Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 70661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
“A lot is an understatement.”
“Alright…I’ve been working nonstop.”
“It seems like you’re avoiding me…”
She hit the nail right on the head. “Because I am.”
“Why is that?”
I didn’t want to have this conversation on the phone while I was speeding through the countryside in my expensive car. “I’ll be home in fifteen minutes. We’ll talk then.”
I greeted Abigail then headed up the stairs.
Arwen was on the second landing waiting for me. She was in silk pajama shorts that barely covered her ass and a white tank top that was so thin, it showed the outline of her nipples. Her skimpy clothes showcased the curves of her frame, the feminine beauty of her gorgeous body.
I almost forgot why she was waiting for me.
I walked past her and kept going, pretending to be unimpressed.
She came up behind me and followed me into my bedroom.
When I got inside, I immediately started to take off my slacks and collared shirt. She’d seen me naked so many times that I felt comfortable stripping like she wasn’t there at all. When the buttons were undone, I peeled off the shirt and tossed it onto the armchair.
Her shiny hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her makeup had already been washed off for the night. Her fair skin had a natural glow to it, like the moon as it reflected the light from the sun. Her blue eyes watched my movements, dissecting everything I did like she knew me better than anyone. “So?”
“So.” I dropped my pants and stripped down to my boxers.
She moved into me, coming so close she might kiss me. Her perfume was still fragrant, and she smelled like flowers, roses on a summer day. She was nearly a foot shorter than me in heels, so she moved her face into my chest.
I watched her, unsure what she was doing.
Her arms encircled my waist, and she rested her cheek against my chest, hugging me.
I stood there as she blanketed me with affection, ignoring the fact that I’d just told her I’d been avoiding her. The insult didn’t seem to offend her, not if she still wanted to hold me. With my arms by my sides, I continued to stand there and wait for her to finish.
When I didn’t return her affection, she pulled away. “You won’t even hug your wife when you get home?”
“I didn’t realize we had the type of relationship that included hugging.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyebrow raised. “You can’t accept a compliment just the way you can’t accept affection. Your father really did a number on you…”
I’d never considered my behavior to be a reflection of my relationship with my father—but I knew she was right. During my final conversation with him, he threatened to kill me…and it wasn’t the first time that had ever happened.
“Why are you avoiding me?” Once I’d rejected her, she turned cold, getting right to the point.
Sometimes I resented her because of my growing attraction. Instead of getting sick of her like most women, I desired her more. And when she wore that tiny little outfit, it made me hard in my boxers, and since the material wasn’t thick, she could see it if she looked down. The more I allowed her into my life, the more I hated it. “I saw my father a couple of nights ago.”
“Oh…that must have been fun.”
“Yeah…that’s one way to describe it.”
She shifted her weight to one hip, waiting for me to explain further.
“He told me to kill you.” He’d made his desires transparent. If I wanted to keep my relationship with my dad, I had to show him my loyalty. That meant I had to execute her…as if she were one of our men who crossed us. He didn’t seem to understand right from wrong, or the difference between man and woman. He wanted her to face the same consequences as someone else…but that wouldn’t be right.
Her eyes shifted back and forth as she looked at me, clearly unnerved by my confession.
“I said no.”
She tried to keep her face stoic, but her shoulders relaxed as she released the air from her lungs.
“Now, we’re enemies. This will only end one way—when one of us is dead.”
She shook her head slightly, her eyes filled with pain. “He’s so far gone…”
He wasn’t a man I recognized at all.
She stepped toward me again. “Why did you say no?”
Killing her would have been easier. She knew that. I didn’t have a good explanation. Why would any man choose a woman over his father? I wasn’t a man with a moral compass. I would have let those women be raped and tortured in the barn without losing sleep. But I chose to protect this woman. “I made a promise to your father.”
She raised an eyebrow. “But that promise changed when I crossed you…I know that now.”