she’s intoxicating to me.
The way she seems so at home in a place she’s never been. The way she doesn’t hide her wants and her gratitude. And that smile she gives me when she peeks up at me after spotting the notebook at the edge of the table.
I meant for that to be given after dinner. Maybe after a drink. I could use liquid courage to confess what I’ve done.
“You can pick it up . . . it’s yours.” My tone is less authoritative than I’d like. I’ve never had anyone to share my past with or my vulnerabilities until Kiersten. And when I no longer had her, it killed me.
It’s a leather-bound tome that I bound myself before coming back to see her. Kiersten opens the cover, glancing at the first page. “What’s this?” Her dark red lips purse slightly as the candlelight leaves shadows to dance across her face.
“I missed you when we were apart,” I explain as she turns the page, looking at my handwriting. “I wrote letters. Every Sunday. I knew I couldn’t mail them to you, but I wrote. They’re twenty years of my thoughts, my dreams, my wishes for you and of you. Yes, I wanted to romance you tonight, Kiersten. But I need you to know that I never stopped wanting you in my life. Still . . . my only wish in life is to have you, my Kiersten, in my life. I have never stopped loving you.”
She’s quiet as she reads the first page, and I’m not exactly sure she heard me until she peers up, her eyes glassy as she whispers that she loves me.
KIERSTEN
Present
The silk wrap around my wrists binds me to the bed, and I squirm, gasping as Gabriel drags the whip over my nipples. “You know,” Gabriel muses as he looks down at me, a grin on his lips, “There’s so much we still haven’t done.”
“S–Sir?” I ask, trembling as the whip traces over my stomach. There’s the occasional smack against my thighs. Tapping against my clit. He uses the tools to toy with my body and light every nerve ending along my body on fire with anticipation. He’s already made me lose count of the number of orgasms I’ve had. Every little touch sends me closer to the edge now. Every breath is heavy, and I want nothing more than for him to take me.