Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 78142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I’ve got a hotel booked for tonight, and I’ve got enough in savings to stay there for the next couple of weeks if I have to.” I frown. “That should be plenty of time to find another…situation.”
She blinks, her face stiff. “All right.”
“I don’t know if you’re even considering their request,” I say, “but if you are, I wanted to stop by and tell you it’s not necessary.”
“Okay, Dragon.” She sighs. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you. It’s just that—”
I walk toward her and quiet her by holding up a hand. “You don’t have to give me any reasons or excuses or anything.” I look down, kicking at the marble-tiled floor. “I know someone like you doesn’t want to have someone like me encroaching on her space.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Now you wait just a minute. I never said anything about who you are or anything like that.”
I can’t help a scoff. “Give me a break, Diana. You’re a member of the Steel family. You’re about as high class as they get. And I’m…”
She whips her hands to her hips. “You’re what, exactly?”
I don’t reply. I don’t talk about myself. Not the present, and especially not the past. Not to anyone. Jesse is the only one—other than my therapist—I’ve trusted with it, and even he doesn’t know everything. But he’s kept my confidence. Even when I betrayed him big time and fell off the wagon during the band’s big break, he forgave me.
“Are you going to answer me?” Diana insists.
“No,” I say flatly.
“I hate it when people do this.” She balls her hands into fists, her cheeks and neck turning red. “People assume just because I was born into privilege that I don’t understand anybody else. That I think people are beneath me. I’m not like that, Dragon. None of my family is. You should know that by now.”
Her beauty has turned fiery. Maybe I misjudged her. Maybe she’s as much of a spitfire as her sister, and damn…
This woman is so out of my league. God knows I’m still too fucked up for any kind of relationship, but everything in me wants me to grab her, kiss her, throw her over my shoulder, take her into her bedroom, and fuck the living daylights out of her.
Hard, fast, and not gentle.
Because I’m not gentle.
But Diana Steel is not for me.
She’s beauty and light personified, and I…
I ruin everything I touch.
Chapter Three
Diana
“Get out, then,” I say, “if you’re not going to answer me. You’ve told me why you’re here. For some reason, you felt the need to tell me none of this was your idea.”
“It wasn’t,” he says.
“And clearly you think I’m some kind of stuck-up snob who wouldn’t want the likes of you staying with me anyway.”
He shrugs. “You haven’t told me I’m wrong.”
“Oh!” I turn around, pace a few steps away from the door, and then turn back. “This kind of stuff drives me insane. Do you think I’m here in Denver for my health? I’m here because I want a career in architecture. I’m not working for the family business. I want my own damned life.”
“Did I say you didn’t?”
“No. You simply insinuated that I wouldn’t want you staying with me because I’m some little rich girl who doesn’t want to be bothered with the dregs of society.”
He chuckles then, which is odd, because I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Dragon Locke laugh.
“What the hell is so funny?” I demand.
“You’re contradicting your own point,” he says. “I never said I was the dregs of society. Those words came out of your mouth.”
“You specifically said ‘someone like me.’”
He exhales sharply through his nose. “Pretty vague on my part. You filled in the blanks.”
I open my mouth to offer a retort, but he lifts a hand to quiet me.
“And frankly, I don’t have a problem with that.” He looks around the apartment. “I don’t have a problem with any of this. Like I said, none of it was my idea. I’m here, I have a hotel room for the night, and I won’t be bothering you anymore. Forget that Jesse and Brianna even asked you to do this favor. It’s not necessary. It was never necessary.”
He turns, but I grab his arm, forcing him to face me. “It really doesn’t matter what you think of me.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Diana.” Then he leaves, closing the door behind him.
Good. Good riddance.
I need to make myself some dinner anyway. I had an early lunch, and my stomach was growling before Dragon showed up.
Funny. I’m not that hungry now.
Still, I traipse into my kitchen—my huge gourmet kitchen.
It’s twice the size of the kitchen I shared with my roommates when I was in college. Ample counter space—granite, of course. Rich cabinets of dark wood, half of which are empty or holding a few dishes at most. A mammoth island in the middle that’s big enough to house a five-burner gas range, a second sink—yes, I have two—and a small wine fridge. Top-of-the-line appliances, the crown jewel of which is my professional-grade refrigerator.