Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
I was ready to let myself get ripped to pieces by sharks if it meant having a taste of her.
And the only thing that held me back was the look in her eye when she asked me not to hurt her.
It still fucking kills me. She was so sincere, so afraid, and I couldn’t even give her the one thing she really wanted. I thought about lying, thought about saying everything I knew she wanted to hear, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Instead, I promised to protect her.
But who’s going to protect her from me?
That’s why I didn’t cross the line and that’s why I got the fuck out of there.
I want her so badly it’s like an ache in my bones.
But sleeping with her is a step too far.
She’s a virgin. A fucking virgin. I haven’t been a virgin since my grandpop bought a high-class escort when I turned sixteen and told me to get it out of the way.
No wonder I’m so screwed up.
If I fuck her and take her virginity and then destroy her and her family, I’ll be the lowest of the low.
But if I stay in that apartment with her for one more second, I won’t be able to control myself.
Which is why I’m here on an impromptu trip.
I unpack in the hotel room, get dressed, and head to an upscale bar a few blocks away. The main room is filled with the murmur of conversation, with the clink of glasses and soft laughter, and I spot Evander as he stands and turns toward me.
The big Greek bastard’s grinning from ear to ear. I haven’t seen him in a while and he stalks across the room completely heedless of the eyes that follow him. It’s hard not to stare; Evander is big, burly, and muscular, like a fucking bear. He’s my age—only thirty years old—but he looks like he’s ageless.
“There you are, you rich motherfucker,” Evander says and gives me a massive hug and laughs loudly as he does it. He knows I hate it when he greets me like this, but that’s part of his charm. Evander does what he wants when he wants to do it and doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks, not even his best friends.
“Okay, Vander, easy,” I say and pat him on the back. “How are you holding up? You look good.”
“I look fucking splendid and I feel even better. Come on, Ford, sit with me and have a drink.”
I follow him back to his spot at the end of the bar and order a whiskey. Evander’s drinking a Manhattan and grinning at me over the glass.
He says, “Carmine told me you two are getting into business together. Everything’s above board, I hope?”
“As above board as he and I possibly can be, but you know how the families are.” He roars a laugh and throws his drink back before demanding another. I do know what he means—Evander’s the son of a Greek mafia don, the most powerful man in all the Midwest, while Carmine runs a Famiglia out of Philly. Together, they have enough money, influence, contacts, and muscle to go to war with a small country. “But fuck business,” he says. “You didn’t come to Chicago to talk business.”
“I guess you heard.”
He smirks at me and tilts his head. “A woman, Ford? A real, live, breathing woman?”
“What did you think I’d marry, a fuck doll?”
“Yes, exactly, a pleasure robot, something you can control with a wave of your hand. That’s how you are, isn’t it?”
“Sounds sick. I prefer my women warm and breathing.”
“Ah, please, you’d get off on the idea of a warm sexy robot that does whatever you want it to do no matter how depraved.” He chuckles softly and wiggles his drink side to side. “Tell me about the real girl then.”
I reluctantly give him the rundown. There’s no reason to hide anything from Evander—he’s proven himself capable of keeping a secret a dozen times over. “Now we’re living together and things are going—” I shrug and drink.
“Things are going not so good, I take it, or else you wouldn’t have come running out here to see me.”
“It’s not like that.”
“It’s exactly like that. Don’t give me that look, Ford, you’ve always been full of shit. What’s wrong? And don’t give me some story. I can see through you.”
“I always forget that you’re not a moron,” I say sullenly.
“I only look stupid. Start talking.”
I crack my neck and sigh. “It’s really not complicated. I just don’t want to hurt her.”
“That’s a good start. The foundation of a solid relationship.”
“But I’m going to.” I glance at him and hesitate. Evander has no skin in this game and he has no reason to get involved. If anyone’s safe to tell, it’s him. “Grandpop offered me a deal. I can run the family when he retires if I use Kat to get dirt on the Stockton family.”