Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Her eyes went wide. “Okay.”
“Okay? Don’t you think he’s being cruel, pretty girl?” Nico asked, palming his erection and giving her a sad look. “I mean, if you were to ask, I’m sure he’d get down on his knees and suck me off.”
Liam shot him a warning look. “Be careful, there, boy.”
Fuck. There was definitely something wrong with him. That tone, Liam’s words, the look on his face, they were all a warning.
And Nico lapped them up like a dog taking a drink of cool water on a hot day. He was so fucked.
“Let’s talk about the rules for our relationship,” Liam said, bringing his attention back to the here and now. “They might change over time. Or at least, boundaries might shift as you start to trust us more.”
“What things are a hard no right now, pretty girl?” Nico asked leaning forward.
She sucked in a breath, looking back and forth between them. Her hands moved into fists, and Liam stiffened.
Slowly, he moved his hands over hers, pulling them apart and turning them over. It was obvious she’d been pressing her nails into her palms.
“Rule two is no hurting yourself,” Liam told her.
“I didn’t . . . I wasn’t hurting myself.”
“Don’t bullshit yourself or us,” Liam said sharply.
“I didn’t mean to. I mean, I wasn’t thinking about it. I just . . . this is hard to talk about. What he did to me.”
Nico frowned. “You said you talked to a therapist.”
“Yes, but after a while she became more interested in Regent than me. She spent more time asking about him than she did speaking to me about how I was doing. I told Regent and she never came back but I couldn’t trust anyone else after that.”
“What a bitch,” Liam spat out. “What was her name?”
“Why?” she asked suspiciously.
“Name.”
“Yeah, no, that’s not happening.”
“Are you refusing to do what I want, girl?” he drawled.
Would she cave to Liam?
Many would, and Nico wouldn’t blame her if she did. But instead, she lifted her chin and looked up at Liam. “Yes.”
Pride filled Nico and despite Liam’s stern countenance, he knew that the other man felt the same way.
She was strong enough to deal with them.
“I don’t think I’m happy about that. You should tell me whatever I want to know.”
“Like you would do the same? You have secrets you’re not telling me, don’t you?” she challenged.
Good girl.
“Fine. But anything I need to know for your care, you will tell me.”
“Ditto.” She looked from Liam then over to Nico. Warmth filled him.
“Everything I’ve done is yours to know, pretty girl.”
“Christ, don’t tell her that. There are things you don’t want to know about his youth,” Liam warned her.
“Eh, I’ve already told her how I thought I was going to be a rock star, and about my family. Oh, I also told her how we met.”
“Did you?” Liam murmured.
“Uh-huh. Told her how you’re a marshmallow.”
“What?” Liam asked.
“Yeah, you’re like a toasted marshmallow, crust on the outside and gooey in the middle.”
“Good Lord.” Liam shook his head. “Charlotte, look at me.” He waited until she looked at him. “It’s better that we know about what he did to you, so we don’t set off a trigger.”
“What if I can’t talk about it?”
“You’ll be able to. When the time is right,” Liam reassured her.
“And nothing you say will make us think about you differently,” Nico added. “You’re our beautiful strong warrior princess.”
She gave him a small, wobbly smile. “I guess I’m scared to try in case I freak out and have flashbacks. But he didn’t rape me.”
“It doesn’t have to be rape for it to be traumatic,” Liam growled at her.
She sucked in a breath. “No, it doesn’t. My therapist kind of made light of the fact that he . . . that he touched me.”
“Jesus, where did Regent find her?” Nico asked. “The back of a crackerjack box?”
“Bet she was angry when he told her not to come back,” she said. “She definitely set her sights on becoming Mrs. Regent Malone.”
“Then she was an idiot, wasn’t she?” Liam drawled. “Because anyone who knows Regent knows that the surefire way to get in his bad books is to slight his sister.”
Lottie gave Liam a tentative smile that grew into something stronger. “Yes, I guess that’s right.”
“No guessing about it,” Liam growled at her. “You’re the adored fucking princess of the Malone empire. But you’re also a warrior, a fighter. No one fucks with you.”
“No one fucks with the Malones,” she muttered then looked up at them. “It’s something my cousins say. They call it the family motto.”
“I like it. Although you won’t always be a Malone,” Liam warned.
Nico sucked in his breath. While Lottie just looked confused. “Why?”
“Because you’re ours. You’ll be a Carmichael. We’ll create our own family motto.”
“You don’t think you’re moving kind of fast?”