Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“I knocked. You called me in. I thought—”
“I thought you were Eunika,” he says softly. “My mother’s room is off limits to everyone except for me. Do you understand?”
A spark of anger flares in my chest. “Why the hell are you so mad? It’s not like you were doing anything wrong in there. You were just helping your sick mother eat dinner.”
“And that’s none of your concern.” His jaw works, teeth grinding, and I almost laugh this is so absurd. He’s mad because I saw him being a human for once in his life instead of a psycho monster asshole. It makes no sense at all and I can’t fathom the sort of thinking that goes into being pissed about this. Some of my fear turns to defiance. I keep reminding myself, I did nothing wrong, he’s being the asshole here.
“Why are you like this?” I ask, tilting my chin up and leaning into the hand that’s gripping me by the throat. Let him choke me if he’s really going to, the bastard. “You show a shred of humanity and you’re acting like I caught you sacrificing puppies to a demon.”
His lips twitch and his eyes narrow. “In my world, sacrificing puppies would be preferable to showing weakness.”
“Helping your sick mother is weakness?”
“Something like that.”
“God, what the hell did they do to you?” I marvel at him and can’t imagine the deep, unceasing pain and trauma that turned him into this beast I see before me.
He grunts and shoves me back against the wall. He stares at me like he can’t decide if he wants to kill me or fuck me and I gasp in surprise when he buries his mouth against mine, kissing me hard, rough and intense.
His tongue slips into my mouth and I’m kissing him back, moaning despite the pain in my wrist and the hand on my throat, despite the fear and confusion and pain. I kiss him back because it feels good and already I’m beginning to think that I had the wrong plan. That there was only one thing I really wanted this whole time and I was too afraid to reach out and take it.
He pulls back, eyes blazing. “You know what they did to me.” The hand around my throat moves back into my hair, gripping the roots and I release a soft whimper, a pathetic sound that I don’t even recognize, but his heat rolls into me like a furnace and his hard body is pressed against mine, and I don’t know if I have the strength to struggle even if I wanted to.
“Promise that if I do what you want, I can have the gardens,” I whisper, looking into his eyes. “All the land, including the house. Swear you’ll put it all in writing.”
He leans closer and kisses my neck and I chew on my lip to keep from groaning his name. “I swear.”
“Swear you won’t hurt me. You won’t lie to me. And you won’t use me.”
“I swear.” He says it like it’s a simple thing and I’m not sure I believe him.
But it doesn’t matter. The moment I saw him in there feeding his mother and looking at her like he has a human soul, I decided the course of my life. One moment, one accident, and now everything’s going to be different forever.
“Then I’ll do it. I think I’m going to regret it, but I’ll do it.”
He laughs gently and some of the fear dissipates as he releases my wrist. I try to push him back but he still has my hair and he’s not letting it go.
“I love your fire and grit,” he whispers, kissing my neck and ear. “I love your anger. I love the way you fight. But you were already mine before right now, even if you thought otherwise. I told you, princess. I claimed you.”
“Yeah, and now I’m willing to play your game.”
He releases me and steps back. “Tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I’ll have Finn come get you. We’ll go to the courthouse and make this official.”
“I want to see a contract first.”
“I’ll have it ready, don’t worry, princess. I don’t go back on my word.”
He turns and leaves, heading back into his mother’s bedroom. I don’t know how he’ll get an appointment that quickly or how everything will be arranged, but I don’t bother asking questions. Kellen is a Hayle, which means he’s got infinite money and vast connections, even if he is the black sheep of the family.
Which means tomorrow morning, I’m getting married.
Chapter 11
Tara
Finn shows up at my cottage around seven. He knocks a few times but I call out and tell him to wait. I’m wearing an ivory dress with a lacy top and a sheer layered skirt, something I bought years ago and never wore because who the hell can pull off white without a wedding. It’s a little small, and the skirt’s a little short, but pink colors my cheeks as I think about how Kellen likes my legs. I finish the ensemble with white sneakers and white socks, refusing to get too dressed up.