Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Afterward, we were too spent to speak. Too lost in the haze and the late hour to talk.
“Tomorrow,” I whispered.
We fell asleep wrapped in one another, our bodies warm beneath the sheets, our limbs tangled and heavy with contentment, our breathing deep, and soft, and satisfied. But somewhere between midnight and the dark hours before dawn, I whispered my goodbyes to him before I slipped from his warm bed and disappeared into the cold shadows of the morning.
TAYLOR
Eight Years Ago
I stared at myself in the mirror, trying to calm my nerves. My hands shook, and the sting from Alex slapping me across my face was as fresh as the red mark on my cheek. I told myself not to cry, to breathe in deep and keep calm. He had hurt me. Struck me twice before walking away with Jean-Paul, leaving his trusted thugs behind to deal with the carnage. When he was gone, I’d looked over at the two dead bodies lying in pools of blood, their eyes half open but vacant. I’d stared, paralyzed with fear and heartbreak, my brain scrambling to make sense of what’d just happened.
After killing Jacob, Alex had killed Victoria. But he was careful about where the bullet went, considered the trajectory and how far from her temple he needed to hold his gun. Because Alex was no fool. He could dispose of Jacob with little concern, but Victoria was a different story. She was his wife, a permanent fixture in his life, and she would be missed. He needed a plausible reason for her death, and staging a suicide was the best option.
Later tonight, the cops would be called after Alex came home and found his wife dead in the pool house.
I sat in front of my mirror and began fixing the damage so the police officers wouldn’t see his handiwork all over my face, while he was at the country club, creating an alibi.
The sudden opening of my bedroom door made me jump, and Jean-Paul walked in. Immediately, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Lately, he’d started to treat me like I was something that belonged to him.
He took one look at me and knew I’d been crying.
“You’re crying over him?” he said with disbelief.
“That didn’t need to happen,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“He betrayed Alex. What did he expect? And Victoria… that whore got what she deserved.”
I stood up to face him. “Neither of them deserved to die.”
“They showed disrespect.”
“But that’s not a good enough reason to murder them.”
Jean-Paul’s cold eyes found mine and he tilted his head to the side suspiciously. “Why are you defending them? You feel something for that boy? Something romantic?”
“No!” Alarm tingled in the base of my spine as he began to walk slowly toward me. I wasn’t afraid of Jean-Paul but he was dangerous because he could be so unpredictable. “He was my friend. The only one I had.”
“Once we’re married, you won’t need any friends. I’ll be the only friend you need.” When he reached me, he slid the back of his fingers down my cheek. “We’ll be engaged soon and you won’t have time for friends. You will be too busy tending to my needs.”
The lust in his eyes churned my stomach. But I bit back my revulsion, determined to show Jean-Paul that he couldn’t intimidate me. I had Alex’s word. The marriage was a business deal. Nothing more.
“You’re forgetting, we’ll only be married in name only. I won’t be tending to anything of yours.”
A snarl curled on Jean-Paul’s lips. “You will tend to whatever the hell I tell you to do.”
I shivered, remembering Jacob’s words.
He’s lying to you, Taylor. Once you’re married to Jean-Paul, you will be expected to be his wife in every sense of the word.
“You need to leave,” I demanded. “I just lost my best friend and you coming in here and speaking like an asshole isn’t helping. Get the hell out.”
Taking me by surprise, Jean-Paul thrust me up against the wall, one hand on my chest, the other gripping my chin to the point of pain.
“You have a thing for that boy?” He seethed, baring his teeth. “You better not have let him have his way with you, Taylor. Better not have let him take what is going to be mine. I’ll know. When I fuck you on our wedding night, I’ll know if you’ve given that sweet pussy of yours to someone else. Alex told me you were pure. If I find out otherwise, I’ll punish you in ways that’ll make what you just saw look like a walk in the fucking park.”
He had no idea what I did for Alex. The things I was forced to do. The men. Or else, he wouldn’t have me up against the wall talking about my virginity with his hand wrapped around my throat.