Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
“Why not?”
I blinked. “It’s scary.”
“Makes sense,” Ocean said while biting back a grin.
“Now will you tell me what you do?”
Ocean winced as if he were hoping to avoid talking about himself. It probably had something to do with my saying he wasn’t what I expected. I hadn’t meant to make him think I was disappointed, but I won’t pretend my brother hadn’t become a wedge between us. It was up to him how permanent it would be. If he kept his promise and left my brother alone, I could maybe start to forgive him.
“It’s safer if you don’t know the specifics,” Ocean answered, “but for your information, I haven’t needed to get my hands dirty in a long time. It’s risky for me to show my face too often. Having men I trust to handle the streets for me is imperative.”
“Like that guy who’s always with you? The one with the eye problem?”
Ocean gripped my chin suddenly, and my lips parted on a silent gasp, but then he seemed to wrangle his darkest impulses, sweeping his thumb gently across my bottom lip instead. “Who was eyeing you, sweetheart?”
I gulped. Ocean tried to keep his tone casual and curious, but I knew better. Or at least, I was beginning to. There was jealousy, possession, and murder brewing behind his eyes, which meant someone was about to die.
“Not like that,” I clarified quickly. “I just mean he looks like he’s in desperate need of a vacation.”
Ocean snorted and relaxed again. “Abel.”
“He’s your friend?”
Ocean flashed a condescending smile, as if to say he found me adorable. “He’s my head of security. Abel watches my back, trains my men, and advises me when I need it, but our relationship is purely business.”
“Sounds like a friend,” I mumbled.
“It’s better if I don’t blur those lines. If I let our relationship get personal, I won’t be able to wield him effectively.”
“Will our marriage be that cold?” I blurted before I could rethink pissing off someone whose moniker was the Bloodthirsty Prince.
“It doesn’t have to be.” Ocean’s gaze searched mine for some sign that I might want that. As courting goes, this was far from romantic and yet…I still felt like I had landed in a dream.
“What makes me different?”
“To start? I’m not fucking Abel.”
Right… Moving on.
“So um…” I looked down at my lap as I twisted my fingers.
“So?” Ocean prompted when too long passed without another word from me.
“You said I’m yours.”
“That’s right,” he said without hesitation or doubt.
“Okay.” Another long silence passed, but this time Ocean was content to let me squirm. Just say it. Don’t be a pussy. “Does that mean you’re mine?” I blurted in a rush. “Do I get to call you my man?”
It took me getting played a couple of times to learn that men staking their claim didn’t always go both ways. In fact, it was often one-sided when it came to loyalty and ownership. I’d find myself locked down—heart and body—to a man who had community dick.
I didn’t realize how wildly my heart was pounding while waiting for Ocean to crush it until he surged forward and kissed me again, forcing my mouth open for his tongue. I was reaching for the buttons on his vest when I broke the connection to warn against my lips, “Unless you want a lot of people to die, you fucking better call me your man.”
I was still panting for breath and still fighting not to tear off his clothes when I forced myself to ask instead, “Why would people die?”
Ocean nuzzled my nose with the tip of his own before pecking my lips so softly it only made me crave him more. “Because I’m cranky and bloodthirsty when heartbroken, so what’s it going to be? You gon’ break my heart, baby?” Feeling a range of emotions that were competing to undo me, I could only shake my head while holding onto his shoulders for something to ground me. Ocean flashed a beautiful smile, but it was sharp and dangerous. “Then we have nothing to worry about, do we?”
“N-no?”
“I didn’t think so. Now let’s go see your library.”
I froze. “My what?”
COBY
Once I was dressed in the new clothes Ocean procured for me—a plaid brown, pink, and cream pleated hemp skirt with a cream chenille sweater, flesh-toned tencel tights, and thick socks that reached my knees along with the pink ribbon that I tied under my clothes and around my waist today—he took me back to the room I’d hidden in last night. Until the moment I stepped inside the now sunlit room, I assumed I’d misheard him.
A library.
Ocean had a library.
No. I had a library. He’d said it was mine, and there was no mistaking that once I saw inside.
Last night, I’d been too traumatized to react to the stunning architectural art that was now my room, but today I had no such reservations. Letting out a screech loud enough to make my fiancé wince, I let go of his hand and ran to anything that caught my eye while Ocean droned on about everything the room had to offer.