Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Heaven and hell, she thought helplessly, but more than that, it would mean losing complete control - and that scared her above most.
"I can't," she choked out.
"Why can't you? We both know you want to."
She shook her head. "I don't—-" His body moved an inch closer, and it made her wish she could melt into the wall. "Please, Mr. Simonides—-"
Acheron relished the way his blood heated at the husky plea in her voice. "I like the sound of you begging, Ms. Jones."
Pippi almost threw her hands up in despair. So on top of being the most seductively beautiful man alive, this man turned out to be a sadist as well? "I'm not—-" She choked off when his hands slammed against the wall, and she found herself trapped in the most deliciously agonizing way possible.
Lud, lud, lud, this could not be happening to her. It just couldn't!
His head started to lower, and she panicked, the words flying out of her mouth. "I'm scared!" It was a brainless, last-ditch effort to save herself from being consumed, and she squeezed her eyes shut, knowing how stupid and hopeless an attempt it was.
She waited with bated breath, dreading the inevitable, but the moments passed, and - nothing?
Pippi slowly opened her eyes.
A good three feet now separated them, and Acheron Simonides was staring at her with an unreadable expression.
"There's nothing for you to be scared of," he said in a clipped voice. "I give you my word."
And then he was walking away without looking back, leaving a slightly stunned and thoroughly bewildered Pippi in his wake. What just happened?
Acheron's mood grew increasingly black with every step he took.
I'm scared!
No girl had ever said such words to him before, and regardless of Ms. Jones' true nature, he was experienced enough to know that the fear in her voice had been real.
He had scared her, and he probably was still scaring her.
The right thing to do at this point would be to forget she ever existed. It was clear that she wasn't cut out to have an affair with him, just as it was equally clear that she didn't have the strength to resist him all the way.
If he continued pursuing her, it was only a matter of time before she became his.
But at what cost?
Acheron had just stepped inside the elevator when he heard a husky, feminine voice say, "Hold please." He stiffened, knowing exactly who it was, even before a familiar waft of perfume hit him as a woman joined him inside.
Was this coincidence or the heavens warning him from repeating the same mistakes?
As soon as the doors closed, he heard her speak again. "Hello, Acheron."
"Hello, Millie." His tone was pleasant, but his face was deliberately impassive as he met her gaze.
Millicent Longbourn was still as beautiful as he remembered her, and the black dress she wore was a feast for any man's eyes, with its low-dipping neckline leaving little to the imagination. Although she no longer heated his blood the way it had in the first few days of their affair, it was still easy to recognize what it was about the sultry brunette that had once captivated his attention. There was a wantonness about her that made one imagine she would do anything asked of her in bed - for the right man.
It was just too bad she had insisted, he thought, despite all his warnings from the start, on seeing him along those lines.
"You don't need to look at me like that, lover boy."
"I was only admiring your beauty" was Acheron's smoothly diplomatic reply, to which Millie only responded with a tinkling laugh.
"No, you weren't." She gazed at him with eyes that were merry and wise at the same time. "You were looking at me like you regretted ever having anything to do with me."
Acheron's lips tightened. Their affair hadn't even lasted a month, and it had nearly ruined her life. He had seen how the other women - cruel, jealous bitches, the lot of them - had deliberately shunned her, and he had been fit to kill when he realized how the men had started leering openly at Millie, cracking vulgar jokes at her expense -
And it was all because she had made the mistake of thinking she was in love with him, Acheron thought bitterly.
Millie had no problems reading into Acheron's silence, and she let out the tiniest of sighs. "For the last time - there is nothing for you to feel guilty about." He had broken her heart, yes, but he had also more than made up for it. She had asked him for a promotion, which they both knew she had damn well deserved, and he had given it to her. She had asked him to sack the man she had been working for - the jerk had thought she was an easy lay just because she had been caught with Acheron's dick in her mouth - and he had done that, too, labor disputes and potentially harmful conflicts of interest be damned.