Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
He studied her. The sadness in her face, the longing for a family without the toxicity of the one she’d been born into. She’d mentioned being on her own since she was sixteen, just a baby. How lonely must she have felt, hell, still feels? Ty knew a bit about loneliness. When Curly was behind bars and his marriage crumbled to bits, Ty had gone through a dark period of isolation he never wished to return to. The family he had now might be comprised of a band of societal misfits, but they were loyal as fuck and loved hard. He wouldn’t go back to those solo days for anything.
“Yeah. That would be me. I was a pawn to that family from the moment I was born. My mother died in a car accident when I was barely three, and my brother was thirteen. Dear Old Dad wanted to portray the image of a grieving widower billionaire who somehow managed to devote his entire life to his children while dominating the business world. I was there to smile for the cameras, to draw in unsuspecting clients, and to help the wolf hide. I was the sheep’s clothing that made my father look good.”
He captured her hand, still playing with his tattoos, and flattened her palm over his heart. The steady thump reverberated through his chest into her. “Something drastic must have happened for you to leave at such a young age. To go from where you lived to nothing.”
She huffed. “Yes, going from spoiled princess to practically homeless was quite the culture shock.”
“I don’t mean that.”
“But it’s true.” She shrugged. “I went from living in a sixteen thousand-square-foot mansion to a studio apartment with roaches and mice. But I was so much luckier than most runaways. Had I not had an inheritance from my mother to keep me afloat so I didn’t have to work for my food, who the hell knows what would have happened to me? I chose my apartment, hoping it would keep me off my family’s radar.”
Christ, the thought of her living alone in Tampa at sixteen was enough to give him a month of sleepless nights. “What did happen to you?”
“I isolated myself. Became a loner. For a while, I thought I was successful in staying off my father’s radar, but that was just the naiveté of youth. He’d known where I was from the moment I rented that crappy apartment. His plan was to let me crash and burn, then wait until I came crawling back and offer me the world at a very steep price.”
“Ultimate loyalty.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t go home.”
She pursed her lips as she shook her head. “No, I did not. And by then, he was done with me. He decided it was a more fitting punishment to leave me to live without his riches in a shithole apartment alone.”
“Damn, he’s a coldhearted fucker.”
She snorted. “You have no idea. But, little did he know, my freedom was worth more than all his blood money. I wouldn’t take a dollar from him if I were bleeding out on the street, and it could save my life. So I was happy to be left alone.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles before placing it back on his chest. This was the best way to talk. Maybe he’d have every conversation with her like this, with her straddled across his lap, feeling him up. The only thing that would make it better was if they were both fully naked.
And he was inside her.
Raw.
His fantasy evaporated as he watched the regret and sorrow play across Kelsie’s face. Frowning, he asked, “Wait, why did you bring this up now?” After his ex-wife dropped her little bomb.
She shut her eyes and blew out a breath. One lone tear escaped but clung to her eyelashes. Ty couldn’t keep from wiping it away. She opened her eyes to watch him lick the drop from his thumb.
“Because my brother’s name is Lorenzo, and I’m pretty sure my family is threatening to mess with your business expansion.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
REVEALING HER SHAMEFUL truth to Ty, after all he’d done for her, caused a physical ache in her chest. He mentioned how he’d built his business from the ground up as a young man and worked so hard for two decades to become the most successful tire supplier in the area. With a few well-played chess moves, her father and brother threatened to wipe away his plans for the future. And they’d gotten his ex involved.
The man should run from her as fast as possible.
Her heart hung heavier in her chest than it had in years. “I should go,” she said as she tried to climb off his lap.
“Whoa, hold on. You’re not going anywhere.” He clamped his hands on her thighs, trapping her in place. “What the hell are you talking about?”