Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
She moans against my mouth as I squeeze the two points. She barely has a moment to react before she slowly sags against me, her eyes fluttering closed. “Jasper…?”
“Sleep, my pet. We have a long journey ahead.”
Her body sags against mine, and I tuck her to me as I dial the number with my other hand.
“Enzo Morelli speaking. Who is this?”
“Alessio Vitallio,” I say.
“You figured it out.” There’s a smile in his voice.
“About that offer, I’m taking it.”
31
Georgina
I wake up in a room I don't know.
It's cold and I'm buried under what feels like a dozen blankets. There's something around my neck, too. Something heavy and constricting.
I raise my hands to touch it. It's a steel collar, firmly placed around my throat. I groan and tug at it to get it off, but when I try, a small electric current runs through the collar, shocking me. Yelping, I pull my hands back and get out from under the blankets.
I'm naked. Completely, utterly naked.
The feeling of being cold seeps away, and I realize just how sluggish and slow I feel. I dig through my thoughts to find my very last memory.
Jasper.
He kissed me in my kitchen, wrapping his hands around my throat and then… nothing.
My heart pounds hard and fast. Did he… did he black me out with pressure points or something? He's fucking crazy. Unpredictable. And the worst part is, choking me until I faint is something I can easily imagine him doing.
"Good morning, Petal."
Eyes widening, I raise my head to the doorframe. There he is, leaning against the door with a smirk on his face and my favorite mug in his hands.
I work hard so my cat can have a better life.
The words mock me. How easy my life had been when I got that mug. I never suspected any of this would ever happen to me.
"Jas, where are w-we?" I hate my weakness, the way I stutter. But I swallow down my pride and keep my gaze locked with his.
My stalker.
My tormentor.
And now, my captor.
"We needed a little break from the city," he says easily. "So I thought I'd bring you to my home country."
"Your... h-home country?" I repeat, glancing around the room again. I run to the window and look out. It's getting dark, but from what I can see, we're right in the middle of a forest or a farm or something. There's merely a gravel path leading up to an old mansion. "Where is this place?”
“Sicilia. Benvenuto in Italia.”
Sicily. Italy? Holy shit. How the fuck did we leave American soil? I never left the state, let alone the whole damn country. And how…how could he smuggle an unconscious person that easily and even find a place this fast? Knowing how crazy Jasper is, this shouldn’t be surprising, but it is.
One moment I was in my kitchen, the next I’m in Europe altogether.
I want to scream and curse at him, but I know that method won’t work and will only bring me trouble, so I pretend I’m not freaking out and lift my chin. “Why have you brought me here, Jasper?"
"We're staying. For a long time.”
"What? You can't just... fucking kidnap me! Are you crazy? What about my cats?"
He smirks, his eyes saying, Of course they're the first things you'd think of, crazy fucking cat lady.
"They'll be fine. Dinah and Katya will take care of them, won't they?"
I swallow again, forcing myself to calm down.
Okay, don't panic. Just work with him until you can get the hell out of here.
"What about my job?" I ask next. "They won't understand if I just disappear."
He shrugs carelessly. "I don't see how that's my problem."
I'm about to start arguing when I notice a little device in his hand. He sees me looking and opens his palm. It's a long tube with a button on the end of it, and he presses it, sending another shock through the collar I've been forced to wear.
"What the fuck is this thing?" I claw at my neck to get it off to no avail.
"Some jewelry for you. You like it?"
"No, I fucking hate it." I glare at him. "Why are you treating me like some kind of prisoner?"
"Because that's what you are." He sets the cup and the remote down just out of my reach, grinning when my eyes follow his motions. "For the foreseeable future, at least. Until I get tired of you."
"You can't do this. You can't just steal me away. People will come looking."
"How will they know where the fuck to look, Petal?" His lips tug in a smirk. “Or in which country?”
"I'm going to run," I warn him.
"You just try." He laughs, like this is somehow amusing to him. "I'd love to see how far you get with that collar on.”
“Jasper…” I soften my voice trying to plead to the human side of him. “Didn’t we…connect?”