Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
For me, there will be no first time.
Once I have my sights set on a woman I’m actually serious about, she is effectively mine, whether she has agreed to it or not.
Tonight, Sophie won’t even endure my presence at her dinner table, but if another man’s gaze swept over her lovely tits, if they so much as shared a smile of mutual interest, I’d have his heart in a fucking box before night’s end.
Sophie is mine, apparently.
Because that’s what I want, and the men in my family always get what they want—whether we deserve it is frankly irrelevant.
Chapter ten
Sophie
Sighing with contentment, I rub my belly and lean back in the leather-upholstered booth.
I just ate way too much food.
It was so delicious, and since I knew Silvan was paying, I even took the liberty of ordering a second dinner so I would have leftovers for the next couple of days.
Ha, take that, rich boy.
I know he probably won’t bat an eye at the bill, but it still makes me feel better to think I’m getting one over on him.
"Thank you," I say to the server as they hand me a to-go box with my second dinner inside. It's still warm, and I'm still feeling the effects from the champagne I consumed in the car on the way over, so I'm feeling rather warm, too. Pleasantly so. I pull on my coat and make my way out of the empty cellar dining area.
Even though it hasn't been a true speakeasy for a long time, the area looks untouched. If handsome men in pinstriped suits and hats came strolling in with beautiful women wearing flapper dresses and feathered headbands, I wouldn't be surprised.
It reminds me of when I saw Silvan and thought he could be a time-traveling Viking.
Clearly, there's something about this family. It's like they can freeze time wherever they fit best and preserve it forever.
Then again, as I pass the gleaming mahogany bar, I know it's no coincidence or gift of fate that the place is so well-cared for after so long. Effort is put into stopping time, that's why it looks like this.
Effort.
Silvan certainly put in effort for me tonight. The whole time I was eating, I kept waiting for him to pop up. It was like last night in my bedroom. I could feel his presence even though I couldn't see him.
I guess I was wrong about him being there both times.
He didn't assault me in my bed last night, and he didn't join me for dinner this evening.
It seems he truly just wanted to make sure I was fed, and sure, it's probably the champagne softening my brain so much that this thought can even burrow into it, but it's surprisingly thoughtful.
I shake off the unwelcome thought.
It's not thoughtful, Sophie. It's probably strategic. He's trying to play the nice guy and get you to lower your guard so he can swoop in...
As I step out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk, it occurs to me I don't know what to do. Hugh dropped me off at the door, but now that I'm finished eating, I have no way of summoning him. How will he know when I need him to come back?
The thought hardly has time to finish passing through my mind and I see the gleaming black limo turn the corner on the next street up. I feel strangely content as I wait for it.
I guess it's not all that strange. I just had a delicious meal I didn't have to pay for, I have dinner for tomorrow in a box, and now I don't even have to drive myself home; I get to ride back to my dorm in a limousine.
The vehicle glides up to the front of the restaurant and stops. On instinct, I step forward and reach for the door, but before I can, Hugh races around to open the door for me.
He looks mildly panicked that I thought I had to open the door for myself. God forbid I be so put out!
"I'll get that for you, Miss Bradwell."
"Thank you, Hugh. You're so nice."
He chuckles, then opens the door. "Did you have a pleasant dinner?"
"Oh, yes. Everything was delicious. And I do mean everything. I'm pretty sure I ordered half the menu."
I climb in, put my dinner box down on the bar, and sink into the soft black leather. It's a chilly night, but Hugh already has the car warmed up so I'm nice and toasty.
This is the life.
When Hugh gets back in the car, he puts the partition up.
A frown flickers across my brow and I sit up a little straighter. My guards have risen a bit since I told him before I didn't need the partition up, but maybe it was something he did out of habit. Maybe Silvan or whomever he usually drives likes to have the divider up.