Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76501 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
He laughs. He seems delighted by my answer and turns toward the path. “Come on. It’s harder going back up.”
I don’t complain when he scoops me into his arms and carries me again. I’d cut my feet on the stones anyway, and once we’re at the top, he puts me back down gingerly. He’s barely breathing hard and I’m totally wiped, and once again I’m struck by the sheer physical difference between the two of us.
He’s built for speed and death, and I’m not. Even if I love to run, that doesn’t mean I’m good at it.
Meanwhile, his body is a machine, and I can’t help but glance at his skin glistening in the sunlight and dappled with sweat. His muscular arms are threaded with veins and his thick hair is swept back in a perfect wave.
It’s like this guy was built to tempt me.
“What now?” I ask as we head back to the house. I walk slowly to make sure I don’t step on something sharp.
“Now you go back into that room and spend another day thinking about your choice.”
He falls in by my side and keeps pace with me. “You’re really going to kill me if I refuse to marry you?”
“I’ll have to.” Simple as that.
And I think he’s right.
“Were you serious yesterday?” I ask quietly, staring down at the ground. “About what you said?”
“When I told you to be a good girl? Yes, I was serious. Or maybe the part where I said I wanted to rip off your clothes and spank you raw—”
“You didn’t say anything about spanking.”
“—Or how you look gorgeous covered in sweat, your cheeks pink from running.”
“You also didn’t say that.”
“Hm. Maybe that was only in my head.”
I blush furiously, tingling excitement rolling down my spine, or maybe that’s the post-run euphoria. “I’m serious. I meant about marrying you and… biding my time.”
He runs a hand through his thick hair. “That’s what I’d do if I were you.”
“That doesn’t bother you? That I’m just going to try to kill you one day?”
His eyes sparkle with amusement. “I look forward to you trying.”
“I don’t get you at all. Why would you want to marry a girl that’s only going to try to kill you?”
“It’s simple, flower. I think once you’re my wife and you experience everything I can make you feel—”
“If we get married, I am not sleeping with you—”
“—I think you’re going to want to stick around.” He stops walking and grabs my wrist, pulling me toward him. I stumble and land with my hands on his chest, staring up into his eyes as his lips pull back into a slight smirk. “And yes, flower, if you’re my wife, you will do everything that entails.”
“All the more reason to choose the bullet then.”
“Go ahead. Make life simple for me.”
“You still haven’t answered my question. Why would you want to take the risk?”
“Have you ever considered that you might be worth the risk?”
I chew on my lip and curl my fingers into his muscles. I tilt my chin up, staring at him, trying to figure out what the hell this man is thinking. “You don’t know me,” I whisper and that only makes him pull me tighter against him.
Why save me if it’s so much trouble? Why give me this choice if it would be easier to kill me after all? Why go through all this bullshit if in the end I’m nothing but a pussy and a uterus and arm candy for this bastard? He says I’m worth the risk, but he doesn’t know that. He can find pretty girls all over the world to pump out his babies and ride his dick when he’s in the mood.
He might even find someone who wants him.
Someone who loves him.
Why me?
His thumb comes up and runs down my lip. I pull in a breath and don’t move, frozen in place, as he pushes my mouth open and slides the tip of his it between my teeth. It’s so vulnerable and intimate—I could bite down hard and make him bleed if I wanted, maybe even try to get away as he screams in pain—but instead, I close my lips around his thumb and roll my tongue along the callus on the tip.
What the fuck am I doing, sucking on his thumb like it’s his cock?
He releases the most incredible purr in the back of his throat. His other hand laces through my hair and he pulls, ever so slightly, and I whimper as he presses his thumb deeper into my mouth. I let him do it, shivering with anticipation, the strap of my tank top falling down my shoulder, my breasts clinging to the sweat-soaked fabric. I feel his strength, his power, and something thick and hard between his legs. My nipples are stiff, almost painful, and a throbbing pleasure warms itself in my core.