Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 127484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127484 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
With a deep breath, I looked toward Stone, but not before I caught sight of what was behind him.
My breath caught, and my mask slipped when I saw what was on the wall.
Stone, who hadn’t missed what caught my eye, smirked. “Ah, yes. I was just discussing with Knox my appreciation for his talents. Though I haven’t yet had the pleasure to see you in your entirety, Piper, this paints a picture that you will not disappoint.”
The way he spoke, the ownership he obviously felt over my body, made my skin crawl. Not as much as that painting, that sacred object being on display there, used as a torture device, a trophy for Stone. Sullying it in a way that should’ve been against the laws of nature.
“I’m glad you like it,” Somehow, I kept my composure. “You can consider it a wedding gift.”
Stone paused, his smile clearing from his face as confusion took its place. I reveled in unsettling him. A marker that I was going in the right direction, that I just needed to hold steady.
“I’ll marry you,” I told Stone, refusing to look at Knox even though his stare was flaying layers of my skin and flesh, down to my soul that was his and his alone. “On the one proviso you let him go.” I tilted my head to Knox, keeping my stare on Stone.
Stone’s confusion turned to contempt, his lips pulling back in a sneer. “And what convinced you to think I’m deluded enough to believe that you’ve had such a quick change of heart when you were so … insistent about where your heart, and your cunt, laid at the motel?”
His tone was pleasant, which made the crude words all the more biting. Stone’s true nature was leeching out of his $10,000 suit like snakes slithering through crevices. The anger he felt was fraying his control.
It gave me hope. That he was so furious, betrayed by thinking he could own a woman without consequences, that she’d bow down to him. That anger was my way in. And the delusion that despite all the evidence presented, he still had the arrogance to think I wanted him.
“My heart hasn't changed,” I told him honestly. “I’m still repulsed by the way you’ve gone about this whole thing.” I waved my hand. “I wasn’t lying in the beginning. I wasn’t interested in you. Not in the slightest.” I paused to lick my lips, moving just a little closer to him, though even the small distance disgusted me. “But now that I’ve had a taste of what it’s like to walk on the dark side, so to speak, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t tempt me. The life you offer”
I leaned forward, ignoring all of the tension in the room as I straightened Stone’s already perfect tie, my fingers steady as they stroked the expensive fabric.
In my periphery, Knox shifted on his feet where he stood, unable to remain still with the outrage he obviously felt as I touched Stone. I ignored him, gazing at Stone through my heavy lashes. The man was tense, not wholly convinced, but I didn’t miss the hunger, the triumph in his eyes. He really was fucking stupid enough to think a woman could still want him after kidnappings, beatings, attempted rapes, just because he had money and power.
After silently counting to three, I let go. “And then there’s the case of my sister’s life being in danger.” I took time to inspect my nails, which had been polished just a few hours before. The dirt underneath them from the garden in the mountains of Appalachia was long gone. I missed it like a body part.
I looked back up at Stone who was regarding me with distrust. “It’ll push a girl over the edge. I don’t want to run my whole life. I want a secure life. You can give that to me, can’t you? You have the power to give that to me, don’t you?”
Though he surely hadn’t become the head of a crime organization by believing everything he heard, I knew that I was breaking Stone down. Men were so simple. Stroke their ego, tell them they’re powerful, and they’d be putty in your hands.
“Yes, Piper,” he replied, the knife still in his hand. “I have the power to give you everything beyond your wildest dreams.”
I nodded, batting my lashes. “I expect you’ve done your research on my past.” I’d been thinking a lot about what Knox didn’t know about me. He’d explained that his ‘job’ had been rather last minute, that he’d been overly confident in his ability and hadn’t done the usual research into my background.
It only made sense that Stone would’ve, especially with the resources and time at his disposal. He wanted to control me. And he was smart enough to study me in order to do that.