Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
When he finally stopped, he pulled me against him, his hand locking down on my hip. My eyes landed on Lydia. She was talking to a group of people, and I could see the smile waver on her face as she glanced from me to Garrett.
“This is over. Enjoy your last night as chairman of the committee. You will no longer be involved with anything that I own or control. If I see you near me, anything I own, or even hear that my name or Fawn’s name has come from your mouth”—he paused—“you will regret it.”
The last four words hung in the air. I shivered from the finality they’d held.
“Garrett,” she began, but he didn’t let her go any further.
“Apologize to Fawn,” he demanded.
Lydia blinked, as if stunned. “Fo-for what?” she stammered.
“Don’t insult me,” he warned.
She swallowed hard, her gaze moving to mine. The terror in her eyes was unmistakable. “I’m sorry, Fawn,” she croaked. The words sounded as if they’d been torn out of her.
“For what?” Garrett ordered.
Her eyes flickered to his, then snapped back to me. The spooked look now on her face was unsettling. “For what I said in the restroom.”
Shocked by her words, I turned to look up at Garrett. The veins in his neck stood out as he barely seemed to control his rage.
When she turned her attention back to him, she looked at him pleadingly. “Can’t you just talk to me?”
“I have no use for you or anything you have to say. Goodbye, Lydia,” he replied, his words loud enough for anyone standing around to hear, even over the music. He pressed his hand on my lower back, then led me to the exit.
The men at the double doors were the same ones who had greeted us. They opened them as we approached. It wasn’t until we were inside the elevator that Garrett looked at me again.
“We are going to my penthouse, and you’re going to tell me every lie that came from that bitch’s mouth,” he informed me.
“Garrett, I just want to go home,” I said.
“No. You’re not going anywhere until I know what was said so I can fix that look on your face. It’s making me want to commit murder. That beautiful face should only be happy, smiling, or full of pleasure.”
God help me. I needed this man to stop saying things like that.
“Tonight was draining,” I began.
But before I could say more, Garrett backed me up against the wall of the elevator and caged me in with his arms. His palms flattened beside each side of my head.
“I will not let anyone hurt you. Lydia did, and it’s my fucking fault. I shouldn’t have allowed the bitch anywhere near you. I won’t make that mistake again.” He lowered his face so that his lips hovered over mine. “She has never meant anything to me, Fawn. She was a fuck. A convenient one.”
“Isn’t that all I am? A fuck?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed. “Never let that shit come out of your pretty lips again. Do you understand me, Fawn? I won’t allow anyone to degrade you, even yourself.”
I sighed, wishing I had the strength to walk away from him before he truly did own me. He’d claimed he did, and I’d balked at it, but it was becoming more of a threat than I’d realized. My head knew better, but the rest of me craved it. Wanted it. Screamed for him to own me.
The elevator doors opened, and Garrett took my arm and led me into his penthouse. Once he had me to the black leather sectional sofa that made a U instead of just an L-shape, overlooking the ocean view, he stopped and backed me up against the edge of it.
“What did she say?” he demanded.
“Don’t make me repeat it,” I begged.
“I can’t fix it if I don’t know what you heard.”
I shook my head. “You don’t have to fix it.”
“Like hell I don’t!” He raised his voice. “I’m hanging on to my rage by a thread, pretty baby. You either talk to me or someone will pay for the fury I need to unleash.”
He was serious. It wasn’t a threat; it was a warning.
“What if you only get angrier when you hear it?” I asked, realizing that was highly probable.
He clenched his jaw again. “Tell me.”
I sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to let this go. I stared up into his eyes, wanting to see the reaction there and gauge just how much was true. For my sanity’s sake. I had to know if I was what Lydia had claimed I was in the restroom.
“I’m the type that you like to lavish with gifts, fuck, then toss when you get bored,” I began.
His nostrils flared as the black of his eyes almost took over the gray completely.
“Continue,” he growled.
“Lydia is the woman you keep around. You plan on marrying her. She keeps you happy with your kinks, including watching you fuck women … the trashy ones, like me.”