Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
She squeezed his hand tightly.
Hank had come straight toward him. He held out his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Pleasure to see you, Enzo, and your fiancée.” Hank turned to his wife, who took his hand, and then as both went to greet Adele, they were met with a harsh stare.
It was the first fire he’d seen.
“Don’t,” Adele said, looking straight at Hank.
Enzo saw Hank’s wife, Isabella, looking a little confused.
“I don’t appreciate being put in this position,” Adele said. This time when she pulled away, Enzo let her. He had a feeling he had already pushed her these past forty-eight hours.
“Do you know her?” Isabella asked.
Hank shoved his hands into his pockets. “She’s not happy?”
Enzo kept a smile on his face. “What do you think?” He saw the realization on Isabella’s face, and this was his time to step away and go find his fiancée. He wasn’t interested in any more family drama.
Several people tried to stop him, to which he declined. No one pushed him to linger, and he figured it had to do with his reputation, that they allowed him to go. Leaving the main hall, he couldn’t find Adele. He checked the bathrooms, and ended up moving from room to room, until he caught her in one of the conference rooms. He stepped inside and found her rubbing at her chest, eyes closed, and he noticed her taking several deep breaths.
“Adele?”
“Just … give me a minute.”
“What’s going on?”
She opened her eyes and then turned toward him. One of her hands kept opening and closing.
“You’re having a panic attack.” He closed the distance between them, placed a hand on her back, and another on her chest.
“No, it’s … I don’t know what it is. I haven’t had one in a very long time.”
He felt her heart racing and he saw the panic in her eyes.
Enzo moved in behind her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. “I’ve got you,” he said. He didn’t know if his presence helped her to feel safe, but he held her.
At first, her breathing seemed almost erratic, and then minutes passed, and she finally began to calm down.
“You knew,” Adele said.
“Yes.”
“You should have told me.”
“You’d have been pissed.”
“That woman … she nearly killed my mother.”
He tightened his grip around her and then Adele began to fight him. She let out a scream, and he had no choice but to spin her around, cup her face, and then capture her lips beneath his. The last time he’d done this, he’d gotten slapped.
Letting go of her face, he caught her hands, placing them at the base of her back, stopping her from being able to fight him. With Adele in this vulnerable position, it pressed her tits and body against his, and he didn’t have a single problem feeling her next to his skin. In fact, his cock hardened. Why did he have to wait until his wedding night?
She’s a virgin.
Or is she?
Breaking the kiss, he looked down at her closed eyes, and they slowly opened up.
“Don’t scream,” he said.
“I hate you.”
“Good. Hate me, but don’t scream.”
“I hate him. I hate her.”
“That’s fine.”
She shook her head. “No. It’s not fine to hate anyone.” She tried to pull away from him, and this made her growl as he wouldn’t allow her to go.
“Tell me what you need?” Enzo asked.
He never cared what anyone wanted before. Women simply had to do as they were told, but not Adele. With Adele he wanted more. He cared a hell of a lot more.
“Talk to me.”
“I need to go home.”
“I’ll take you home later.”
“To my house?” she asked.
He sighed. “No. You know that is not an option.”
“Then there’s nothing you can do for me. Let me go.”
“I’ll let you compose yourself, but then you and I are going out there.”
She shook her head. “This is not my life. This is not my place.”
“This is your place!” He glared at her. “You’ve got two choices here. You can run and hide, and they can see you as weak and a coward. Or, you can hold your head high and know that you stand by my side. You can show them you’re not weak. That your mother raised a strong, independent woman. You, right now, are proof of how strong and amazing your mother was.” Enzo didn’t have a clue what he was saying, but he saw the shock in her eyes.
He couldn’t allow Adele to fall. Enzo didn’t know why he gave a fuck so much. She was going to be his wife. He had won. She belonged to him, but he couldn’t allow this world to eat her up. She had to stay strong.
“What’s it going to be? Are you going to make her proud? Or fucking fail?”
Chapter Six
Adele had felt hate before. There were times growing up where she had hated her father with a fiery passion. Her mother had always told her it was a wasted emotion. That the only person she was hurting was herself. To hate someone wasn’t a good feeling to have.