Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
The next few hours are spent careening around Chicago from one neighborhood to the next. Even though I grew up in this town, I feel lost almost right away, as Simon works to shake the tail then makes sure they can’t pick him up again. At first, it’s exhilarating, like we’re living in a spy novel, but when ten minutes turns into an hour, and an hour turns into two, I’m ready for the damn book to be done.
It’s after three in the morning when we pull into the parking lot of a boring-looking apartment complex on the edge of the river. The structure looks new, like it was built in the last few years. It’s big and glass with lots of right angles and exposed wood. Simon rolls the truck to the far side of the lot away from the street and parks.
I’m exhausted. My adrenaline is all gone and I’m running on fumes. I lean on Simon and limp along on my throbbing ankle as he uses a fob to get in through the front door. It’s a short ride on the elevator to the third floor and into a nondescript apartment in the very center of the hallway.
He announces that we’re home and tosses the duffel bag on a couch. The place looks like it came fully furnished already. Everything smells like a furniture warehouse, like it hasn’t been touched at all. The kitchen’s gleaming and the bathroom is pristine. I shuffle into the bedroom and collapse, pulling my knees up to my chest, and squeeze my eyes closed.
Simon climbs in behind me. I exhale as he wraps an arm across my body and pulls me tightly against him, his breath playing against my neck.
“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you,” he says very softly. I turn to face him and can only just make out his expression in the dark. There’s the dull hum of the air conditioning filtering in from a nearby vent, and everything feels like a dream, a strange dream.
“I feel like I’ve been doing this for a long time now,” I whisper and touch his cheek with the back of my hand just to feel his scruff and the heat of his skin. “Ever since my dad got scammed, I feel like I’ve been running from one fire to the next. I’m just waiting for someone to reach out and grab me, to rip me off, to take away everything I have, and you know what’s sad? I feel worse for whoever decides I’m worth their time. Because I have nothing.”
He grunts and kisses me softly. “Don’t talk like that, baby. Things are going to be okay. We’re stuck now, but at least we’re safe.”
I chew my lip and pull him closer, burying my mouth against his. “You don’t get it.” I kiss him deeper and move down to his neck, peppering my lips across his throat. “I’ve been trapped for so long already, but with you it’s like even when we’re on the run, at least I feel like I’m alive and like someone cares about me.”
I reach my hands down his chest, questing down between his legs. He’s already hard and pressed against my thigh.
“You didn’t sign up for a civil war,” he says and his tone is thick with emotion, both desire and pain. I start to stroke him and bite his lower lip.
“I don’t care. Don’t you get it? What happened to my dad robbed me of all my trust in people. Then you came along and you made me this absolutely crazy offer, and I just… I took the leap. I decided to go on faith.”
“I feel like I’ve failed you.”
“But you haven’t.” I push him back and straddle him. I take off my top and throw it aside as his hands come up to palm my breasts. I shiver, moving my hips, arching my back and grinding my ass against his thick, hard cock. I balance myself with my hands on his chest. “You made me a promise and you kept it. Things didn’t work out the way we planned, but you held to your word, even when I thought you shouldn’t, and now you’re going out of your way to keep me safe. You could’ve handed me over to your dad and been done with me, but you didn’t.”
I lean forward and kiss him. He lets out a soft growl, grabs my body, and rolls me over until he’s pinning me down. He kisses my neck, my chest, sucks a nipple hard before burying his mouth over mine. I moan as I move my hips tighter into his and I know I sound like a lunatic, thanking him for not killing me, but in so many ways he taught me that I can trust people again. Simon Bianco, a mafia prince, a man who married me only to get what he wants, has become the only person in the world who I believe in with all my heart, and it’s strange how that has flipped my life upside down.