Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
On his nightstand sits another envelope, this one small enough to fit in my palm, attached to a lacquered black box.
Come find me if you dare.
I open the box, and my brows meet in a frown at its contents. Pieces of steel? No, not just steel—some kind of puzzle? My fingers are already moving and sorting through the pieces.
Click, click, click.
I end up with a lock pick, and my heart skips a beat.
Oh.
Is my new husband inviting me to break into someplace?
Well, if there's one thing I know how to do, it's exactly that.
Chapter Five
THE WATER EMBRACED Sylvain like a lover as he completed his first lap. The basement pool, heated to perfection, was one of his few indulgences—a sanctuary where he was able to think, with voices from inner demons effectively silenced by the sound of water breaking against his strokes.
His staff knew better than to disturb him when he was here.
Tonight, however, was an exception.
A subtle click reached his ears, the sound of metal against metal.
Because where his wife was concerned, Sylvain now realized there were no rules he was unwilling to break.
Another click, and it was a sound of a lock that had failed to guard the secrets it was entrusted with.
Impressionnant. Impressive.
Sylvain didn't stop swimming, but slowed his pace, calculating. It had been approximately four hours since he'd left the box in his room. She would have likely found it sometime after her dinner. Then she would have to assemble the pieces, locate the hidden door in her suite, and navigate dimly lit passageways.
All to end up here, a door of metal bars whose lock she had now successfully picked, and faster than he anticipated.
Magnifique.
His little thief continued to exceed expectations, and Sylvain was certain she would continue surprising him.
As he completed his final lap, he sensed his wife's presence behind one of the stone columns that lined the pool. Heard her catch her breath as he pulled himself from the water, droplets streaming down his naked form.
My sweet little pickpocket.
Such an innocent little thing she was, to have lived in the kind of world she lived, and yet still be so intoxicatingly untainted. Untouched. Almost as if she was waiting to surrender her everything...to him.
Sylvain took his time toweling off, his back to her hiding place. He could feel her wide eyes fixed on him, hear the way her breathing changed when she noticed a certain part of his anatomy.
Comme c'est intéressant.
Who knew his wife would be so into...son derrière?
"Are you intending to stare at me for the rest of the evening?" he asked without turning.
She gasped, a delicate sound tinged with embarrassment, and Sylvain almost smiled.
How delightful it was to tease her.
He tossed the towel aside and turned to face her directly, enjoying the way her breath caught again, the way her cheeks flushed crimson. The silk nightgown she wore was another one of his purchases, but seeing her in it set his teeth surprisingly on edge.
It did not feel right all of a sudden, to have his wife wear something that he had bought for someone else in mind. Who knew he would be so sentimental?
He saw her bite her lip, and his agitation temporarily faded. His body had priorities, and with her, it was always this.
"You've found me," Sylvain murmured.
To seduce her so thoroughly and completely—
"Now come and get your reward."
That everything else would cease to matter to her—everything but him.
His own body hardened as he watched her young and supple flesh blossom with every step she took toward him. The rosy tint of her cheeks. The faint tremors rocking her body. And ah, those twin peaks pebbling against the scrap of silk covering her body. He was falling under her thrall once more, and when he saw her tongue darting out to wet her lips, his own desire swelled into life, and he had to clench his fists against the urge to haul her close.
Patience, Sauvage. Patience.
When she was close enough to touch, he issued a single command.
"Kneel."
The word was soft, gentle even. But unmistakably a command.
A thousand emotions flashed over her soft features. Fear. Shock. Embarrassment. But most of all, there was need.
It was the same need that was pulsing through his veins.
The same need that now had his wife slowly sinking to her knees before him, her dark blue eyes never leaving his.
Sylvain's fingers found her hair, silky strands wrapping around his knuckles. So soft. So unlike the hardness of his world. He tightened his grip just enough to tilt her head back, and when her lips parted in a surprised gasp, he guided himself into the moist warmth of her mouth.
Magnifique.
Dazed eyes flew up to meet his, but he offered no mercy in his gaze.
Because her fear, whether she admitted this or not, also fed her desire.
She wanted him because she feared him.