Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Cato turned to me. “That would have gone the same way whether you were here or not.”
“I thought I would be a better bug repellent. Guess I’m not.”
“No. They think I’ve found one woman for the night—and now I need a second one.”
“Well, you do have two women for the night. Just not in the way you’re used to.” I moved his hand to my stomach.
He looked down at my bump as he felt it over my black dress. “I prefer this way.”
Cato did business with shady people, I’d leave it at that.
The guys seemed to be part of some organization called the Skull Kings. I’d heard the name before, but I didn’t know much about them. Apparently, they’d borrowed money from Cato for an arms deal, and now they were asking for more.
I got to see a different side of Cato, the cold-hearted moneymaker. If I thought he acted like an asshole to me, it was nothing compared to the way he treated others. He iced down his alliances and his enemies with the same frost.
I was absolutely silent for the entire exchange, not making eye contact and holding on to Cato’s arm for balance.
Bates complemented Cato’s coldness with his fire. He was more aggressive than his brother, pushing Cato’s statements to solidify them. He might be pissed at his brother, but he didn’t let his personal feelings affect the deal they were making.
Three hundred million was on the table—including the five hundred that had already been borrowed.
Geez, that was a lot of cash.
Once the interest rate had been decided, they came to an agreement. There was no paperwork or contracts to sign. It was a gentleman’s agreement, with the promise of death as collateral.
How did Cato live this life every day?
Was the money worth it?
We entered the penthouse he had in the city. The living room was exactly as I remembered it. The building seemed to belong to him exclusively because there was no one else around.
I stepped inside and examined the windows, noting how thick and dark they were. They were probably bulletproof. I stripped off my jacket and hung it on the coatrack by the door. The last time I’d stepped inside this place, I had decided to bed Cato to save my father. Once I’d kissed him, I didn’t have to talk myself into it anymore.
But when I’d spotted Christina on the bed, the mood had been destroyed.
What if I had slept with him that night? What would have happened? Would I be pregnant now? Would he have forgotten me by morning? Would my father be dead and I would be a prisoner to Damien?
Cato came to my side by the window. “What has you so deep in thought?”
I’d been staring out the window at the cold city. It hardly snowed here, but it definitely seemed like an unusually cold winter. The air was chilly to the skin, and I could feel the coldness slightly when I stood right next to the glass. “I was thinking about the last time I was here.”
“A night I’ll never forget.”
“I’m sure you had fun anyway…” I didn’t mean anything to him at the time. He’d probably forgotten about me the second I left.
“I did,” he said honestly. “But I didn’t stop thinking about you. Those last words you spoke to me stayed with me. I’d wondered if I’d made a mistake. I’d wondered if I actually lost a real woman.” He moved closer to me then stood at my back. His head bent toward my neck, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my spine. His fingers moved up my bare back to the slender straps over my shoulders, then he pushed them off, watching them drop down my arms.
I let the dress fall to the floor.
His hands gripped my tits and then moved over my distended stomach as his breaths caressed the back of my neck. “Even if it was all a lie. Even if it was all bullshit. I’m glad it happened. You’re the real woman you vowed to be.” His arm slid under my stomach and rested there, as if he were supporting both of us.
He kissed the back of my neck before he lifted me into his arms. My dress was left behind on the ground as he carried me to the bed where he’d bedded all those other women, all the women who’d meant nothing to him. He gently laid me on the bed before he peeled his clothes away. His watch was left on the nightstand, his jacket resting over the armchair in the corner, and the rest of his clothes were dropped into a pile on the floor.
I watched him strip down to his bare skin, to his muscles and his strength. With wide shoulders, powerful arms, and narrow hips, he was over six feet of perfect man. I’d always imagined starting my family under very different circumstances, with a nice man who was sensitive and kind. We would date, fall madly in love, and after a small wedding outside somewhere, we would start our family. My reality was nothing like my fantasy, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.