Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
I’ve seen him hunt his quarry, a killer intent on his prey. I’ve seen him amused and arrogant, smirking as he alternately taunts me or commands me to obey. It was easy to hate him then. But watching him sleep, his large form denting the bed and his pale eyelashes fanned out on his cheeks, tender feelings stir inside me. What would it be like to wake up to someone like this, morning after morning, day after day?
It’s a crazy thought. I need to harden myself. To be ready to do what I must. Victor is a pawn in this game of vengeance. A means to an end. Our time is finished.
There’s no use dreaming of what might have been.
I rise silently and pad to the bathroom to do my business. The shreds of my wedding dress lie in piles on the floor. I’ll have to borrow clothes.
I touch my chest and realize my necklace is gone. Fallen off or ripped from me in the throes of passion, but I don’t have time to search for it.
I slip on the white satin heels—the only item of clothing to survive the night—and crouch to pull out my gun.
Forget Victor. I’m closer to Stephanos than I’ve ever been. Time to set the trap and close in for the kill.
Victor
I wake with a sense of languid peace and the taste of defiled bride in my mouth. My eyes and body feel heavy, like I slept solid and haven’t moved for hours. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in a long, long time. Maybe not since I was a baby.
The bride—Vera—banished my bad dreams.
She’s awake now, moving around in the apartment. Trying to escape? As much as I wanted to wake up with a beautiful naked woman stretched out beside me, I wanted to know what she would do if I left her to her own ends.
I didn’t expect to sleep so deeply. Perhaps I should have tied her up before succumbing to slumber.
Perhaps I will tonight. I’ve never wanted more than one night with a woman, but this one is different. She contains a puzzle I have yet to solve.
Something stabs my palm, and I open it, unsurprised to see the tiny dagger poking the muscle under my thumb. I turn it so it bisects my palm from top to bottom. I tore her necklace off while I rode her and gripped it all night while I slept.
Soft steps sound in the hallway, and I relax into the bed. She didn’t leave. I wonder at the sense of relief rushing through me. Another puzzle for me to piece together.
The door swings open, and I raise my head, ready to greet her with a smile.
The first thing to enter is the tiny barrel of a gray pistol. It’s small, delicate, and suited to Vera’s fine-boned hand. Vera appears next in an intriguing new outfit—my tan trench coat and her heels. Is she naked underneath? The sight of her inspires a whole new round of fantasies.
She’s pointing the weapon straight at my chest.
So this is what she was hiding under all that white satin. I was too obsessed with my win, too assured of my victory, to pat her down.
Are you always so well-armed?
The dagger in my fist bites my skin. I tighten my grip, unwilling to show her what I’m holding and start to sit up.
“No,” she barks, steadying the gun. “Stay there.”
“What is this?”
“You had your fun; now it’s my turn.”
I settle back on the pillows, smirking. “You had fun too, beautiful.”
She ignores this, though the faint color cresting her cheeks tells me she’s not as unaffected as she wants to be. “Don’t move. Don’t even breathe.” She reaches into the pocket of my coat and holds up a small black cell. “What’s the code?”
It’s the burner I’ve been using for this contract. I was planning on dumping it today after contacting Stephanos to ensure I received the last payment.
“You’re full of surprises.” I give her the code. She taps it in without looking.
I could rush and tackle her. I might catch a bullet, or I might not. She hasn’t proven whether she can even shoot.
But then I’ll never know what happens next.
We stare at each other, the pistol between us.
She didn’t kill me in my sleep or when I forced her into the car. She didn’t try to stop her groom’s death, either. Last night, she let me strip her down and fuck her to orgasm. Over and over.
“If you’re unhappy with my lovemaking, there’s no need to shoot me.” I relax back on the bed. “Come and let me make it up to you.”
“Shut up.” There’s no flicker of emotion on her face. I can’t see the wheels of deliberation turning inside her mind, but I know she’s trying to figure out what to do with me.