Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 54283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
But I don't want to destroy that innocence. I want to possess it, to preserve it.
To fucking worship it on my knees.
I stride forward, my cock throbbing against my zipper with every step. Halfway there, she dips her head, and her gaze locks with mine. For a fleeting moment, her expression is wide open to me, no walls between us.
I see excitement spark in the depths of her emerald eyes, as if she's happy to see me. Desire chases immediately after. And then she seems to remember that she isn't supposed to like me, isn't supposed to want me. She blinks a scowl into place, her lips pursing.
"You," she growls.
Fuck, she's cute when she's pretending she's fierce. Will she be so brave when I'm pinning her to the bed beneath me, driving into her so hard she thinks she's going to break?
"Hello, Irish," I drawl, my lips twitching. "Fancy meeting you here."
"What do you want this time, Naz?" she asks, exasperation coloring her tone. She doesn't even give me a chance to answer before she throws her hand up. "You know what? Don't answer that. I'm still looking over my shoulder from the last time you showed up and ruined my night."
My smile grows, the rage I felt driving over her a distant memory. "Ruined your night? I think you mispronounced enhanced your evening, princesa."
She rolls her eyes at me. "No, I said precisely what I intended to say. Why are you here this time?"
"Out for a stroll," I lie.
"Uh-huh, sure." She crosses her arms, pushing her breasts up in her little shirt. "Stalking isn't really a good look on you, Nazario. It screams desperate."
"For you?" I reach out, running a fingertip down an errant curl. It's exactly as soft as I imagined. "Always, princesa. I thought we were clear about that."
She sighs heavily. "What do you want, Naz?"
I consider teasing her further, only to realize I have no desire to do it. "My office was stifling," I murmur. "I needed fresh air and something soothing to look at before I did something I'm sure I'd regret eventually." My eyes bore into hers. "So…here I am."
She eyes me silently, the tip of her tongue caught between her teeth. "Do I even want to know what it is you were considering doing that you'd regret?"
"Murder. Mayhem. Monstrous acts." I shrug a shoulder. "Take your pick, little one."
She blinks at me, shivering. "Jesus, Naz."
"I won't lie to you," I murmur softly. "You know who and what I am. Denying it would be an insult to you, little one." I wrap her curl around my finger. "I'm not interested in insulting you."
"I…thank you," she whispers, her lashes fluttering. "It's nice to be treated like an adult instead of as a little girl who needs to be protected at all costs."
"Oh, I never said I wouldn't protect you." I untwist her hair from around my finger, brushing my knuckles across her cheek as I lean closer. "No one touches what belongs to me, mi cielito. I'll raze this city to the fucking ground if anyone tries. But you are all woman." My lips skim her cheek. "I should know. You've had my fucking cock hard since I set eyes on you the first time."
"Naz," she whispers, a warning in her tone. She doesn't lean away, though. Nor does she tell me to stop. She may not want to want me, but she does anyway.
"Run away with me for the day, princesa," I breathe against her skin. "Spend one afternoon with me."
"I…"
"Say yes, Brynna. You know it's what you want to do." My lips graze her cheek again, one hand around her thick waist. I don't give a fuck who sees us. It's unlikely we're the first to kiss on these steps. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."
She pulls back slightly, her eyes locking with mine. The avid curiosity burning in their depths makes my balls ache. Dio. Who is this girl that this carrot is the one that entices her? Not my money, not power, not sex, but knowledge of who I am. "Anything?"
"Anything," I agree, unable to resist touching my tongue to the corner of her lips. She shivers, her upper body swaying closer to me. "Whatever you want to know."
"Why did you hit Adrian Lombardi?" she asks, breathless.
Ah, so she heard about that, did she?
"He thought taunting me was a good choice." I flick my tongue against the corner of her lip again. "I disabused him of that notion."
"Taunted you how?" Her eyes are dark, her pupils blown wide. Fuck. I want to wrap her curls around my fist and taste every inch of that perfect mouth.
"He thought waking a sleeping giant was a good idea, mi cielito." My grip around her waist tightens, my fingers digging into her soft flesh.