Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I sit up in my seat—yes, a leather chair—and take note of the tubular room. Not a room. Airplane. Whipping my head to the left and immediately regretting it when the throbbing intensifies, I see Caius deep in concentration as he types on a laptop. His dark hair is perfectly styled, not a hair out of place, and he’s dressed impeccably in a well-fitted navy suit.
I want to strangle him with his baby blue tie.
“You…” I croak out. “You…drugged…me.”
Caius’s typing halts and he cuts his eyes my way. Then he lifts his hand. A woman in a crisp uniform hurries over to us. “A water for my love.”
Gareth stifles a laugh. I want to also choke him with Caius’s tie once I’m done with his brother.
“I’m…not…” I give up the argument. Until I have some water on my parched throat, I’ll struggle to speak.
The stewardess hands me a bottle of water, wearing a polite smile. Then she disappears to wherever Caius summoned her from. I unscrew the lid and guzzle the whole bottle without stopping once. An unladylike burp follows after, and I’m satisfied when Caius’s lip curls up slightly.
Good.
I’m not the only one feeling displeasure in this moment.
“Why?” I demand, voice not as raspy.
“It’s called efficiency,” Caius says absently, attention back on his laptop. “We didn’t have time for stalling. There was a brief reprieve from the storm, and if we didn’t leave when we did, we would have missed the yacht’s departure.”
Rather than dignifying him with a response, I unbuckle and rise from my seat. The plane vibrates as it cruises along. I see a sign for the bathroom and make my way over to it. We’re the only three people here aside from the flight attendant and the pilots. The isolation continues. Once I’ve safely locked myself in the bathroom, I stare at my reflection. My hair is down and messy. I’m unnerved to discover I’m in completely different clothes than I wore yesterday.
He changed my clothes.
It should feel like a violation, but we’ve already bumped uglies, or at least rubbed them together, so it’s certainly not anything he hasn’t seen or touched before. Heat floods south and I growl in frustration. I hate Caius Crowne. Deeply.
After relieving myself and discovering I’m wearing new, silky black panties that he no doubt put on me, I wash up and then splash cold water on my face to cool off the shame or desire or anger. I’m still unsure which one is winning the inner battle.
Breathe, Romy.
Get control over your emotions.
You can’t think when you’re a mess.
I inspect the injection site. Indeed, a purple bruise forms on my pale flesh. One day I’m going to find his drug stash and paybacks are going to be hell for the eldest Crowne. Images of stabbing him with one of his own needles or cramming unknown drugs down his throat bring a satisfying smirk to my face. A girl can dream.
Now that I’ve regrouped, I lift my chin and leave the bathroom. I catch the tail end of something Gareth is saying.
“…think it’s strange Solomon invited us? We aren’t usually allowed to play in his sandbox.”
When Gareth sees me, his lips press together, cutting off whatever else he was going to say. Caius looks over his shoulder at me and then holds up a hair tie.
“Do something about that before we land,” he says, voice cold. “We should be there soon.”
Gritting my teeth, I make my way over to him and snatch it from his grip. He watches me with an arched eyebrow as I angrily pull my hair back. Rather than sitting beside him or Gareth, for that matter, I choose a seat closer to the cockpit. The same woman from before appears with a small tray of snacks.
“Thanks,” I say to her, withholding the urge to snap at her for no good reason other than I hate Caius.
My pockets are empty, and I wonder where my phone is. I refuse to ask Caius, instead opting to gorge myself on dried cranberries, sharp cheddar cheese cubes, chocolate-covered peanuts, and miniature pretzels. The stewardess brings me a glass of wine this time that earns a smile from me.
Seconds later, Caius takes the seat next to me and offers me my phone. How does he always seem to know what I’m thinking? I snatch it from him and check the only message, which is from Theo.
Theo: Have fun on your trip. I wish I could have gone too.
“He’s too reckless to go,” Caius says after reading the text. “I can’t have him mess this up for me.”
It’s almost as if Caius is looking forward to this trip with Solomon the creep.
“Why do you want it to be a success?” I ask as I hold up my empty glass to show the woman I need more.