Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 60711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
“This room is off limits.”
She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound, spinning around but finding nothing. The voice came from nowhere. Everywhere. Dark and smooth with an accent she couldn’t place, like smoke given sound.
Her heart slammed against her ribs as the silence stretched, ominously. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt—”
“It was a joke, koukla mou.”
A figure detached itself from the deepest shadows, and she found herself gulping as she came face to face with the devil someone scary
Stop being a scaredy-cat, Andie!
The stranger was tall, taller than anyone she’d ever seen, and moved with the kind of grace that made her gulp anew. Maybe it wasn’t that she was scared, but there was just something about this man that made her think of sin...come to life.
She squinted in an effort to see him more clearly, but the moonlight proved frustratingly inadequate. But even though angles and shadows were all she could see, the weight of his gaze was palpable, and it became a struggle to keep still.
The man lowered himself onto the couch with deliberate grace, ankle crossed over knee. A desktop lamp was next to the couch, illuminating his features, and her throat tightened when she finally saw his face.
‘Too beautiful’ was Andie’s first thought.
This man was too, too beautiful, for anyone’s good.
His fingers tapped the cushion beside him once, and her body jerked at the unspoken command.
“Come sit next to me.”
No way.
“Or are you afraid I’ll bite?”
Absolutely.
But because she could be stubborn and proud—-
Her legs moved without permission, and she ended up seated at the far end, her back against the arm. She was playing with fire, but at least she was sensible enough not to draw too close to it.
“You can come a little closer, you know.”
She shook her head, and she could feel rather than see the way his eyes glinted in amusement at her response.
“Do I scare you?”
“I’m just...shy.”
“Shy...” He repeated the word as if it were foreign. “And you’re not lying about it, are you?”
The question so surprised her it had Andie forgetting the very shyness he found puzzling. “Why would I lie about being shy?”
“Why indeed.”
His tone was rather...strange, and her shyness faded even more, replaced as it was with a growing sense of curiosity. “Have you been surrounded by friendly people all your life?”
He startled her again, this time with a laugh that sounded terribly...rusty.
“No, unfortunately, koukla mou.”
She mentally repeated the words to herself. Kukla mu. She would ask for Google to translate that later for sure.
“If I had to describe it, I supposed I’ve always been surrounded by people who want to be friends with me.”
“So...you’ve always been popular.”
She saw him almost start to laugh again before stopping himself.
How weird.
And now his gaze had narrowed at her, almost as if he was gauging...what?
“Do you always say what’s on your mind?”
“No.”
His beautiful face turned expressionless, but curiously enough, it was at this moment that she found him rather easier to read. Or maybe, it was more like a gut feeling. She could sense his frustration and disconcertment. It seemed that he found all of her answers unexpected, and he didn’t like that it was so.
“I never thought I’d meet someone like you, koukla mou.”
“I understand.” She didn’t belong in his world, and it would be silly to deny this. Everyone here, her own aunt and this stranger included, were all glamorous and glossy, and a million times richer, literally.
“I don’t think you do.”
Instead of being hurt or offended, the way he bit the words out with a tone of impatience only added to her confusion. Why did she keep rubbing this man the wrong way?
“You’re different from everyone else here because you don’t seem to care about what others think.” His lips twisted in a smile that somehow hurt her heart.
How weird.
It was just so, so weird, how this stranger had the power to make her...feel.
“And you probably don’t even want to be my friend.”
Oh.
“Do you?”
“I...I...” Were all rich people like him? That was the most unbelievably awkward question anyone had asked of her, and she just didn’t know what to say.
“Do you want to be my friend, koukla mou?”
All he was asking was to be his friend, but the way he said it turned the word into something else. Something darker and more terrifying. Something forbidden but oh so very...tempting.
Fire, Andie! He’s the most dangerous kind of fire there is, and we’re the type to run away from such fire, not play with it!
She jerked to her feet...at the same time his phone buzzed, and something flashed over his sinfully attractive features. He must be expecting the call...but instead of answering his phone, he also rose to his feet, and her heart started twisting itself in knots.
They were about to part.
Weren’t they?
And weirdly enough, the thought...hurt.
“You’ll have to be on your own from here.”