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)
“Unfortunately, probably not today," he says, pulling back to put more space between us. I don’t like it, but I sense we’re getting ready to have a serious conversation, so I guess it is needed. I can’t think at all when I’m near Victor.
“Why not? Sam’s crazy. You can’t listen to him. He’s overreacting about everything.”
“I don’t disagree to a certain point, but I think he’s right, baby.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “You can’t expect me to marry him, Victor. I won’t do it. I don’t love him. Right now, I’m not even sure I like him.”
His body goes rigid. “The only man you’ll be marrying is me, Kitten. You need to get that straight right fucking now,” he all but snarls.
I’m trying to wrap my mind around what he’s saying. I didn’t expect this from Victor. I thought he would agree with me. I am glad he at least doesn’t expect me to marry my stepbrother. I shake my head.
“We can’t get married, Victor.”
“Kitten, we can. If we had more time, I’d figure out another way to make this easier on you, but Samuil is right about a lot of things. Once he and his uncles make a move to overthrow Abram, that man will use you to get to him. When they kill him, their enemies will do the same. You’ll never be able to relax and rest easy. These men are power hungry. They won’t stop.”
“But married, Victor? We’re not ready for that.”
“Speak for yourself. I’ve been wanting to marry you since day one.”
“Victor, what if I make you miserable? I can’t marry you, not yet…not like this. If we get married, it should be special.”
He studies me. “There’s no way you could make me miserable. Being without you? That makes me miserable. Also, stop saying if. You are marrying me, Gia. The only thing in question is if we do it now or later.”
“You mean I get an option?” I laugh, the sound stilted as I’m starting to feel lost all over again.
“If you want to wait so our wedding is on your terms, then we can make sure this marriage has a fake minister. That way, if the wedding goes through and Abram doesn’t show, we won't really be married.”
I’m a mess. If I needed further proof, the fact that my heart hurts with his response and I want to scream at him, I want you to marry me now and claim me as your wife, proves it to me. I swallow that down, though. Victor and I haven’t even made love. There are still too many unknowns. We need more time. With that in mind, I take a breath. No matter how much it hurts me, I nod my head.
“Fake would probably be the best. We need more time to work things out between us.”
I force myself to lift my gaze up to look at Victor. My stomach clenches when I can clearly see the disappointment written on his face. Shit. I just screwed up. Haven’t I learned anything? I don’t want to push him away. We’ve both been suffering without one another. We love each other. I want to take it all back, but I need him to confirm that’s what he wants.
“What are you thinking?” I ask, my heart pounding in my chest.
“I’m thinking it’s about time my Kitten shows me how much she missed her man and how sorry she is for agreeing to go out with another man when I wasn’t around.”
Yikes. He’s being super-hot and seductive, but there’s an undercurrent of anger in his words, too. It’s anger that he’s entitled to have. I’m mad at myself. I take a shaky breath and bite my lip. “And just how would I do that?” I ask.
“I want your body, Gia. Give it to me and trust me to take care of you.”
My heart runs away with me. I stare at the man that I love and somehow drum up the courage to stand. My legs are trembling. I have to lock my knees to keep from falling. Yet, when I look down at Victor, all I see is love. I can feel the heat on my face. I know it’s beet red. I can’t do anything about that. I try to hide the way my hands tremble as I lift my T-shirt over my head and throw it on the floor. I have on a plain white cotton bra. I wish it was something sexier, but I can’t do anything to change it now. Victor’s eyes are laser focused on me. They deepen in color, and I know he likes what he sees. I kick off the sandals I’m wearing while undoing my jeans. The heat of his gaze brands me and I lock my eyes on his and don’t let them falter as I push my jeans down over my hips and let them fall. I kick them out of the way. My moves aren’t sexy at all, but from the look on his face, I don’t think he cares. My panties are white to match the bra. I’m praying he can’t see just how wet they are.