Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Ledger sits in silence, listening to me. Having his attention on me makes my nerves take flight. When he kissed me earlier, I nearly melted into him. I would have begged for anything. I would have given him anything to touch me. To keep kissing me.
I would have sold my soul for him to claim me right here. I would have given my life for one moment with him.
But he respects Bane. He respects what we have together. Is it bad that I don’t? I would have happily cheated on Bane with Ledger. Does that make me a horrible person? Can you really call it cheating when Bane holds no piece of my heart?
I don’t.
But I respect Ledger, and his feelings. I don’t want to lay that guilt on his shoulders.
The other reason I’d never cheat on Bane is because I know he’d kill Ledger—hell, my father too, if he ever found out. He’d take great pleasure in making me watch the horror before he killed me as well.
I almost want to cry when I think about my life. My impending wedding. My mother leaving. How do you leave somebody you love? Someone you gave birth to?
I don’t understand it.
Ledger places his hands over mine, and I glance up at him. “I’m so sorry, Posey. I don’t know why your mother left, but she’s a fucking idiot. She definitely missed out on getting to know you.”
A tear traces down my cheek. “She is a fucking idiot, isn’t she?”
Ledger laughs lightly, and the sound sends shivers racing down my back. I like making him laugh. Making him smile. I want to keep doing it. “She is. But it’s her loss. You’re an amazing woman, Posey. I’m happy I’ve gotten to know you like I have.”
I want him to kiss me again. The seconds tick by, and my heart pumps in my chest.
He tugs his bottom lip between his teeth like he’s thinking about it, but he doesn’t make a move.
I could make a move.
However, I don’t because again, I respect him.
But this feeling is slowly killing me. I want to be with Ledger, not Bane. However, I know it’s not sustainable.
Would Ledger grow tired of me?
And then what?
Not to mention what would happen to my father if I left Bane? I shudder at the thought.
“Cold?” Ledger asks me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, pulling out his phone from his pocket. “No news is good news, I guess,” he says, obviously talking about what went down at Club Greed.
Is this my life now?
Forever a target? I have to trust Bane to keep me safe. To employ people who can keep me safe. At least I hope he can. One good thing about tonight was having Ledger there.
I wouldn’t feel safe anywhere but here with him.
I lean against Ledger, my body growing tired. I yawn. “I guess,” I murmur.
Ledger squeezes me closer to him, positioning his body to make me more comfortable. “Go ahead and close your eyes, baby,” he says so softly I barely hear him. However, hearing him call me baby sends shivers racing up and down my spine.
Within minutes I’m sleeping, dreaming of a wedding to a ghost. A figure who wants to harm me. As I walk down the aisle a sense of dread washes over me.
Ledger’s there, trying to say something, but I can’t hear him. All I hear is the sinister laugh of the man waiting for me by the dais.
I wake with a jolt, and it’s dark.
I’m disoriented, trying my best to figure out where I am.
“You’re safe,” Ledger’s voice says from not too far away.
I sit up, noticing I’m wrapped in a blanket. “What time is it?” I ask, my eyes trying to get adjusted to the low light.
There’s a small candle sitting on top of the coffee table, and Ledger sits in a chair across from the couch I’m on.
“It’s late,” Ledger says, setting down the notebook he was just writing on. Or was he drawing?
“Are you drawing me?” I ask him, thinking about the scene from Titanic where Jack drew a picture of Rose.
“Do you want me to be?” he asks, his voice thick with heat.
“What were you drawing?” I ask him, wanting to see whatever he was creating while I was sleeping soundly across from him.
He flips the notebook over, showing me his artwork, but I can barely see it.
I reach out my hand. He stands and places the notebook in my hand before returning to his chair. I bring it close to me, my eyes focusing on what’s on the paper. It is me, and it causes my pulse to spike. “You drew me?”
“I was just messing around. It’s silly.” He tries to take the notebook back from my hands, but I pull it closer to my chest. He stands from his chair, crossing the small space between us. He holds out his hand.