Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“Sasha, I love you. I really do. With all my heart, I love you.” Her voice, so low, was filled with affection and he nearly blew Sasha’s head off right there and then.
“You’ll always be my family, but he’s my choice. I want you to get to know him. To take that time, for me. I’m asking as someone who loves you and needs you in my life, take the time to get to know him before you judge him.”
Her family? The Bogomolovs? The ones trying to kill her? What was she doing? Stalling for time?
“Damn it, Sonia, no. He’s not for you. This life isn’t for you. I forbid it.”
Sonia stared up at the fury on Sasha’s hard features. “He’ll fight for me. He will come after me and he’ll never stop until he finds me. He’ll fight for me. That’s the kind of man he is.”
Joshua’s heart clenched hard. Pounded. His blood thundered in his ears. She believed in him. There was absolute confidence in her voice.
“You don’t know that. You can’t possibly know him that well. I saw you in the swamp, a little female running from that pack of males. Imagine my surprise when that beautiful cat turned out to be you. I saw his leopard knock yours off her feet. I saw you shift and kick the crap out of the male. You were fearless. Beautiful. I was so proud of you.”
Joshua was proud of her now. He’d been so then as well, although at the time he’d been so fucking pissed at her and terrified out of his mind when he’d realized she was willing to commit suicide. He’d also been so upset that she’d shifted and showed her beautiful body off to all his men – and apparently Bogomolov as well – he hadn’t thought much beyond that. He knew, from what Shadow indicated, that Gatita hadn’t forgiven the male and refused to come out and resolve the problem. He should have done a better job of apologizing to her.
“I love him.”
Joshua nearly groaned aloud. His entire body reacted to those three words. The way she said them. A fact quietly stated. Her gaze was steady on Sasha’s and she didn’t flinch when the Russian glared at her. Joshua loved her even more in that moment. Loved her. With his heart. All the way to his lost soul.
“He manhandled you.”
He had, but she’d been kicking the hell out of his leopard and he hadn’t wanted the bad-tempered beast to think about teaching her a lesson. Still…
“He would never hurt me. Never.” She said it with absolute conviction and Joshua felt like his woman was bringing him to his knees.
“I see bruises on your skin. Smudge marks where his fingers dug in deep.”
His woman blushed. His body hardened at the thought of the other marks on her, on her breasts, the inside of her thighs, her buttocks. He hadn’t left much of her unmarked.
“It’s not like that. We both get a little crazy.” That wasn’t the word for it. He was so addicted to her, to her mouth, her body, every part of her, that he didn’t think a full second went by that he wasn’t thinking about his cock and how it felt in her, surrounded by her. She got him into such a frenzy, he was out of control – and that never happened with any other woman.
“He doesn’t hit me. He wouldn’t.”
“How would you know, Sonia?”
Joshua wanted to smash Sasha for that question. He would never hit her. He couldn’t. He sure as hell wouldn’t allow another man to abuse her either. Like putting a fucking bomb in her car.
“I know you wouldn’t hit me. No matter how angry you get at me, I know you would never hit me. I know the same about him. Whatever he’s doing in his life, whatever led him there, that’s his, not mine. He has to decide what’s important in his life. You believe you were born to take over your father’s business and you intend to do that. You just admitted to me you killed the men conspiring to harm me.”
He nodded slowly. “I know I’m not a good man. I know what I am. I know I’ll never have it all, the woman I can love completely and who can love me and look at me as if I’m everything to her. That’s not going to happen for me because I know I’m not a good man.”
“He’ll come for me, Sasha. I love him, and I love you. I would never be able to forgive you if you hurt him.”
There was no way to love her any more than he already did. Every time he thought that, she said something that melted his heart. That took him closer to her.
“Do you think that matters to me? I chose you. You’re all I have left. You are my family. You, Sonia. Do you think for one minute I’m going to turn you over to a man who is a fucking criminal? Once you’re his, in our world, I can’t interfere.”