Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
He didn’t take from his employees. Sure, he scared them; fear was a great motivator, as well as greed. Money made the world go around. It helped people overlook uncomfortable alliances and shit. He understood it.
Which is why his wife was treated like a fucking queen. Winnie had a hard life. He had read the police reports and social services reports about Winnie. Before Winnie was taken into care, she had an abusive mother who loved using her fists, and had put her daughter in the hospital a few times. She was also a fucking great actress, according to what he had seen. The woman had cried, screaming that it was some stranger, which would always lead to a dead end. Either way, it ended with Winnie back in her mother’s care.
Until she was five. Then, she entered the foster system, and her life went from shit to shit, to worse.
Now, she was married to him. So, he was going to make sure she had everything a young woman should have. He was not the best fucking husband. Their first encounter was of him killing her so-called friends. In fact, the first words she said to him were, “thank you.” That was it. Thank you. He found that so fucking adorable.
Walking back through the artisan market, they purchased some clothing, trinkets, makeup, and even food. And after that, they were on their way back home with her goodies.
For now, they were staying at one of his many apartments.
Arriving at the house, Winnie went to her beauty room, and he made his way into his office. He pulled out his cell phone, and there was a text from Trish, stating she had some information. Elias made the arrangements to meet her at the club that evening. Usually, he would go to the brothel where Trish worked, but this time, he wasn’t interested. The woman liked to think she could get him into bed.
She was one of his longest serving prostitutes, and was in her late thirties. She had been in the industry since she was a teenager. When he first met Trish, she was being beaten up by her pimp at the time. Elias didn’t like men who hurt women, especially when they were already down on the ground. Trish wouldn’t stay in line. She didn’t take the drugs the guy wanted her hooked on. Trish was also a mother of three children. Fathers had come and gone over the years. She had been used by a lot of men. Sex was the oldest profession in the book, and seeing as men didn’t like to keep it in their pants, she was going to make money out of it, which was exactly what she did. Again, he couldn’t criticize her.
Leaving his office, he found Winnie in the kitchen.
“We’re going out tonight. I’ll pick out some clothes for you.” The dress she wore was cute and sexy, but not what he had in mind for a night at the club.
“We are?”
He rarely took her to the club, and when he did, it was as his trophy. No one knew anything about her. Winnie always stumped his enemies, and above all else, it kept the women away.
For the last four years, much to his surprise, he had not touched another woman. There had been a few moments he had thought about it, but then he would think of Winnie. His wife. He never thought of marriage as a real commitment, yet that was exactly what it was to him—a commitment—and one he took seriously.
Winnie was his, and he couldn’t deny that she had turned into a very beautiful woman. He was a selfish bastard. She could have been safe and happy with anyone else, but he hadn’t wanted to give her up.
They could have annulled their marriage, but he didn’t want to. He wanted Winnie all to himself. This is what made him selfish. She could be with anyone, but he didn’t want her to be with just anyone.
His attraction to her had grown. He was not into young girls. He loved women. And Winnie, with her long, brown hair, innocent eyes, and a past that made him want to fucking kill all the people she came into contact with. He was falling for her. And, he’d not even fucked her yet. Not that it was going to happen.
Winnie didn’t know he had made a vow to protect her, and he was going to keep that vow for the rest of their lives. It also meant he was going to suffer with blue balls.
He was not a good man, but when it came to Winnie, it seemed he was becoming a fucking saint.
Chapter Three
Nightclubs had never been her thing. The loud music, the people, and the lack of respect that seemed to happen. Not to mention the drug taking, which she shouldn’t see, and also, the close-to-sex experiences some people seemed to enjoy having on the dance floor. Again, not something she wanted to participate in.