Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Angelina is mine. I will make her love me.
Failure is not an option. I will find a way to heal her from her past. I will make this work because there is no alternative. The simple truth is, I can’t live without her.
I let my fingers slide under her shirt, caressing her skin and swallowing down the moan that leaves her lips. I glide upward along her ribcage, teasing her, but never going as far as I want. I long to cup her breasts in my hands, but the last thing I want is to scare her away. Eventually we’re forced to break apart and as she gasps, bringing air into her lungs, I bury my head in the crook of her neck and kiss her neck. I revel in the way her pulse jumps against my lips. She wants me. She’s scared, but that’s not keeping her from being in my arms.
I nibble her sweet flesh, nibbling on the exposed skin, before lapping at it with my tongue. God, she’s perfect. Every single thing about her is perfect. I capture her earlobe between my teeth, nipping at it gently. When her hand shyly flattens against my chest, as she rocks on my lap, I almost lose control. My tongue dances along the shell of her ear as I groan. “I want you, Gia. I want you so fucking much.”
I’m not truly aware of what I just confessed. I’ve been doing my best to hide how much I need her. I really have but kissing her has ignited the fire that I can no longer keep under control. I know I’ve made a mistake the minute I feel her body tighten and go rigid. It kills me, but I pull back.
“Baby—”
“I think I like you calling me baby more than sweetheart, but I do love both. I just like the purr in your voice when you use the first one.”
“I like the way you get nervous and talk about anything other than what has you upset,” I tell her with an absent smile. I know she can hear the tenderness in my voice though. “I’m sorry, Gia. I promise you that I’m not putting pressure on you. We will do this at your speed. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I put eyes on you. That’s not changing. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I really lo—like you a lot, Victor. I do. It’s just this feels sudden. I think I’m afraid to trust it.”
I grab a small portion of her hair and twirl it around my finger. “It may feel sudden to you, but trust me, it’s not. From that night at that horrible fake funeral for Maxwell, I knew I wanted you. Hell, it took all I had not to kiss the hell out of you that night and make Dante and that witch of a mother of yours watch. When I say I’m not going anywhere, Gia, I mean I’m really not. I’m here to stay, baby.”
“I don’t know when or if—”
“Here. To. Stay.”
“You say that now, but…” she argues, trailing off and not finishing her thought. I know what she’s thinking, though. I take a minute to find the words to try and calm her fears.
“Do you trust me, Gia?”
“You know I do, Victor. Well, except when you’re an asshole and try to tell me you don’t want to be my friend,” she mutters.
“Before me, when is the last time you trusted any man in your life?” I ask, after giving a small laugh, because I love when she gives me lip. I was ready to spank her tonight, but I’m glad I didn’t. I need to take things slow here. Unlike Angelina, I’m not concerned. She’s already given me part of her heart. I’ll claim the rest soon.
“Uncle Max, I guess,” she mutters nervously, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Maxwell was a good man,” I admit.
“Yeah, he was.” She sounds sad and I can hear her grief. She really does miss her uncle.
“The thing is, I owe Maxwell everything. I do. He’s the father I never had. Yet, as great as he was, he should have rescued you. He knew how his sister was. He had to know she would be an even bigger bitch to her own daughter than she was to him. He failed you. I won’t. If I had known you back then, that bitch would have never gotten her claws into you. I sure as fuck would have brought you to my home and kept you safe. I would have done that the very minute I discovered you had been attacked.”
“Victor,” she laughs, “you are a lot of things, but we’re not that different in ages. I doubt even you could have convinced a court to give you guardianship of me over my mother.”
“Fuck, guardianship. I would have married you.”