Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Her gut went tight at the thought of that.
Another message popped up on the screen: Anything I can help with?
Ella double-blinked, surprised by the offer. The Black Saints were an exclusive bunch. They made alliances, but they generally didn’t get involved in other people’s business. Or so she’d been told.
She picked up her cell and texted: Thanks, but Mia has it covered. Pausing, Ella nibbled on her lower lip. I’m not sure if I should be annoyed that you went ahead and got my number without my permission.
More dots bopped on her screen. I couldn’t ask your permission without talking to you, and you haven’t come to me yet.
Ella swallowed, her stomach dropping. Why would I?
You want to.
“Arrogant bastard,” she muttered. “A correct arrogant bastard.”
Why fight it?
Sighing, she typed: I told you, I’m not into meaningless sex. I get that my behavior the other night might have given a different impression, but that was an aberration for me.
Sex doesn’t have to be meaningless, Ella.
Well, that was true. She’d had flings that, though they hadn’t been serious or stepping stones to relationships, hadn’t been meaningless. They’d been fun, light, and even made her smile when she thought back on them.
But he wasn’t asking for a fling. Or, at least, it didn’t seem that way. He just wanted them to roll in the sack again.
Right then, another message appeared: Come to me.
“Why do I have to be the one who goes anywhere?” she grumbled even as she texted: Do you do this a lot? Text women demanding they go tend to your needs?
The phone in her hand began to ring, his number showing on the screen.
She stilled. “Oh, shit.” Her demon chuckled, amused that he had Ella all befuddled.
Clearing her throat, she thumbed the screen and answered, “Hello?”
“Baby.” The word was low. Soft. An amused reprimand. “I’m not demanding anything of you. I want you to come to me of your own free will.”
It was wrong that she was developing a crush on his voice.
“Sure, I could instead kiss your consent right out of you. But then you’d tell yourself you got swept along for the ride again; that you had another moment of weakness.”
Ella felt her lips flatten. Yes, fine, that was pretty much exactly what she’d do. “Does it really matter when all you want is a fuck anyway?”
“Who says that’s all I want from you?”
A frown pulled at her brow.
“There are many things I’d like to do to you, Ella—it’ll take more than one night to get through them.” A pause. “There’s no other man in your life right now, is there?”
“No,” she replied, even though she had the feeling that he already knew the answer.
“Then what’s the problem, other than my being one of the Fallen, which doesn’t need to have any real bearing on anything unless you want it to?”
Well … she supposed that was true. She was letting it be a factor, but she didn’t have to. Not really. Particularly in her demon’s opinion.
“Give in to me, Ella,” he murmured.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Stop talking. Really, just … stop.”
“Why? Because you’re tempted to do what I ask?”
“No.”
A rumbly, deliciously sexy chuckle drifted down the line. “Liar.” A soft, teasing statement.
Yup. She was a total liar.
A double-beep sounded, signaling that another call was trying to come through. Ella peeked at the phone screen and then told him, “My sister’s trying to call me. I need to answer.”
“All right, I’ll get off the phone. I’ll give you a few more days to come to me. If that doesn’t happen, I will come to you. There’s only so long I’m prepared to wait.” He hung up.
Deciding she’d process that little tidbit later, she answered Mia’s call. “Hey, how did it go?” The long sigh that came down the line raised Ella’s hackles.
“Not great,” Mia mumbled. “I don’t know what I expected the subject of the ‘real talk’ to be, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to hear that he’s met someone.”
Ella felt her mouth fall open. “What?”
“It’s his boss’ new assistant, apparently. He ended our fling so he could start something with her.”
Ella did a slow blink, utterly shocked. “I’m … I have no words.”
“I was a little speechless myself,” Mia muttered, her tone flat.
“Why didn’t he tell you this before now?”
“He claims he thought it’d hurt me, so he kept it to himself. But now he feels bad about lying to me, so he decided to cough up the truth.”
As a thought occurred to Ella, she narrowed her eyes. “Did he touch her while he was with you?”
“He swears he didn’t. At one time, I would have taken him at his word. But now? Now I feel let down by him, and that’s new for me.”
“What did you say to him?”
“Not a lot. I was too stunned. Just before I left, I said I hoped it all worked out for him.”