Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 115400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
I swallow hard, keeping my stare locked on him to make sure he’s not about to flip the switch and send this whole strange vacation vibe crumbling down around me. After all, the alternative terrifies me. “I feel that I need to warn you that I am not someone who naturally follows rules. The idea that you claim to own me makes me sick. I’ve never answered to anyone in my life, and I don’t like the idea of starting now. I didn’t answer to the assholes who took me off the street, and I don’t answer to you. I answer to me.”
Darkness clouds his eyes, and he steps toward me, placing his glass down on a table as he passes by. “Understand me, girl,” he says, his voice taking on a tone that chills me to the bone. “I don’t care what you once did in a former life, who you fucked, or what you valued. You belong to me now. You answer to me and me alone. I own you.”
I shake my head, hating that my need to argue every case rears its ugly head right now. “But you don’t,” I tell him. “You might have claimed me at that bullshit auction, but you didn’t purchase me because I was never for sale. I was stolen off the street and offered to the highest bidder. Besides, I don’t know how many auctions you’ve been to, but when you purchase something, an exchange must occur. But you didn’t dig into those deep pockets of yours and pay what you owed. You simply walked in and told the world that I was yours. There was no payment made. Therefore, you don’t own me.”
Those dark eyes are like two raging pits leading straight to hell, and as I try to back up, I find myself unable to move. “I paid by allowing those scum to keep breathing,” he states, that low tone like poison in my veins. “A price unmatched by any other. Now, I understand this is your first night here. You’re scared, uncertain, and nervous. You don’t know what’s coming your way and probably haven’t had a decent meal in a while, so I will put your outburst aside. I am not a forgiving man, but considering the circumstances, I will excuse your actions. This time. But know, if you speak out of line one more time, you will see a side of me that you will never be able to come back from. Do we have an understanding?”
Fear consumes me, and I hold his stare for a while, absolutely hating this, but the one thing I feel deep in my gut is that this unnamed man keeps his word, whether those words are threatening my life or not. He will follow through if he feels challenged, no matter the cost. “I fear that this is going to be a bigger adjustment than you had anticipated,” I tell him, keeping it honest. “However, I know you don’t know me, and my word probably doesn’t mean shit to you, but it means something to me. So, I will give you my word that I will try and do things your way. You said you hoped our time together would be pleasant, and I am honest in telling you that I hope it can be too. I’m not interested in experiencing this other side of you.”
He nods, and his stormy eyes seem to relax. “Then we have an understanding,” he says. “Now, I know it is late, and I am sure you are wanting to retire to your room. However, there is one thing I need from you before you are excused.”
My brows furrow, and I meet his dark gaze. “What’s that?”
He steps into me, closer than ever before, that sweet whiskey breath brushing over my neck and sending a shiver sailing across my body. He leans in, his voice low and thick with desire. “You’re going to show me how you come.”
5
CHIARA
Nerves pound through my body as my captor leads me through his home. I feel my hands shaking, but I’m far too focused on his words still ringing in my ear.
You’re going to show me how you come.
Is he for real? Shit. What a stupid question. Of course he’s for real.
He refuses to give me his name, and yet somehow, I already know he’s one of the most powerful men on the planet. If he asks a woman to spread her legs and fuck herself in front of him, then that’s exactly what she will do. This isn’t a man who enjoys being told no. Hell, when he is told no, he fixes it by taking lives. At least, that’s what I assume he does. He all but confirmed it when he suggested that he paid for me by allowing my original captor to live.