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)
He reaches out, stroking the back of his hand down my jaw, his eyes soft. "I'll break you out without hesitation, little one. Just say the word."
I know he means it. If I call him for a rescue, he won't even hesitate to show up on my father's doorstep. He'll bring an army if that's what it takes. And he won't leave without me.
But…I don't want it to come to that. If there's a way out of this without more bloodshed, I want to find it. Despite their flaws, despite everything, I love my father and Niall, and I know they love me in the same fierce way. They aren't bad men. They're simply men, just like Naz. They're flawed and complicated and frustrating as hell. But they're my men, my family.
If there's a way out of this…well, there has to be a way out of this.
"Just let me try," I whisper. It's all I can do. Try. Go reassure my father and brother that I'm alive and try to keep them from escalating this war any further.
Naz jerks his chin in a nod, his amber eyes glittering with repressed emotion. "Be careful, Brynna. If they try to keep you from me…"
"They won't," I hurry to say, my soul quivering. "I'll stick to the story. It'll be fine." I place my hand on his arm, trying to calm him. "Just let me try, Naz. Please."
He exhales a sharp breath, and then nods again, his thumb against my bottom lip. "Do what you must, mi amor. I made my promise already. I won't break it."
I practically fling myself across the console against his chest, pressing my lips to his. He consumes me with his kiss again, searing his brand onto my soul, into my lungs. I accept it willingly, eagerly, breathing my own back into him.
And just like yesterday, I wrench myself out of his arms before I lose the willpower to do it at all. I throw myself from his SUV and slam the door, my feet flying down the sidewalk as I race toward my father's house, tears in my eyes.
If this doesn't work, I'm going to lose someone else I love. Cancer already stole my mother. Will war still Niall? My father? Naz? Am I going to be the reason the people I love destroy each other?
No. I'll wage war myself before I let that happen. I've gone along with their plans and been their obedient little princess my entire life. I haven't made waves. I've stayed in my place. I've done everything I was supposed to do because they said I was supposed to do it. Because I loved them enough to do it.
I've enabled them to my own damn detriment. I'm not doing it anymore. I know who I am now and what I want. His marks are still painted across my skin. His possession still sings in my veins.
He may be the god of war, but I'm the one who drove him to his knees. I'm not weak. I'm not helpless. I'm his.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
I wheel around, yelping as Niall's furious voice rips through the shadows half a block from the house.
He steps out from behind a tree, his furious green eyes locked on my face as he stomps toward me, dressed in the same suit he left in this morning. Only it's wrinkled now, and he looks like he's been through hell today.
Crap. He and my father have probably been worried for hours.
"You scared the crap out of me, Niall," I say, guilt whispering through me. It seems like every damn decision I make lately causes harm to someone I care about.
Naz swept into my life, turned it upside down, and everything has been spiraling out of control since. It would be easy to lay the blame at his feet, but it isn't his fault.
It's Newton's Third freaking Law. We're two objects colliding into one another, one no more responsible for the force of impact than the other. But the force of the collision bound us together, and the energy rippled outward, impacting everyone and everything around us.
"What the fuck were you doing with him?" Niall growls, his voice level.
"I…" I lick my lips, anxiety shooting through me.
"We've been tearing this fucking city apart, worried out of our goddamn minds that he was holding you hostage after he killed your bodyguards," he growls. "And he just brings you home?"
"I can explain," I whisper.
"Really?" His upper lip curls. "You can explain the fact that you threw yourself into his fucking arms and kissed him, Brynna?"
Shit. He saw us.
I didn't anticipate that, didn't plan for that. I didn't mean to kiss Naz this close to my father's house at all, honestly. But I did it anyway. Because when it comes to him, I can't stop myself.