Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
“Me?”
“Yeah, your mom can want all she does for you, and your father can wish to sell you, but it’s not about what either of them want. It’s about what you want.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s stupid, but I wanted to find a man who loved me, maybe settle down, have a family.” She blew out a breath. “What about you?”
“I never thought about a family … until now.” He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger and stared into her eyes, not wanting to look away.
“I’m not on the pill,” she said.
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Yes. You need to understand, Emily, I know everything there is to know about you.”
He watched as she bit down on her lip.
“So, does that mean you want to have a family with me? I mean, I know we’re married, but we’ve not exactly talked about what that meant for the future.”
“Do you want children?” he asked.
He saw his lack of answers was starting to frustrate her.
“I think so. I’d love to be a mother.”
“Then I will make you a mother, as soon as you’ve finished.” He slid his hand down toward her stomach, and he saw her flinch just a little. “You’re in pain.”
“No more than usual. It comes and goes.”
He stroked her stomach. “Would you like me to stop?”
“No, I like it.”
He looked at her, smiled, and stroked her stomach. He didn’t like to see Emily in pain.
“I’d like to be a mother. Does that mean our marriage is sticking?”
He watched her wince. Stroking her hair back from her face, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m not giving you up.”
And that was the truth. It was the only truth he had for her, because he didn’t believe in love.
Chapter Eight
“You seem happy,” Nora said.
Emily glanced over at her mother and offered her a smile. She couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. In the past five months, this was the first time she had left the comfort of Dom’s home.
He’d made all the necessary arrangements for her to go to dinner with her mother, in a restaurant of his choosing. There were six men close by, standing guard. She couldn’t help but be a little nervous.
Dom said her father was still a threat, and he was turning into a desperate man. She had no idea what Nigel would try. She was no longer a virgin, and she wouldn’t be worth anything to sell. Also, she had a feeling if her father even tried to get close to her, Dom would be there to protect her.
“I am … happy.” She couldn’t help but smile.
Nora leaned forward and held her hand. “You have no idea how happy that makes me. I was so worried, and I didn’t want you to … you know, I didn’t want to lose you.”
“I can’t believe my dad was going to attempt to sell me.”
Her mother sighed. “I am so ashamed to have ever thought I loved him.”
“Did you?”
“For a time. I thought he was a wonderful man, but it was all fake.” Nora smiled at her. “But at least I got you. That is all I wanted when I realized what kind of man he was. You’re my daughter, and I will do whatever I can to protect you.”
Emily nibbled her lip.
“What is it?” Nora asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, Sweetheart. You and I both know I can read you like a book. Something is bothering you. What is it?”
“Well, it’s … what if Dom is like Dad?” She frowned, hating the very words that fell from her lips.
“He’s not.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know your father and I know he and Dom are in a similar kind of business, but trust me, neither of those men are the same. I would never have trusted Dom with you, if he was.” Nora sighed. “He’s a good man.”
Emily laughed. “Don’t you think that is a bit much?”
“What is wrong, honey?” Nora asked.
“Nothing is wrong. I’m just, you know, putting some perspective on it.” She was trying to constantly dose herself in reality.
She and Dom were two different people. He kidnapped her. Then he was willing to allow her to fuck her way out of captivity, then they somehow ended up married. Their marriage was amazing. The sex was out of this world, and that in itself was the scariest thing of all.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Nora asked.
Emily glanced toward Dom’s men. She didn’t know what their instructions were, but she didn’t want her private conversation with her mother to be repeated. “Mom!”
“What?” Nora asked. “What is wrong with asking you a simple question?”
She leaned in close and tried to discreetly point to the men who happened to work for the same man, and all her mother did was laugh, like it was funny.
“Oh, honey, it doesn’t matter what we say or do, they’re going to report to Dom anyway.”