Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
So even though she’s staring at me like she expects me to hurt and disappoint her, I’m not going to give up. I’ve helped make our family millions of dollars trusting my gut. Not every deal is black and white. Some require taking risks, making decisions nobody can understand but me. Oftentimes the numbers aren’t there, but I can feel it in my soul that I’m making the right choice. And that’s how I feel about Sienna.
“I didn’t bring you up here to fuck you,” I say, making sure my voice is calm. “Lincoln told me how protective you are of your sister, that you bring her to the club with you because you don’t want to leave her alone, so I ordered brunch up to my room and thought afterward we could watch a movie in the theater. That way, we wouldn’t have to leave the hotel in case she needs you at any time.”
I can tell the moment my words sink in because her eyes turn soft and her body goes slack. “I…I didn’t know,” she mutters, her gaze dropping to the ground.
“You didn’t ask,” I say, pinching the tip of her chin and lifting it so she’s forced to look at me. “The first night I saw you on stage I was immediately drawn to you. I’ve visited my brother a dozen times and not a single woman ever caught my attention like you did. I think about you all the damn time. But it’s more than sexual. I want to get to know you… all of you. I want to know what you’re thinking about when your brows furrow like this.” I run my finger between her brows and along her nose. “What’s going through that pretty head of yours when your nose scrunches up.” I continue my descent to her pouty lips. “When your lips purse together, I wonder what’s wrong and if there’s anything I can do to make it better.”
“I’m not that interesting,” she murmurs.
“I beg to differ.” I back up slightly and extend my hand. “I’m giving you a choice. If you take my hand, we can go to my place and spend some time together, getting to know one another. Or…you say the word and I take you back to your room and I’ll leave you alone.”
She stares at my hand for several seconds, and I think she’s not going to take it, but then she shocks the hell out of me when she reaches out and places her hand in mine.
“This doesn’t mean I trust you,” she says, her voice hard. “And I’m definitely not going to sleep with you. But I felt it too… the chemistry, so I’m willing to see where this goes. But you should know that my priorities are my sister and my future. Everything else comes after, and you… you come last. I’m not trying to be mean, but it’s just the way it has to be.”
I can’t help but smile at her admission. I should probably be offended, but instead, it only makes me want her that much more. She’s clearly not had it easy, yet she’s determined to stand on her own two feet and won’t let anyone keep her down.
“Got it.” I thread my fingers through hers and pull her out of the elevator and into the hall. “Now let’s go eat. I’m starved, and since I can’t have you yet, I’ll have to settle for food.”
CHAPTER TEN
SIENNA
This is a bad idea. I know it. I’ve seen what letting a man in can do to a woman. But still, I said okay. As Micah leads me into his home, I keep telling myself that spending the morning with him doesn’t have to mean anything. I’m not going to fall in love with him over a span of several hours. I’m not going to turn into my mom. I’ve watched her and learned from her mistakes, and I won’t be making the same ones.
I expect his penthouse to look similar to the hotel room Ellie and I are staying in, so I’m taken aback when he opens the door to a gorgeously modern open floor plan with ceilings that look to be about fourteen-feet high. There’s a state-of-the-art kitchen to the left with top-of-the-line appliances, a large living room to the right, and farther in the distance, I notice a glass staircase leading up to a second floor. The entire area is surrounded by floor to ceiling glass walls and… “Is that a pool?” I gasp, heading straight to the window that faces a wraparound infinity pool.
“Yeah,” Micah says with a chuckle, as I press my hands against the glass. “My brother and I share the top floor, so we each have a corner unit. There’s a privacy wall outside separating our places.”
Nobody has a pool in New York unless they’re stinking freaking rich. It’s cold for months on end, which makes an outdoor pool useless.