Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
I decide to stand. He watches wordlessly as I peel back the blanket and climb off the bed.
I don’t move any closer since I want to keep space between us. I cross my arms in a subtle gesture of self-protection, then I stare at him. “How the hell did you get in my room?”
He gestures back at the sliding door. “Balcony. You didn’t lock the door.”
Eyes widening, I say, “No, I didn’t lock that door. I’m on the top floor of the fucking house and I wasn’t trying to keep out Spiderman. How did you get on my balcony?”
“Who cares?”
“I do. It couldn’t have been safe.”
He moves closer and, since I don’t want to end up on the mattress with him, I inch toward the foot of my bed.
“Eh, I survived,” he says flippantly.
“Well, don’t do it again. You knocked on the door and I didn’t let you in. That was your answer.” Since I’m close enough, I grab my octopus plushie off the bed and hold him up like a peasant trying to ward off an approaching vampire with a holy cross. “And maybe you were too busy looking at Brittany’s posts to notice mine, but the octopus is green. This was our agreed upon ‘keep out’ signal.”
Apparently, this vampire is immune to supposedly meaningful totems because he grabs the octopus out of my hand and tosses it back on the bed as he continues toward me. “I saw your post. I said you could use that thing to signal me; I never said I’d listen.”
I shoot him a look. “Cool. So it’s as meaningless as your word, then. Good to know.”
His expression hardens. Seemingly not appreciating my jab, he stops wasting time on pursuit and lunges for me, grabbing my wrist and then my waist and yanking me against him.
“Get off me,” I say, shoving against his chest to try to put distance between us.
He keeps a firm grip on me, rendering my struggles useless. “You think my word’s meaningless?”
“Yeah,” I fling back, glaring up at him. “I do.”
He nods, his eyes dark and angry. “Okay.” He pushes me backward, but keeps hold of my shoulders.
“Let go of me,” I say, not appreciating his dominant bullshit one bit in this moment.
He doesn’t stop pushing me until my back’s against a wall, then he leans in close, grabbing my neck and tipping my chin up so I have to look at him.
I smack his hand away—or try to, anyway.
Being literally pushed around after the bullshit he pulled today pisses me off so much, I want to slap him.
He must see the desire glinting in my eyes because he smirks, running his thumb along my jaw in a tender caress even as he challenges me. “Go ahead. I dare you.”
I swallow, the hairs at the nape of my neck standing up in response to his low, husky voice. “No,” I say shortly. “That would just give you an excuse.”
His smirk widens and he leans in, kissing the corner of my mouth even as I turn my head to try to evade him. “Baby, I don’t need an excuse to take what’s mine.”
“I’m not your baby,” I say cooly. “I’m not your anything.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m fucking not,” I say, shoving against him with all my strength.
He releases my neck and my face, grabbing my wrists and pinning them against the wall. “Stop fucking fighting me,” he growls, nuzzling his face against my neck.
“No. Get off me,” I hiss, trying to free my hands from his grip and growing more irritated when I can’t. “I don’t want you near me, don’t you get it?”
“Oh, I get it,” he murmurs lowly. “I just don’t fucking care.”
“Of course you don’t,” I snap. “You don’t care about anything. Obviously.”
“I care about you.” His tone is still low and annoyed, but his words are barbed specifically to take the air out of my resistance, and I’ll be damned if I make it that easy for him.
“No, you don’t. Someone who cared wouldn’t have abandoned me at the first opportunity and gone running back to his old ways. I don’t want anything to do with someone who behaves that way. It’s pathetic,” I spit, hoping my words are not only barbed, but dipped in fucking venom.
He smiles, shaking his head at me. “You think you can talk to me like that?”
My wrists are still pinned so my movement is limited, but I lean forward as much as I can so I can look up at him and meet his gaze. “You’ve been handed enough in your life, rich boy. If you want my respect, fucking earn it.”
His eyes glitter with malice as he gazes down at me, but I get the sickest sense he’s enjoying this.
He releases my wrists and grabs me, dragging me back over to the bed.