Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
And then both of them came apart.
AS THEY DRESSED EACH other, the silence between them was comfortable but wary, if there ever was such a thing. From time to time, their glances would meet. Marcus smoothing her skirt down, Anneke zipping his pants up, Marcus buttoning her up, Anneke knotting his tie.
There were so many unspoken words between them, so many burning questions—-
They had been like this for months now, always making out but never fucking. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy it, but – why did it have to end there?
Their eyes met once more. The tenderness in his dark gaze took her breath away, but it also made her heart ache harder.
His eyes – oh, his eyes were telling her so many things. Things she wanted to be true, things she was afraid to hope for, things she wished he would say out loud.
But he never did.
Marcus saw Anneke gnaw on her lip. “What is it?”
She shook her head, still unable to find the courage to open Pandora’s box – even though she knew she had to. “It’s nothing,” she said finally.
He wanted to believe her. Dio, if only he could believe her. But because he loved her so damn much, he also saw past the flimsy lie and he knew.
If they kept this up, he would end up hurting her again – and he would rather kill himself before letting that happen.
Anneke blinked in bemusement when Marcus’ face suddenly whitened. “Marcus?”
“We should talk.” When she stiffened, he realized she had somehow misinterpreted his words as something ominous, and he shook his head right away. “There is no need to worry, bambina.” He cupped her face. “I promised it will be different this time, remember?”
She gave him a small, hesitant nod.
“And it will be.” His tone was fierce. “The last thing I’d ever want is to hurt you.” He inhaled deeply. “But I also know that’s what I’ll end up doing if we let things go on as they are—-”
Fear flickered in her blue eyes. “Are you,” she whispered shakily, “breaking up with me again?”
A hoarse laugh escaped him. “You must be crazy. Don’t you know by now that it would be far easier to cut off my arm than ask to be away from you?”
“T-then...what?”
“Just know that it isn’t that – isn’t anything like that, will never have anything to do with either of us leaving. Capisci?”
Another nod.
“We’ll need time alone when we talk, somewhere we won’t be interrupted.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “What about Bruin Hemel?”
Ah.
“Where it all started,” he said roughly.
“Y-yes.” And her heart squeezed hard. A part of her hadn’t even dared to hope he’d realize the significance.
“Tomorrow, I’ll pick you up at eight?” When all she did was nod again, as if she didn’t trust herself to speak, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Everything will be alright, bambina. Believe me.”
She did.
But it turned out to be a lie.
The next day, an article was published, and its contents rocked the world. Six Degrees of Beasts, it said. The piece was written tongue-in-cheek, with all the women interviewed going into graphic detail to attest to how their former billionaire lovers were beasts in bed.
There was Sergei Grachyov, the young Russian billionaire who had gotten Fredericka pregnant. There was Nathan, the Greek ex-model now going out with Alyx. There was a French one, an American one, an Arabian one, but what caught her eye was the interview about The Italian Beast, which of course was none other than Marcus Ravelli.
A name and photo came with the interview. The former didn’t mean anything at all, but oh, the woman’s face on the photo – oh, she knew that face. No one could ever forget the face of one’s killer.
And this woman had killed her, the moment she fucked Anneke’s husband on their wedding night.
Seven
“I strongly discourage you from doing anything without legal counsel.” These were the first words out of Fredericka’s mouth the moment Anneke answered her call.
“Noted. That said, please don’t let this issue bother you at all.” Anneke deliberately kept her tone breezy. “The woman is Marcus’ ex-lover, ‘ex’ being the operative. It would be childish of me to react to this article considering she’s already a thing of the past.”
“I couldn’t have said it better,” Fredericka agreed, “which is why I’d like you to promise me now that you will not make any move without consulting—-”
“Freddie.” Anneke’s tone was exasperated. “Didn’t I just say not to let this bother you?”
“I’m your lawyer—-”
“And I’m your friend,” she shot back, “so can you please forget about the whole thing? You have a delicate pregnancy—-”
“I can handle this—-”
Realizing how pointless it was to argue with a hotshot attorney, she asked instead, “Could you put me on speakerphone, please?”
“Why?” Fredericka was suspicious.
“Please.”
“Oh, fine.” After a moment, Fredericka grumbled, “It’s done.”