Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
She shook her head, her voice a choked sob. “Not the building,” she said.
“What then?”
“My photo albums. A few boxes of my mom’s. They were all I had of her, and now they are all gone.”
I turned, daring to touch her cheek. She looked so fragile right now. Vulnerable. “No, Effie.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“When you reacted so badly the other day, I knew you could never go back and live there. I sent my men, and they removed all your things. Everything is in storage at the hotel. Safe and sound.”
“Wh-what?” she stuttered.
“Your memories are safe, Little Tiger. Nothing is lost that you loved.”
Her beautiful eyes filled with tears that coursed down her cheeks, but she didn’t make a sound.
“Do you want to stay, or can I take you back now?” I asked.
She shook her head, trying to stand, but she was shaking so badly, she could barely stay on her feet. I swung her into my arms and carried her to the car. Aldo had the door open, waiting for us, and I slid in, holding her tight. She was weeping without making a noise.
Something about this woman and her silent tears dug deep into my soul. I felt her pain. I wanted to take it away, but I knew I couldn’t. All I could do was try to help her. Ease her through this new trauma.
And God help me, I wanted to.
She looked up, the red rims of her eyes making me ache.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I pressed a kiss to her head, and she tucked her face against my chest.
I met Aldo’s gaze, seeing only empathy. I nodded in understanding.
I finally got it.
Feelings.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Fucking feelings.
I took Effie to the storage locker in the basement of the hotel, showing her the boxes of her possessions.
“I didn’t move the furniture. I planned to, but we hadn’t done it yet. Except that chair,” I indicated the one in the corner with a couple of boxes on it. “It fit into the truck.”
“That is the one piece of furniture I would have saved if I were given a choice. Thank you.” Effie touched a stack of boxes. “Thank you for doing this for me.”
I offered her a small smile, unsure what to do. I wanted to drag her into my arms. Beg her to talk to me and tell me what she was thinking behind those lovely eyes. In a short time span, her entire world had crumbled and disappeared. She’d been attacked, kidnapped, subjected to me and my intense world, and now everything she had worked for was gone. Yet she was standing, weakened, but not falling. She was grace under pressure, as Nonna would say. I admired her. Respected her strength.
I also longed for her. I wanted her to depend on me. I wanted her to seek the shelter of my embrace. Look at me the way she had the night I’d made her mine.
I wasn’t sure that would ever happen again.
“Roman?” she asked.
I realized she had been saying something, and I had missed it.
“I am sorry, Little Tiger. What did you say?”
“I want to go upstairs.”
“Of course. Anytime you need something from down here, one of my men will bring you. In the meantime, it is all safe.”
In the elevator, she was quiet. She let me loop my arm around her waist, not pulling away. In my suite, she looked lost.
“I will order some food and tea.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat. You have a lot to face, and you need your strength.”
I headed to my desk, and she spoke.
“You didn’t hurt me.”
I turned. “What?”
“The other night. The desk. You didn’t hurt me.”
I walked toward her. “You were angry with me.”
“No. You did exactly what I told you to do. I was shocked.”
“Shocked?”
“I saw the marks on your back from my nails. The bite marks on your neck and lip. I cursed you and said things while”—she swallowed nervously—“while we were together. I didn’t know I could do that. Or that sex like that would be so…” She trailed off.
“Incredible?” I asked.
She nodded, and I ran my finger down her cheek. “I was caught up in the moment, Effie. We were a tornado of passion. Fueled by lust and anger. It happens. It was rough and real.”
“Why were you so angry, Roman?”
I paused, then drew in a long breath. I owed it to her, to be honest.
“Because some of the things you were saying, that Nonna was nagging me about, rang true, Effie.” I stepped closer. “Because you aren’t my prisoner. You are more than a plaything. More than I expected and I didn’t like it.”
“So what do we do?”
“I have no idea.”
“Which pisses you off even more?” she asked with a slight smile.
“Yes. But none of that matters. What matters is making sure you’re okay. I’ll help you with all the paperwork and dealing with the insurance company. But you have to stay where you are safe, Effie.”