Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
When my vision begins to clear, we’re both left panting. He’s holding me, sagging into me, the altar holding us both up. He fits his forehead into the curve of my neck, breath hot and ragged, the shift in the air palpable. He mutters a curse, and I hear the zipping of his slacks as I untangle my fingers from his hair and he pulls out of me, holding me to him as he takes two steps backward. Come is warm on my thighs and when I look at him, I see the furrow of his forehead, the intensity of his gaze on me, the confusion there.
The horror.
“Fuck,” he mutters, looking away from me and the moment he does it’s like a cold breeze blows, ice crystals forming around us, coating my skin. I see my clothes on the floor, and it feels wrong. Dirty. Me naked here in this once-holy place. I think he feels it too because he snatches up the throw to cover my nakedness. He shifts me in his arms, carrying me with purpose, footsteps echoing in this vast, empty space. I cling to him because I have to, and he won’t look at me as he takes me back to his bedroom, throwing the door open. The only light is that of the moon filtered by stained glass. He pulls the thick duvet back and he still won’t look at me until he sets me down and when his gaze meets mine, it’s so distant, so cold that it ices me out.
“What—” I start, but stop.
He pushes a hand through his hair. He turns his head and he’s far, far away. He may as well be in another room, another world. Another fucking continent. He shakes his head once and turns to the door and without a word, he’s gone, slamming that door so hard behind him that I swear I feel the ancient stone walls tremble with the force of his rage and I’m left collecting the blankets around me, trying to stop shivering, trying to get warm as come and blood and shame stain the sheets beneath me.
12
CASSIAN
“Fuck!” I slam my fist into the steering wheel. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
I have never denied myself a woman, but I have a rule. A single fucking rule.
And after what I just went through. What I just saw? Wasn’t that enough to deter me forever? “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
On top of everything, as if what I did wasn’t enough, she was a virgin.
The road is a blur before me, winding, snow falling thick and heavy. I should not be driving the old Ferrari in this.
Just a little, I’d said. Just a little. Because I’m a fucking idiot. I couldn’t stop. I knew I wouldn’t be able to, didn’t I? Some part of me knew. I wanted Allegra from the moment I saw her that first night. From the instant she walked into her father’s study and pressed her back to the door, and I heard her exhale as she shut everyone out.
I wanted. And I took. Took more than I should have taken and now I’ll pay the price.
Well, not me.
I punch the steering wheel once more, the engine screaming as I press my foot to the accelerator and take a blind corner too fast. Headlights come out of nowhere. Someone lays on their horn and I swerve, tires screeching. I miss the truck by centimeters.
My heart races as the sound of his horn fades. I pull off to the side of the road and stop, my breath hard, my heart thudding against my ribcage.
Get a grip, Cassian. Get a fucking grip. I’m tired. I’m fucking exhausted. I haven’t slept more than a few hours in the last three nights. I couldn’t.
I open the car door and step out. The night is freezing and I’m in a half-buttoned dress shirt. The other half of the buttons are scattered all over the chapel floor. Leaving the door open, I walk to the barrier, step over it to get to the end. Snow is settling here, crunching beneath my shoes, a blanket over the crushed beer cans, broken glass of emptied liquor bottles and cigarette butts. I walk to the very edge and look out into the raging ocean. Wind howls here. It sounds like I’d imagine Satan sounds.
Furious. Ferocious. Unforgiving.
From here, I can see the nose of Devil’s Peak on my property.
Just a little, I told her. The warmth of her body, the heat of her tight, virgin—fucking virgin—pussy was too much, too powerful a pull and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stop at a taste. One taste. Hell, I knew I wouldn’t. There is something about this woman. Never before have I felt it. Never before have I wanted someone as badly as I want Allegra fucking Moretti. And it’s not just sex. Sex would be easy. A simple, human need satisfied. No, this is something far more dangerous. This is possession. A whole other level of need.