Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 21139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Maybe I should let her go.
But the thought of sending her back to live with Seth, that degenerate gambler, sickens me. He can’t protect her like I can. And if something happened to her…well my life would be over.
“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No, it’s okay.” She smiles up at me, pouring fuel on the fire burning in my heart. “From what Dad tells me, she left after I was born. I was raised by formula and wet nurses.”
I shake my head. It’s all I can do.
“You know, we’re a lot alike,” I tell her.
“Oh? How’s that?”
I open my mouth, ready to pour my heart out to her—tell her all about my terrible childhood and how it made me into the man I am today. But before I can, Anton enters the room.
“Boss, we’ve got a problem.”
Goddamn it.
I stop myself from slamming my fist against the counter. Don’t scare her. She’s safe here.
Taking a deep breath, I level my gaze at my number one. “I’m busy. Can it wait?”
He shakes his head but keeps his mouth shut. Must be important.
“Isabella, I need to leave for a bit, but I’ll be back,” I say, taking her hand in mine. So warm, so soft. “I’ll have my men standing guard. What happened with Craig will not happen again, I promise.”
“Yes, sir.”
There it is again. She called me sir, and goddamn I liked it.
4
ISABELLA
I’m back in my gilded cage, staring up at the art that is the ceiling. Everything is just as it was before—well, almost.
Viktor is gone, and I’m missing him.
It feels ridiculous to admit something like that to myself, but I can’t deny it any longer.
He barely even touched me at breakfast, and my body is still buzzing.
It was just his arm, his hand, but I’m shaking like I’ve had ten cups of coffee. When Viktor touched me, it was like something inside me woke for the first time.
Even now, my skin is so hot, so tense, that I hop out of bed and head for the shower. I crank it on cold, strip out of my gorgeous dress, and sit under the water.
The temperature takes my breath away, but I have to do something to cool down. If not, I’m going to overheat.
His eyes…
…the way he was looking at me…
It was like a storm—danger and desire battling for control.
I can still see it now. The hunger, the desire that he was trying so hard to hide. And I get it. A man in his position can’t show emotion. But I saw the gleam, the hint. The want for me that sent my head spinning.
Even under the chill of the shower, my nerves are still humming for Viktor.
What an absurd scenario. My father takes a loan from a mob boss, then sells me off as collateral, and instead of being terrified of the man, I’m turned on by him.
But it’s not my fault.
I mean, he made me breakfast, for God’s sake! I can’t even remember the last time Dad prepared a meal for me that wasn’t microwaved.
He dresses like a king. Perfectly tailored suits that don’t even try to hide his Adonis physique. I may not have seen many shirtless men in my life, but I know for a fact that Viktor would outshine them all.
What do his arms look like? I think, my primal mind taking over. Does he have those V-lines girls talk about on his abs?
Almost on its own, my hand reaches slowly between my legs, middle finger outstretched. I never touch myself, but Viktor has me feeling very curious…
Yeah, this cold shower isn’t helping at all. I shut the water off, wrap myself up in two towels—one for my body and one for my hair—and go slump down on the bed.
“Your mom must be worried,” he said to me. And instead of closing down, which is what I always do, I opened up. I told him about my past.
That never happens. I’m a private person. Trust does not come easily to me. Yet for some reason, it’s the city’s most terrifying mob boss who’s got me spilling my guts to him.
What’s he doing now? I wonder.
Anton interrupted the cute little domestic moment we were having, and Viktor stormed off in a hurry. I could see he didn’t want to leave me, but being the boss comes with responsibilities.
As I lie on my back, I try telling myself over and over that I need to be afraid of him.
He’s a killer…
A criminal…
I’m his prisoner…
But instead of frightening me, these thoughts send a tingling sensation through my thighs. My heartbeat accelerates.
If he’s a monster, why hasn’t he just taken me? Why did he protect me from Craig? And why is he treating me like I’m something precious to him?
My body is still ablaze. I know what I’m supposed to do right know, but I’ve never done…that sort of thing.