Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106948 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
I quickly unclasped them, stretching my fingers slightly and almost sighing with relief when he looked away. He crossed his legs and I realized for the first time he’d removed his shoes at some point, leaving his feet clad in black socks. I flexed my own bare feet against the floor, trying to think of something witty, something urbane to break the silence. My comment about the painting had pretty much used up my pool of small talk. If he didn’t say or do something soon, I’d start talking about the freaking weather just to hear something other than the pounding of my heart.
“Do I intimidate you?”
“Yes.”
“Do I scare you?”
“No.”
“Not even a little bit? I’m a very big man, and you’re a delicate girl.”
I scoffed at him. “I’m not as fragile as I look.”
“You remind me of Audrey Hepburn.”
Without my permission, my inner insecure preteen self peeked out and said, “Really?”
He nodded solemnly. “You have the most graceful neck, and your eyes are as large and captivating as hers were. But your mouth…I am obsessed with your mouth. I think about it all the time, all the things I want to do to your lips, all the ways I want to corrupt you. Would you enjoy that, Hannah? Being corrupted by me?”
“Absolutely.” I blinked rapidly as my entire body heated. “It’s hot in here.”
He took me in his arms and cradled me to his chest, my body going limp with relaxation as my thoughts became disconnected, drifting.
The last thing I remember is Leo tracing the side of my jaw with his thumb, a look of triumph gracing his hard face.
Chapter 3
Leo
Her eyelids fluttered shut over her extraordinary honey-brown and amber-flecked eyes, the naturally dark lashes sweeping to the curves of her high cheekbones, drawing my eyes to the unlined, almost childlike perfection of her ivory skin.
A thrill ran through me as I rubbed my nose along her cheek, savoring the feeling of her like an addict taking his first hit of opium. Having the woman I’m obsessed with close enough to smell, to taste, drives me crazy. My dick couldn’t get any harder, and I had a difficult time remembering why she’s here with me tonight. How much work has gone into this moment.
Once again I lost myself in leaning down so I could rub my lips against her fine hair, the softness making me think of what it would feel like to wrap all that silkiness around my cock.
There wasn’t a part of Hannah I didn’t want to both defile and revere.
To be honest, I’d all but forgotten about the girl I’d talked with in the waiting room of the hospital other than a random thought now and again, but some part of me had remembered the cadence of her words, the color of her eyes. When she’d waited on me at that diner a year ago, she was shy, sweet, funny, and when her hand brushed mine as I held my coffee cup steady, a flurry of sparks raced through my body, lighting up previously unused pleasure centers in my brain. Yes, I’ve had sex, and yes it has been pleasurable, but I’ve never felt the instant, enslaving blow of the need to own a woman that has made men stupid since the dawn of time.
At least until I saw Hannah.
In disguise, I’d visited her twice more at her job, an addict desperate for the fix of her soothing presence, the melody of her voice.
Briefly touching her as she’d handed me my food was both heaven and hell, her skin baby smooth and her sweetheart-shaped face graced with a small smile.
She invaded my thoughts, then my dreams, and finally I began my own reconnaissance in earnest, a yearning growing inside of me for a future I didn’t deserve. The more I watched her, the more fixated I became, unable to believe a person as good-hearted as Hannah really existed. But time and time again she proved that she was just…nice. She was loyal to her friends, kind to strangers, and sweet to the point that people like her rich bitch roommate took advantage of her.
She was a treasure waiting for the right man, a man like me, to recognize her potential.
I’ll give her everything she needs to be happy so even when I break her heart—and I will, the nature of my job almost guarantees it—she’ll love me enough to let me put it back together again, because I’ll be the only person who can.
If this works, I will have her absolute loyalty, and she’ll be the one person I can fully trust in this whole world.
In my arms, Hannah’s light weight rested easily against me and I couldn’t resist leaning forward and brushing my lips over her incredibly full, slightly parted ones before drawing away with great reluctance.