Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Getting up from her seat, she held the glass in her hand, and waited. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Am I okay?”
She frowned. “Yes.”
He chuckled. “A man attacked us and you were in danger, but you want to know if I’m okay?”
“It’s a perfectly reasonable question.”
“No, it’s not. You see, Faith, you’re supposed to want a normal life and have one yourself. You’re not supposed to be woken up in the middle of the night because I’m pounding the life out of someone.” Caleb threw his hand out, his actions jerky and angry.
She watched him, hating that he was feeling this way.
“You’re nearly nineteen. This is the last thing you should have to deal with. You’re supposed to be having fun, living your life.”
“I am having fun, Caleb.”
“You’re not listening.”
“I am listening, Caleb. It sounds to me like you want a reason for me to leave.”
“You should. If you value your life you should stay far away from me. I can’t even take care of kittens. There’s no way that I can take care of you.”
“Kittens?”
He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
“I don’t need for you to take care of me.”
He snorted.
“No! You don’t get to tell me how I’m supposed to live a normal life and expect me to listen to all of your supposed ‘good reasons.’ They’re all bullshit, Caleb. Every single one of them. No one has a normal life. No one. They may go to college and have husbands, but there’s no way of defining normal. I grew up with a gambling father. Wow, I mean, I was so worried I even slept with someone so that I knew it would be my choice, that’s how much my life has been fucked up. I’ve gone without food, and I’ve had to lie under my bed while debt collectors came knocking on the door.” She pointed at her face. “I got this because he didn’t pay. What part of my fucking life has ever been normal?”
He went to speak, and she held her hand up. For once she was going to be heard. She wasn’t going to have a man tell her what she was going to do or what she should be doing.
“My father pulled me out of high school, and I didn’t fight him about it because I was tired of always being behind and I hated being the new girl. I hated my life, and I hated him. Then you happened. You came to collect a debt, and he handed me to you. I was so scared. I’d heard about you, but I didn’t know what to expect. Caleb Carson, one of the most feared men in the world, and he … he is the kindest man I have ever known.”
“I killed your dad.”
“I know, and I don’t care. That’s how much my life is fucked up, Caleb. I don’t care. All I know is that when I’m with you, nothing else matters.” She shrugged. “I guess I’m just a bit weird. I don’t know.” This was the biggest chance she had ever taken in her entire life. “If you’re wanting me to leave because you think I’m not happy, or that I’m not safe, then I … I don’t want to go. I love you, Caleb. But if you’re wanting me to go because you can’t stand the sight of me, and you’re wanting another woma—”
“What did you say?”
“That if you want another woman?”
“No, the bit before that?”
“That I love you.”
“I thought you didn’t do love.”
“So did I. I guess I was wrong. I love you, Caleb. I don’t want to go anywhere else. Being with you, it’s the happiest I’ve ever felt.” She held the glass tightly in her fingers.
He took a step closer to her.
“I know you’re not a fan of love.”
“I love you,” he said, stepping right up to her.
She tilted her head back, watching him. “What?”
“I’ve known for quite a while, and I’ve been fighting it, but I love you. All I want is the best for you.”
“There’s no one else that will ever give me better than you.” She placed the glass on the desk and cupped his face. Staring into his eyes, she felt herself get lost within him. “I know this life is dangerous. I trust you. I’ll train. I’ll do whatever you need me to do, but please, don’t send me away because you think it’ll do me good. I don’t want to leave you.”
He gripped the back of her neck, and in the next second, his lips crashed on hers, and she melted against him.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back with a passion. She didn’t hold anything back, letting him know in her kiss how much she wanted him. Not only did she want him, she craved him more than anything else in the world.