Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Seth stares at her for a while, and I already know what he’ll say before he shakes his head and turns it to stare into the fire. “Then you don’t know what it’s like to be hungry, Sunshine. Not really.”
“Look,” she says coolly. “It’s not my fault I don’t have anything else you and those creeps-in-arms want, okay? All I have is my voice. It’s all I know. All I’ve ever been allowed to be.”
Next to me, Thor slurps his stew…loudly.
Before I have a chance to hide and pretend I haven’t been eavesdropping, Aurelia and Seth’s gazes snap toward us. Only Aurelia looks surprised to see us standing here.
“So, sing us something, songbird.”
Aurelia’s lips part at Thorin’s demand. “What?”
“I want to hear the voice that made you such a big deal.” A bratty little bitch is what he doesn’t say.
She thinks about it for a moment—too fucking long considering the alternative—and then a cunning gleam enters her eye. “Sorry, but I don’t sing for free. If you want me to perform, you’ve got to earn it.”
“You’re fun,” Seth praises like their best fucking friends. “What’s your fee?”
“For a private show?” She taps her chin and pretends to think about it. “How about a million dollars?”
“How about another bowl of stew and a bed for the night?” Thorin counters with a sneer.
“Just one night?” Aurelia sputters.
“We haven’t heard you sing.”
It’s a reasonable offer and better than we’d give anyone else—which is a bullet to the brain—so imagine my surprise when Aurelia says no almost immediately.
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because I said you’d have to earn it, not pay for it. Because you’re all swine, and I don’t like you very much. You don’t deserve to hear me sing. You deserve to be neutered.”
Before I realize my feet are moving, I’m across the den and gripping her golden curls in my fist. I yank her up and over the back of the couch while she screams before turning her around to face me. “I’m getting really sick of your shirt, you ungrateful brat.”
She glowers back up at me. “You’re pronouncing it wrong. My name’s Au-re-li-a. And what exactly would I have to be grateful for? You expect me to fuck for watery stew and a hard bed with scratchy sheets. I’m Aurelia. I don’t bend for anyone, so decide what you’re going to do about it and take it up with management, pumpkin.”
“Excellent advice.”
I shove her away, and she stumbles right into Thorin’s arms. He catches her, and I hold my breath as I wait for him to decide. Will he finally admit he wants her, or will he continue to pretend he hasn’t been hard ever since we found her?
“Take your hands off me, and I’ll think about forgetting you exist when I’m rescued.”
“It’s unlikely,” Thorin returns.
“I swear on my parents’ graves—”
“I have no doubt you’ll try to forget us, but it’s unlikely you’ll ever succeed, Au-re-li-a.”
Thorin brings her closer and then closes his eyes as he buries his nose in her neck. He inhales deeply, and his next breath rushes out so harshly that Aurelia releases a terrified whimper. I’d bet my left nut she can feel his ire and desire skating over her bare shoulder and down her spine.
She pushes against his chest to get away, kicking, punching, cursing, and growling. Aurelia’s giving him everything she has, and while she’s fierce, it’s not enough.
Shushing her, Thorin palms the back of her head and presses it into his chest. I can see the answer in his gaze the moment he opens them and meets mine. For years, Thorin tricked himself into thinking he likes his women soft and pliant, but this is what he really needs—someone he can bend just to the point of breaking, someone who will break and then ask for more.
He shifts his hold to Aurelia’s waist like they’re lovers, but she’s too busy scouring her nails down Thorin’s bare arms to notice Seth and me tightening the kill circle.
“Looks like we’re going with door number two, boys.”
THORIN
Turning Aurelia around until her back is to my chest, I hook an arm around her neck. Her hands fly up the moment I tighten my hold, gripping my bicep and forearm. It’s foolish to waste all her strength fighting me when she’s going to need it. Aurelia stubbornly tugs at my arm, and when force fails to free her, she resorts to pain, digging her sharp nails into my skin.
God, it makes me harder.
“Let me go,” she chokes out.
“We tried to do this the easy way, but I’m starting to think you like it rough.” I grab one of her hands and force it between our bodies. “All you had to do was sing for us, songbird.” I press her palm firmly against the hard ridge trapped by my sweats. Aurelia muffles her disgust at the last moment, denying me the satisfaction. My dick feels like it will snap in half if I don’t get off soon. “What do you think, boys? Should we give her what she wants?”