Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“You…” She swatted at me, but that just made me tighten my hold on her.
“Don’t you move!” I rubbed the tip of my thumb over the mark on her neck, then my eyes met hers. Fuck this, what is this? I felt that rip in my heart that I’d done my best to fix over the years open up again. I’m about to bleed out.
“What’re you doing to me?” How is it possible to want to love someone and end them at the same time? Not that I would ever hurt a hair on her head, but when a man is staring his only weakness in the face, all he feels is fear. I think it’s time I called Simon. Maybe my brother isn’t so crazy after all.
I got distracted by my thoughts and wasn’t paying close attention; that’s why I was caught off guard when she sat up, straddled me, and returned the favor, biting into my neck until she left her mark. Of course, the waitress chose that moment to show up with our appetizers.
I pulled her head into my chest to shield her, but she had other ideas. I’m not sure why I thought she would be embarrassed. She hopped off my lap and slid into her chair. “Let’s eat! Thank you, Evelyn. This looks amazing.” The waitress smiled and walked away, and that’s when I remembered the other players in this act.
I realized that she hadn’t looked over there since we sat down, so I’m not sure what she’s up to now, but I don’t trust her, not even for a second. “Umm!” She moaned around the bite of smoked trout croquette with her eyes closed. “What are you doing? Don’t you ever make that sound in public again.”
“Okay, if you say so; open.” She pushed one of the round balls between my teeth until I took it all in, leaving a trail with her fingertip along my lip. Trouble, plain and simple. She licked her fingers while smirking at me. “Why didn’t you order oysters?” Where did that question come from?
"That’s an odd question. Why would I?"
"I’m just looking out for your health, you relic. If you want to pet the kitty, you might need all the help you can get to keep up with me. She’s a very greedy girl; she likes to feast.”
My eyes went across the room to her ex. I’ll kill him.
DALE
That bitch! How dare she make a fool out of me? She disappeared off the face of the earth after running out on me, and refused to take my calls, only to show up here tonight to pull this shit. I wasn’t prepared for her sudden appearance, so there was nothing I could do but sit there and take the hit.
I know she’s doing this purposely to embarrass me in front of my colleagues. No one knew that we had broken up; that was something I wanted to keep well-hidden until I came up with a plan. Being linked with her had brought me lots of benefits after all, and the rumors I’d spread about us getting married had only multiplied those benefits tenfold.
If word got around that we were no longer together, that was sure to affect my bottom line. Now would be a bad time to lose my job, even though I planned to leave soon for my own startup. Something I was relying on my connection with her for.
I endured the ribbing from the men and women I work with and avoided the questioning looks that came my way. I’m well aware of the danger if anyone figures out my relationship with Charlotte; our company is very strict when it comes to things like this, dating in-house is very heavily forbidden, not to mention the morality clause all executives have to sign.
That crack she made about Charlotte is sure to have people guessing, and that’s the last thing I need. How the hell was I supposed to keep pretending that the man beside her was just a friend, which is what I told them when asked?
In our time together, she never held my hand in public, claimed she hated all forms of PDA, but now she’s straddling some man in a restaurant, embarrassing me in front of my people. How could I not believe that it’s deliberate?
I folded my fists under the table before deciding to make a move. No one would believe that any self-respecting man would put up with this sort of disrespect. When one of my colleagues commented and asked what was going on with my girlfriend, I had no other choice but to save face.
I made my way over to their table and grabbed her wrist to pull her up from her seat when I felt a kick to my side that knocked the air out of me, even as I hit the floor hard. Before I could get to my feet, one of the man’s hands gripped my collar while the other plowed into my cheek.