Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 81(@200wpm)___ 65(@250wpm)___ 54(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 81(@200wpm)___ 65(@250wpm)___ 54(@300wpm)
"I know exactly who your father is," I say, my voice low. "And I know exactly what he's done. Now you're going to come with me, because that bastard owes me something, and I've chosen what the payment is going to be. You." I'm moving us quickly, my long legs eating up the ground. I don't care if her shoes get ruined. She won't be needing them where we're going.
I steer her towards a service gate I'd noticed as my car swung around the ornate fountain on the driveway in front of the mansion on my way in, one that leads out into the woods beside the estate.
"My dress...," she whispers, looking down at the expensive silk of her gown. “…Stop!” She’s terrified and grasping at anything she can think of that might encourage me to let her go.
"Forget the dress. I'll buy you ten of them when we get where we're going. Now walk, or I'm going to carry you."
Her resistance falters for a second before she hurries forward, and I use her confusion to pull her faster. I take out my phone, juggle it with one hand, sending a quick encrypted message to my driver to meet me now. He’ll see and track my location.
Once we're deep enough into the woods that we can no longer hear the string quartet or the murmur of the party, I finally stop. I turn to face her, my hand still wrapped firmly around her arm. She looks up at me, her blue eyes wide and luminous in the dappled moonlight. She's stopped fighting me, but she's not submitting either. She's a caged animal, her eyes darting left and right, waiting for her chance to escape.
Unable to resist, I gently swipe a thumb over her flushed cheek, taking an errant tear away with the caress, "I'm not going to hurt you. But we've got a long trip ahead of us, and this will go a lot easier if you don't fight." My other hand rests possessively on her waist, pulling her flush against me, feeling the soft curves of her body against the hard planes of my own. It sends a bolt of pure possessiveness coursing straight through me.
"I'm not going to just let you kidnap me!" It's a valiant effort, but she's wasting her breath. "My father will hunt you to the ends of the earth. He will, he’ll find you, he’ll hurt you”
Chuckling, I let my hand drift to the back of her neck, making her suck in a breath. "I hope he does. I want him to know it's me who has taken you. Laurent will find I'm not as easily fucked over as my father."
2
ELENA
Imake it about ten more feet before Adrian's threat to carry me becomes a necessity.
He's huge, at least 6'5, and it seems like no effort for him.
It’s certainly faster than dealing with my heels sinking into the soft forest floor. Bobbing around helpless and trapped in my kidnappers arms, I throw an arm around his neck to stay steady. This is so bizarre and frightening that I can't stop a hysterical giggle from bubbling up. I swallow it and it emerges as a half-chortle, half-cough.
Adrian looks up at me briefly, but doesn't question it, looking ahead once more. I take the chance to really look at his face up close in the patches of moonlight that break through the trees. It's a harsh, brutally handsome face, with high cheekbones and a Roman nose, the bump on the bridge telling me it's been broken before. His jaw is shadowed with a day's worth of stubble, his short, jet black hair immaculately styled, and his eyes, even in the dim light, are a dark, intense brown that seems to burn right through me.
I'm being kidnapped, I think wildly. I'm being kidnapped from my own rehearsal dinner!
Going with him without kicking and screaming was one of the stupidest decisions I'd ever made, but I was still so stunned from the connection I felt when I first met his eyes that I couldn't think straight. He was handsome, of course, but at that moment, I felt like I knew him. Or that I'd been waiting for him all my life. That, combined with the sorrow and dread I was drowning in when I thought about actually marrying Charles, made me disoriented, and now it was too late.
“Quiet now” he says quietly. I can see a break in the trees ahead and some headlights flashing past, but I can't stay totally quiet. "Are you going to ransom me?"
Adrian snorts. "This may come as a surprise to you, princess, but your dear old dad doesn't have the funds to pay any sort of ransom."
I sputter. "I will have you know--"
"Hush," he snaps, and I reluctantly obey.
A black sedan is idling just off the side of the road, and Adrian heads straight for it. He opens the back door and sets me down on my feet, his hands lingering on my waist for a second longer than necessary. "Get in."