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)
Everyone celebrated...silently, with her daughters exchanging high-fives while Astrid's aunts started smiling smugly. Pippi had obviously inherited their good taste in men, and thank God for that!
Inside the room, Acheron and Pippi were gazing at each other, both of them waiting for the sound of footsteps, but all they heard was silence.
When he raised a brow at her, she could practically hear him asking, 'Do they truly believe we don't know they have their ears to the door?'
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. I guess. Excitement was probably why her family was acting unusually dense.
A smile curved over his lips. I don't mind, though.
Pippi lifted her chin. Who says I care about what you - oh my God. It finally dawned on her that both of them were communicating silently like some stupid, lovesick couple, and dismay turned to mortification when she saw the gleam of amusement in his eyes.
"It doesn't mean anything," she muttered. "You're just...you're just easy to read."
"If you say so, mikrí mou."
She saw his gaze absently roaming his surroundings as he spoke, taking in every inch of the tiny bedroom she shared with her sisters, and Pippi couldn't help feeling defensive. "I'm sorry if it's not what you're used to," she said stiffly. No doubt, the combination of bunk beds and Spartan-style furniture would remind him of army barracks, and, if it did, well - so be it. She had nothing to be ashamed of—-
"I've lived in far worse conditions."
Pippi's thoughts came to a halt at Acheron's words.
"I'm sure you've read at least some of the rumors about my past, and suffice to say, not all of them was made up. My uncle - Yehor Kokinos - had offered my then-pregnant mother to disappear, and she was...the type that took kindly to bribes. Based on what I know of my uncle, I'm also fairly certain he meant for her to dispose of me—-"
Hearing him speak of such things rendered Pippi speechless with horror. His mom had been paid to kill him?
"She probably would have if he had paid her more—-"
"I'm so sorry." She could no longer contain herself, and she had to dig her fingers deep into her palms to keep herself from throwing her arms around him. "I know it won't make a difference, but I'm really sorry."
Acheron's broad shoulders moved in a dismissive shrug. "It taught me to be tough at the very least. Although I was already twelve when she died, I had learned to fend for myself years before that—-" Seeing her pale in reaction, he said gravely, "I had the worst childhood you could ever imagine."
Her heart broke for him. "I'm just so, so sorry—-"
"Sorry enough to give me another chance?"
The words 'of course' almost slipped past her lips when Pippi realized in consternation she was being manipulated. "Mr. Simo—-"
"No." This time, there was no smile in his eyes, nothing except a look so intense she realized too late she had been better off when he wasn't being serious.
"Call me by my name."
His voice was low and forceful, and something in her ached to obey him. And maybe she would, if there were only herself to consider.
Oh, if only.
But she had her family to think of, and pain chipped at her heart as she heard herself say, "I can't." She saw his jaw clench, and the sight gave her the oddest feeling. It was almost as if she had hurt him...and she didn't like it. She just...didn't. She gazed at him helplessly, tormented by clashing emotions and unable to make sense of a single one of them.
Beautiful, like a Greek god.
And for some reason, this particular god had chosen to don a police uniform and ride a bike to her home because...
Because...
Because...
Acheron knew the exact moment the truth dawned on her, with the way her head jerked up, and her blue eyes - filled with confusion and disbelief - came to search for his.
She had always been honest with him.
Getting involved with you - in any way - is just too much of a risk for me.
Which was why, Acheron knew, anything less than the truth would be a disservice to her.
"I want you." He deliberately repeated the same words he had used before, and by the way her eyes widened, Acheron knew she thought the same thing. "You once asked me why, and I still have no answer to give you. I simply want you - but unlike before, I also know just how much I want you."
Pippi's heart was in her throat. The way he was looking at her was making her wish for the impossible, but what if she was wrong?
"I want you enough to have gone without sex ever since I kissed you." Acheron's voice was taut. "I just couldn't make myself touch another woman."
Pippi didn't even have the chance to react. Her eavesdropping family had already done it for her, their loud gasps giving their presence away. She saw him wince, and she couldn't blame him. "Sorry," she whispered. "Just give me a moment and I'll get rid—-"