Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“It does to me.” He picks up the clothes and hands them to me. “Now, get dressed.”
“Wait—you expect me to go out with this thing inside me?”
“Of course. What did you think?”
“I thought you’d play with it here.”
“That’s not fun.”
“I’m not going outside with it.”
“Yes, you will. You will wear it to meals and meetings and even to V Corp. Every time you move, you’ll remember I’m with you every step of the way.”
“You’re sick.”
“Thanks.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“I take it as one. Now, are you going to keep your word?”
He knows exactly which buttons to push to have me comply with his stupid-ass games. I snatch the clothes from his hand but make sure to tell him, “I hate you.”
Kyle stands up abruptly, startling me when he steals a brief kiss. “But you’ll love my games, Princess.”
15
Rai
I try not to walk funny into the house, but the thing Kyle shoved in me shifts with every step I take, creating friction I want to consider uncomfortable when it’s anything but.
We stopped at the mall because there was no way in hell I was allowing anyone to see me with a makeup-less face and in baggy, unflattering clothes.
I’m now dressed in a simple dark gray dress, my hair is pulled up, and my makeup is flawless. I had to buy a set of pearls because even heavy foundation didn’t completely conceal the hickey on my neck, which has now turned dark blue.
Kyle gave me a disapproving glance when I came out to meet him. What right does he have to look at me that way after the unbearable sensation he’s causing me with the toy right now?
“Something bothering you, Princess?” A low voice whispers at my ear, and it takes everything in me to not swing around and hit him across the face just to erase that smug tone. He’s having so much fun tormenting me.
“Stay away from me.”
“No can do. We got married yesterday, remember?”
How could I forget? My lips still tingle from the possessive way he kissed me in front of the world as if that has always been his purpose in life, as if claiming me in front of everyone has been his mission, his fate, and his driving force.
“Being married doesn’t mean anything.” I try to speak casually in a hopeless attempt to kill the chain of thoughts forming in my head.
“Just because you refuse to admit it, doesn’t mean it has no meaning. You’ll get used to it, though.”
He speaks with so much arrogance, as if he knows the future and is taunting me with it.
I swing around, causing us both to halt. “Don’t think you’re something because Igor somehow decided to make you his son. You’ll always be the stray dog Dedushka took in and turned into somebody.”
His expression doesn’t change, but he shoves a hand in his pocket as if stopping it from acting on something. “Careful, Mrs. Hunter. The more you insult me, the more I will drag you down by the throat.”
I point a finger at his chest. “I’m not scared of you.”
He grabs my hand in place, and when I try to escape, he keeps it imprisoned in a hold so tight it’s impossible to break. His face lowers so it’s a few inches from mine. The meticulous mask he wears so well falters a little, and I get a glimpse of his true self.
His eyes are…empty. Desolate.
Dedushka used to tell me there’s nothing more frightening than a man who has nothing to lose.
And now, I’m staring right at the soul of one.
“You should be,” he says with a chilling calm that stabs straight to my bones. “You really, really should be.”
We remain like that for what seems like hours, just gazing at each other as his words sink in.
Even a long time ago, Kyle always managed to confiscate my attention and cage it behind metal bars. Seven years later, he still has that effect on me, and what’s worse is that he’s coming off stronger, harsher, as if it’s his final strike.
A clearing of a throat cuts off the connection. I blink once as Kyle’s immaculate mask snaps into place and he loosens his hold on my hand.
I step back as if I’ve been shocked, heart hammering at a strange pace.
It takes me a few seconds to refocus on Sergei coming down the stairs, accompanied by Anastasia. She’s grinning from ear to ear as her gaze goes from me to Kyle and back again. That girl has always been a hopeless romantic.
Schooling my features, I join them and take Ana’s hands in mine. “Are you guys all right?”
“We’re fine.” She smiles like an idiot. “Tell me about you.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” I direct my focus to Sergei. “What were our casualties? Did we lose any men? What happened after the attack ended?”