Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
It took me a moment to remember which side of the small bed the nightstand was on. My watch had a little button that lit up, so I could see the time. I was well aware that normal women my age would just use their phones, but I’d never been allowed one.
It was a little past seven in the morning. I frowned, thinking it over. Shouldn’t it be light here? Chicago was only one time zone different from New York.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, wishing I had a cell phone to use as a flashlight. Or to use to call a cab and get the hell out of here—not that that was a genuine option.
Nudging my feet along the carpet, I found the slippers I’d unpacked the night before.
Only a faint light showed which way the main room was. Once I got to the doorway, I discovered why it was so dark. Heavy curtains were drawn over the windows, and only a small beam of light made it through. It fell across the bed, and across Massimo’s chest.
His bare chest.
My breath caught, as if I’d wake him just by my gaze alone, but his breathing was steady and regular. My eyes were adjusting to the dim light, and I saw more than I was anticipating. A dark sheet was twisted around his legs, riding low on his hips. Was he completely naked?
It certainly looked that way, and I tried not to focus on the bulge under the rumpled sheet. But it was downright impossible to ignore his upper body.
His callousness last night had made me forget his appearance, but it had been clear from the very first time my mother had shown me his picture that he was a very good-looking man. I’d gasped the first time I saw him, thinking he looked like a prince. But even then, something had told me that he was no fairy tale hero. More like a dark prince who did bad deeds until he finally saw the light. Or the villain in a movie whose dark beauty tempted the heroine.
Now that he was asleep, it was impossible not to watch the way his bare chest rose and fell. There was a smattering of dark hair on his upper chest, but his abs were completely smooth. Completely smooth and amazingly defined. I hadn’t known that real men outside of movies actually had abs like that. It wasn’t like I’d seen many men with their shirts off. Not even on screens, at least not that often, since my mother only let me watch certain things.
It seemed so strange to enjoy the sight of him sleeping when he scared me when he was awake. His impatience with me last night made it clear that he didn’t want this marriage any more than I did. I’d known that he was doing this for monetary reasons—though I still didn’t know what his family stood to gain from merging with mine—but I’d hoped he’d find something to like about me. My parents’ marriage had been arranged as well, but they’d ended up loving each other.
But Massimo didn’t seem to like anything about me. Did he not like how I looked, too? That was something I didn’t think about often, but my long, black hair was my favorite quality about myself. I’d worn it loose in slight waves tonight to please him. And I liked to dress well when I could, not that our family could afford designer clothes anymore. But surely there was something he liked about my appearance?
Then again, he looked like a movie star. Like a sexy villain you couldn’t stop rooting for due to his dark charm. I still couldn’t stop looking at his chest. His face was partially in the shadows, but I could see his Roman nose and his full lips. What would it be like to kiss him? If I’d be sharing his bed soon, I’d likely find out. Or if not, then definitely at the wedding itself, where it would be part of the ceremony.
A pain in my stomach made me remember my original mission—the bathroom. Still, I was strangely reluctant to take my eyes off my groom-to-be. His body was so perfect. So sculpted and muscled. So powerful—and it was easier to admire it when his disapproving gaze wasn’t on me.
Moving quietly, I padded across the thick carpet to the bathroom door. I opened it cautiously, grateful when it didn’t make any noise. Standing on the tile floor in the dark, I reached for the light, turning it on as I shut the door.
A small gasp escaped my lips as I pushed the door closed. For just a half-second, the light from the bathroom had fallen across the bed, but it had been enough to see that Massimo’s eyes were open.