Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
“Are you all right, Lisichka?”
“I’m fine,” she said with surprising conviction. “I never wanted their world anyway. I belong here. With you.” She scanned all three ruggedly beautiful faces.
“We agree, but now that you’ve had time to settle in, we need to align the past with the future,” Stone said carefully, his voice carrying undertones that made her skin tingle with anticipation. “Our life here isn’t conventional. Our relationship isn’t something most people would understand or accept.”
“I’m not most people.”
“No,” Hunter agreed with a predatory smile that could have melted arctic ice. “You’re not. But you need to understand what we’re asking. What it would mean to be ours—completely, irrevocably, eternally—”
“Publicly,” Ash finished.
Marigold laughed nervously. “Are you planning on leaking the surveillance footage?”
“No, but keeping you safe, keeping the lodge staffed and fully functional, requires a great deal of money.”
She sat back, confused, her humor fading. “But I have nothing.”
“We aren’t asking you for money, printsessa.”
She frowned. “Then what are you asking?”
“It’s time to re-open our doors,” Hunter explained. “We haven’t hosted a party since you arrived, and now that things are settling with your family, we figured it was time.”
“You want to have a party?”
“Not just any party. The kind of gatherings that people pay millions to attend.”
Her eyes widened.
“That’s what we do,” Ash explained. “It’s why we have so many rooms.”
“And so many toys.” Stone’s smile was pure mischief.
Hunter shifted closer, his eyes intense. “Do you remember what it means to belong to all of us?”
“It means trust,” she said as if reciting sacred vows.
“Absolute trust,” Stone agreed. “Trust enough to let us make decisions for you, to guide you, to push your boundaries in ways that might terrify you even as they set you free.”
“It means surrender,” Ash finished, his voice carrying the weight of mountains. “Real surrender. Not just in bed, but in life. Letting us take care of you, protect you, and provide for you.”
She understood that they were trying to do what was right, what they knew, but they would only do so with her consent. “Will I be invited to the party?”
Stone laughed and Hunter shot him a silencing glare. “Some, but not all.”
She frowned. “Why not all?”
“They can be dangerous.”
“For you?”
“No, not for us. But you know what happened to Katya.”
“You said that would never happen again.”
“It won’t.” Stone’s tone had shifted from playful to serious. “You’re safe here. We have Cole and the guards watching the cameras twenty-four-seven.”
She flushed, not liking the idea of anyone watching the things they’d done, especially Cole. “Then why can’t I come to the party?”
“There are some you can attend, but there will be rules.”
“Strict rules,” Hunter emphasized. “None of these escaping games you like to play.”
“Look, I can’t help it if your lead security guy was outmaneuvered by little old me.”
“This is serious, Marigold.”
She dropped the sass, fully trusting Ash and the others to put her safety above all else. “Sorry.”
“Some parties are controlled. Those, you can attend—”
“As long as you follow the rules.”
“Which are?”
“You are always with one of us, and never go off on your own.”
“No one, besides us, touches you.”
“And if anyone even looks at you wrong, you tell us immediately.”
“Okay.” She nodded her agreement. “Does that mean I can go to the party?”
“Yes, as long as you’re fine with being fucked in front of the guests.”
Her eyes went wide again. “Um…”
“Take time to think it over.”
“Will other women be there?”
“Yes.”
“Naked?”
“Yes.”
She scoffed. “Then I’ll be there. And I’ll have some rules of my own.”
Hunter smirked, a low chuckle rumbling from his chest. “Those women do not interest us, Lisichka.”
Ash took her hand. “You’re everything we need.”
“In the spring though, you’re going to have to sit some festivities out.”
“What’s in the spring?”
“We host the annual Feast of the Fallen.”
She sat back. “What’s that?”
“It’s organized by Jack Thorne, and it’s not anything you need to attend.”
“But what is it?”
The men exchanged glances. “It’s an exclusive party with a strict guest list. You’re not on it.”
She scowled at Stone and turned her gaze to Ash. “What aren’t they telling me?”
He sighed. “Wealthy men, from all over the world, pay two million dollars to attend. The first million goes toward the house. The second million goes toward one of the hunted.”
She tipped her head, certain she had misheard him. “I’m sorry, the hunted? What, exactly, are they hunting?”
“Women,” Hunter explained. “Guests.”
“Volunteers.”
“You’re saying these women want to be hunted?”
“Yes. There’s actually an extensive waiting list to get invited to the Feast.”
“Are they shot?”
The men all laughed. “Hell no,” Stone said. “No one is hurt beyond a scraped knee.”
“Or a chafed wrist.”
“Or a sore ass.”
She held up a hand. “I get the picture. So, these men pay a million dollars to use the property, and they hunt the women like they’re some sort of Hunger Games tribute?”
“Pretty much.”
“What do they do when they catch them?”