Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Our arrangement was based on lust rather than love. But I felt something forming between us, a beautiful friendship that grew stronger with every passing day. There was trust and understanding. I stopped feeling like a prisoner and felt like a partner. I didn’t know where it would lead, but I knew it would only get better as time passed. The house was beginning to feel like home, a place I never wanted to leave. If Conway let me go, I wasn’t even sure what I would do with myself. Where would I go? In the end, this was the only place I really wanted to be.
He saved me.
“Of course I do.” I finally forced the words out, unsure how I felt about them. It was a lie, but it didn’t quite feel like one. I definitely felt a strong affection for him, respect and fondness. It wasn’t romantic love, but it was something. If I were truly repulsed by him, I didn’t think I could say the words out loud.
“He’s so in love with you. So obvious.”
This time, I stopped myself from laughing. “You think so?”
“Definitely. I’ve never even seen him with a woman before. You know, besides on TV for shows or whatever. He’s never brought a woman to dinner. He’s never even mentioned his personal life. Even when we were growing up, girls weren’t around. I wondered if he was gay for a while, especially when he started to sew.”
Conway was the straightest man I’d ever met. Masculine, sexual, and intense, he was the polar opposite of gay. Even with a needle and thread in his fingertips, he oozed raw sexual magnetism.
“And then we find out that Conway not only has a girlfriend, but she’s living with him.” Vanessa leaned back against the stairs, getting her body wet but sparing her hair. “It was all my parents and I could talk about on the drive. And my parents adore you, by the way.”
“They do?” I only spent a few hours with them. That wasn’t enough time for them to really form an opinion about me. Since I didn’t view them as my boyfriend’s parents, I hadn’t been nervous at all. They were just people. Maybe that was why it was so easy for me to get along with them. And I enjoyed making Conway squirm as I pinned him underneath my thumb.
“Absolutely. My mother thinks you’re the most gorgeous woman in the world, and my father thinks you’ll straighten Conway out. He thinks you’re turning him into a better man.”
His mother thought I was gorgeous? His father thought I straightened him out? Who knew getting a man’s parents to like you would be so easy? “Your parents are really nice. Conway is lucky to have such a great family.”
“And a very awesome sister,” she said with a smile.
“Yes,” I said with a chuckle. “So, you aren’t seeing that guy anymore?”
“The one I went out with one time?” she asked. “No. He asked me out in class one day, and I thought he was nice, so I said yes. But I didn’t feel a connection or anything. So I just told him it wasn’t going to work out. They said when you really fall in love, you know within the first twenty-four hours…and I definitely wasn’t feeling it.”
I thought of my first interaction with Conway. He dismissed the entire room as if he had the power of a king. He circled around me like a predator looking for a weak spot on his prey. He owned the room with his power and intensity. He made my breathing hitch, made me scared in a way that I wasn’t around Knuckles. I sensed Conway’s authority, and that somehow made me feel smaller. I studied his wide shoulders and chiseled forearms. I observed the facial hair that sprinkled his jaw. I noticed everything about him within a few seconds. My inexperienced body instantly hummed to life. “You’ll date a lot of frogs before you find the prince.”
“That’s what they say,” she said with a sigh. “But I’m young and I’m looking to have fun right now, not necessarily settle down. It annoys me that men are expected to settle down as late as possible, but women are expected to marry as young as possible.”
“Conway did mention that.”
“What did he say?” She pulled her sunglasses on top of her head so she could see me better.
“That he would be relieved if you settled down with a powerful man. That way he wouldn’t have to worry about you.”
“He doesn’t have to worry about me,” she argued. “I’m a lot smarter than he gives me credit for.”
He’d mentioned that too.
“And a woman doesn’t need to stand behind a man. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
I’d thought the same thing until I got mixed up with Knuckles. Now I was completely powerless, with no control over my own destiny. The second I wasn’t under Conway’s protection, I would be hunted down and raped. I was grateful Conway had looked after me from the second he laid eyes on me. He wasn’t a saint by any means, but I’d be worse off without him. Now I understood just how vulnerable I was. I actually needed this man…as much as I hated to admit it. “He just cares about you, Vanessa. And what woman wouldn’t want to be protected by a powerful man who adores her?”