Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
“Take it easy,” I tell her.
“Shut up!” she snaps, cocking the hammer. I can see her fast, heavy heartbeats through the skin of her chest. “You don’t touch me like that again unless I say so! Understand?”
Her fiery passion has me smiling. “Put the gun down, princess. We both know you’ll be back for more.”
A storm of emotions flares across her face, like she’s trying to decide between two courses of action. Then slowly, she de-cocks the hammer and tosses the gun to the floor.
She turns, yanks the door open, and storms out. I let her walk away—eyes glued to her hips as they sway.
I stop thinking about how I shouldn’t want her, and start thinking about how I’m going to keep her. So what if it goes beyond all the rules laid out by my father.
I could burn it all down. This could be the end of our families’ alliance.
But I regret nothing.
In fact, I want more. And I will have it. Nothing will stand in my way…
5
SABLE
Lying in bed, I stare up at the ceiling—slightly more familiar now but still foreign.
I can’t believe what he did to me.
I woke up countless times through the night, hot, sweaty, and tingling as images of him holding me down ran through my mind.
My neck is red from where he sucked me, and the hot sensation between my thighs hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, it’s tugging at me…like a taunt he left me with.
He teased me. Deliberately. Brought me right up to the edge of release and then yanked me back, purposely denying me.
“Son of a bitch…” I mutter.
I was going to march straight down to Dominic’s office and spill the beans—tell him and my mother—but I decided not to.
What am I? A young girl who can’t fight her own battles?
No, I’ve already let him feel my fists and my heels. And there’s plenty more where that came from.
I slide out of bed and into new black Dior dress with matching Louboutin heels. It’s cute but not overly sexy. I don’t need Ryker thinking I’m trying to seduce him or something.
It takes me a good five minutes to cover up the mark he left on me too. Don’t want Mom asking any questions. She and Dominic would lose their minds if they found out what happened yesterday.
When I get downstairs, I find the family already in the dining room eating. Dominic sits at the head of the table, with my mom by his side and Ryker across from her.
“Oh, there you are, honey.” Mom smiles as I take my seat by her. “We started without you.”
“No problem,” I reply, my eyes on Ryker. I can see him searching my neck for his mark.
Sorry, pal. Not there.
His lips twist in frustration, and I watch the muscles of his forearms flex as he takes his fork and knife and cuts a slice of Canadian bacon.
Unlike me, Ryker is dressed informally today in a pair of gray sweat pants and a white tank-top that hugs his muscles like a second skin.
The hot sensation between my thighs blooms, and I quickly avert my eyes.
One of the house staff emerges from a door and sets a plate in front of me: scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, and avocado toast.
“Thank you,” I tell him. He merely bows and leaves the way he came.
“Wow, polite to the staff,” Ryker remarks. I hear the sarcasm in his voice and ignore him, reaching for the orange juice.
“You have a lovely home, Dominic,” I say to his father as I take a bite of my eggs. “And apparently a wonderful chef.”
Dominic actually looks pleased and nods happily. “Former Michelin Star chef. Expensive.”
Ryker’s gaze burns into my skin, but I refuse to even give him a glance—not even out of the corner of my eye.
A single soft growl from his direction almost causes me to smile.
But I hold back.
“You going to a cocktail party or something?” Ryker asks. “Quite a fancy dress to wear around the house.”
“I’ll decide what I wear, thank you very much,” I reply, still not looking at him.
My mom glances at Dominic like, “What the hell is going on?” but he just shrugs, clearly not interested in our drama.
Despite the breakfast, I can smell Ryker from here. His scent rides the air straight into my nostrils, causing a flare inside of me, sparking feelings from when he had me pinned beneath him on his bed.
I’m blushing so hard it hurts as I quickly stand up and walk away from the table.
“Where are you going, honey?” Mom asks. “You haven’t finished your breakfast.”
“Yeah, Sable,” Ryker laughs. “Come finish your food.”
I ignore them both and step out into the hall where I find Ryker’s buddy, Kane, sitting on a bench by the front door.
“No offense, but you don’t look happy.”
“You calling me ugly?” I snap. His eyes narrow as he tries to decipher if I’m fucking with him or not.