Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
She let out a sardonic laugh and rolled her eyes. “Not really.”
Phoenix leaned in closer. “What does that mean, Lyra?”
She met his gaze. “You really want to hear this? You don’t know me. I’m just some crazy girl who drove off the road into a ditch.”
He shook his head. “I told you not to talk about yourself like that, Lyra. I mean it.” He badly wanted to tell her the next time she spoke ill of herself, he would take her over his knees, but she was just leaving an abusive, toxic relationship and had no idea that she was ultimately going to be his Little girl to cherish and protect. Piling that on her right now would be a bad idea.
“You say that like you intend to spank me,” she responded, and holy hell, she also squirmed on the seat.
He gripped her chin and held her gaze again. “Lyra, I’d be happy to spank you if that’s something you enjoy, but we’ll talk about that possibility later. Right now, I want to understand what your relationship with Boyd is because, Little girl, your next relationship is going to be with me, and it won’t look anything like the one you just escaped.” He lifted a brow.
She shuddered and licked those pretty lips again, not looking away. “You mean that.”
“I do, Little one.”
“I haven’t had sex with Boyd in three years.”
Thank fuck. “How old were you when you started sleeping with him?”
“Twenty-two. Before that, he was just my agent. He was fun back then. He took care of everything so my parents didn’t have to. He managed my life, both my professional and my personal. He got me through calculus. He held my hair back when I had the flu for a week when I was nineteen. He picked me up in the middle of the night when I snuck out to go to a party with friends and got drunk.”
Phoenix turned to more fully face her and set a hand behind her neck. His other still held her fingers.
“I realized I was in love with him when I was about twenty. It took me two years of flirting to get him to see me that way. We moved in together soon after that. My parents were pleased. They loved him as much as I did. A few years after that, he changed. He was different somehow.”
Six years ago… If his math was good, she’d been with him for six more years after he’d stopped treating her like spun gold.
“In public, he still holds my hand and puts on a show for everyone to see. The world thinks I’m the luckiest woman alive. As soon as we’re alone, he gets us a suite, we sleep separately, and he basically ignores me. Usually, he’s on his phone or computer. He says managing me is a lot of work. He’s always busy. He’s always angry. But this is the first time I’ve witnessed him losing his shit over a tour. When I told him I wasn’t going to Japan, he picked up a vase and threw it hard against the far wall. He got in my face and shouted at me that I damn well was going to Japan and then pointed at my bedroom door and told me to get some sleep. He was going out. He’d be back later.”
“And then you discovered you’d been locked into the room.”
“Yes.” She finally lowered her gaze. “I sound foolish.”
Phoenix slid his fingers from her neck to her chin and lifted her face again. “Don’t denigrate yourself like that. I know you don’t want me to spank your naughty bottom right here in the SUV.”
Her deep brown eyes went wide, and her mouth parted. Finally, she said, “Maybe I do. Maybe that’s exactly what I need. It beats being ignored.”
“I will never ignore you, Lyra. Not for one minute.”
She swallowed hard. “I must be really tired because you’re very tempting.”
He grinned. “I’m glad you find me tempting. Now, here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to go inside and pick up your things from the front desk. Then, you’re going to stay in my apartment.”
She gasped. “I can’t do that.”
“Sure, you can. It’s safer. I’m not going to sleep with you, Lyra. I’m not going to spank you yet, either. You need sleep. It sounds like you never slept a single minute last night, and then you drove all the way here today. I have a room in my apartment. That’s just what you need.”
She shook her head. “I can just check into the resort like I planned. I don’t want to be a burden. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not a burden, Lyra. But you’re also not safe. My apartment is on the fifth floor, which is secured. No one can get to you there. You can sleep as long as you’d like without worrying.”