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)
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Micah says. “You have me.” He dips his face and kisses my forehead. “You just have to trust me enough to let me in, and I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure you and your sister are safe and happy.”
“Why?” It might seem like a stupid question, but the fact is, I met this guy at a strip club, a place men go for an easy, good time. And entangling himself with me would be anything but easy.
“I told you already,” he says, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear. “There’s something about you that has me wanting more. I can’t explain it, but I think about you all the time.” He chuckles darkly. “My brother thinks I’m obsessed, accused me of being a stalker.” He shrugs, clearly not giving a shit about that accusation, and despite what’s going on outside of these walls, I find myself laughing.
“I can admit that I was sexually attracted to you from the start. Can you blame me, though? You’re fucking gorgeous.” My cheeks heat up at his words. “But it’s more than that now. I want to get to know you. You can’t deny there’s chemistry between us, we felt it on our date, and I want to see where things go. I understand your priority is your sister, and that only makes you more attractive in my eyes because family is everything to me.”
He grips the curves of my hips and pulls me onto his lap so I’m straddling his muscular thighs. “Let me in, Hellcat. Give me a chance to show you that you don’t have to go through this life alone. It’s okay to find love and be loved. It doesn’t make you weak...it makes you human.”
I know what he’s asking shouldn’t be a big deal. People offer up their hearts to love all the time. But he hasn’t lived the life I have. He hasn’t suffered the consequences of trusting the wrong men, and he hasn’t witnessed the devastation and destruction they leave behind in the aftermath.
“I…” I begin, but Micah shakes his head and presses his fingers to my lips.
“Before you say you can’t, just think about it, please. Give me a chance to show you. You’re here for the foreseeable future anyway, right? Let that wall you’ve built come down for a little bit and know that my bigger wall is protecting you both.”
He leans in and presses a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth just as his phone pings with an incoming text. “My guy’s here with the clothes. Let me grab them and then I’ll show you to your room so you can shower today off and get some rest.”
He lifts me off his lap and I follow him to retrieve the clothes. He types in a code, then opens the door. “Here ya go, Boss,” the guy says, handing him two large bags from a store that should be closed at this time of night. “I got everything on the list, and Sara said if you need anything else to let her know.”
“Thanks,” Micah says, before closing the door.
He leads me up the stairs, past the door he told Ellie is her temporary room, to the one right next to hers. “You can stay here,” he says, opening the door. “It has its own bathroom as well. As you might recall from the last time you were here, farther down the hall is the library and gym. My room and office are downstairs, near the theater room. Laundry room is attached to the kitchen. I’ll give you and Ellie a more thorough tour tomorrow.”
“You don’t want me to sleep in your room?” I blurt out. I thought for sure he would try to trick me into sleeping with him. He’s made his desire for me more than clear.
“I told you before,” he says, framing my face with the hand that’s not holding the bags. “The way you want someone to choose you, I want the same. I would never force you to do anything you’re not comfortable doing, Sienna. When you sleep with me, share a bed with me, it will be because you want to, not because I tricked or forced you into it.”
His words are like the heat of the sun shining down and melting away a layer of ice that formed around my heart. “Thank you,” I murmur, lifting onto my tiptoes and kissing his cheek. “For not only giving me a choice, but for protecting Ellie and me.” I take the bags from him. “Good night.”
After showering and getting dressed in clothes that somehow are magically my size, I take Ellie’s clothes over to her room.
“Thanks,” she says, opening the door so I can come in. I plop on the bed while she changes in front of me, not caring if I see her naked. The girl has zero insecurities when it comes to her body.