Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Blinding rage pulses in my veins, and the only reason I don’t react immediately is because of the way she reacts to his touch, as if it’s poison, and she’s trying to escape.
Tilting my head, I hesitate, watching.
This is a new development. An unexpected one.
This shark acts as though he might know my Ely. As though he has some claim to her.
Ely’s mine, though. My eyes narrow as I watch the shark circle, and everything in me clamors to gut him. I wait, though. He’ll find out soon enough.
11
Sebastian
Iwait because despite the instinct tugging at me to protect Ely, another instinct is telling me there’s something here worth paying attention to, something that will give me greater insight into who she is and where she came from. That is until I notice the way her body stiffens, then turns to stone, like a statue, the freshly made drinks in her hands slip from her grasp. They smash onto the concrete floor, sending fragments of glass and liquor everywhere.
Fuck. It’s time to jump in.
I shove from my seat, rushing to her aide while at the same time forcing a smile onto my lips, burying the anger and trying to appear calm and collected. I close the distance between Elyse and myself quickly and stop only once I’m pressed firmly against her back, trapping his hand between our bodies.
My anger spikes when the man doesn’t bother to glance my way or acknowledge my presence. Who the fuck does he think he is?
Leaning into her ear, he’s speaking low and soft in a language I don’t know but recognize as Russian. After a moment, he moves his hand, but only the placement of it, not off her skin, but simply sliding it around to her belly.
I should break each finger and feed them to him.
Instead, I clear my throat. “Take your hands off my property. Now.”
Finally, the fucker looks at me. A smile draws onto his lips, recognitioning blooming in his eyes. “Oh, it’s the little pup.” He lets out a chuckle. “It’s so nice to see you. I’m sorry about my poor manners. I couldn’t take my eyes off Ely.”
“Or your hands?” I sneer. Inwardly, my mind races, all neurons firing as I attempt to figure out the puzzle before me. He speaks as if he knows her.
“Are you sure she is really your property? I don’t think so. She’s only yours via inheritance, correct? If you’ll be so inclined, I’d like to buy her from you. Then she will be mine, as she was always meant to be.”
Ely trembles, and it’s enough to make me sick to my stomach. I can feel her fear, smell it, acidic and pungent and for the first time it doesn’t turn me on. It pisses me off. I didn’t put it there. I don’t control it.
“I’m not so inclined. She’s not for sale.”
“No? Are you sure you can’t be swayed? Everyone has a price, pup. What’s yours?”
“The only one who will be paying a price is you, if you don’t remove your hand.”
His gaze hardens, and he scans the space behind me, then my body, like he expects me to pull out a gun, but instead, I reach down and snag my knife from its hiding spot. I’ve got it in hand before he can even resume eye contact.
Let’s see how many fingers you’re willing to lose, fucker.
Keeping my voice calm, I barely resist snarling. “Tell me, how many fingers are you willing to lose?”
As if he realizes how serious I am, he lowers his hand back down to his side. “I’m not scared of you, pup. You don’t know shit about me, or my and Ely’s past. This is a family matter. It was a mistake for her to be given to you. Respectfully, I’ve already offered to buy her from you. I don't know what more you want.”
I keep my eyes on him, but I direct my question at Ely. “Is this man your family?”
She shakes her head again, wisps of dark brown hair fly, as she presses back into me. “No. No. He’s not.”
I know what she’s doing, seeking my protection, assuming I will save her but unfortunately she has no idea that I’m just as bad as this man, In some ways, I may be even worse.
The man curls his lip, his icy gaze on her. “That’s not true. Ely was promised to me by her father many years ago, to be delivered once she turned of age. Regretfully, he sold her out from underneath me to your grandfather. The deal was settled many years before he made the mistake of going back on his word.”
Ely. Awareness zings through me. All the times my Ely flinched at my casual use of the nickname. Please stop calling me that. It had something to do with him. He has no right to let it cross his lips. Whatever he did to make it ugly in her ears, I’ll have to undo. It’s my name for her now.