Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
She screams out another orgasm behind my hand, biting down on my palm as she comes.
When I pull out, she collapses beneath me, her body pinned under mine and her hand trapped between her legs.
Using one of the towels, I clean her before adjusting her clothes. I shove my cock back into my pants and zip up. The towel, I chuck straight into the trashcan. I’ll buy the owner a new set for the whole house. Then, despite Tatiana’s protest, I pick her up in my arms and carry her upstairs.
“What are you doing?” she asks in alarm.
“Shower.”
“No.” She squirms in my hold. “This isn’t my house.”
“We’ll have it at the hotel.”
“No,” she says again.
I stop at the top of the stairs. “You’re only punishing yourself by not allowing me to take care of you. Shoving me away before my dick is even cold after your cunt warmed it doesn’t change the fact that it’s been buried so deep inside you that you’ll feel me between your legs and in your ass until tomorrow.”
She pushes on my chest, a silent request for me to lower her to her feet. When I do so, she scrambles away from me.
I go after her. “I’m not going anywhere. The sooner you get used to having me back in your life, the better it’ll be for you.”
“What do you want from me, Dante?” She clutches a fistful of her T-shirt over her heart. “What we had is dead. You killed it when you betrayed me. No matter what you do, we’ll never go back to how it used to be. You should just take my shares and let me go.”
I advance on her, ignoring the way she backtracks until the wall stops her.
“What do I want?” I stare into her mesmerizing eyes, drowning in their sadness and in the intoxicating sweet smell of her skin as I deliver the answer without sugarcoating it. “Everything.” I go closer still, trapping her against the wall, and it’s still not close enough. “I want every single fucking thing—every moan you utter in ecstasy, every tear you shed in pain, every smile you don’t want to show me, and every breath you take until you blow out your last. That, darling, is what I want.”
Her anger vanishes until only that strange grief of earlier is left. “Then you’ll wait a long time. You can take away my freedom, but you’ll never own me. I won’t allow you to break me.”
Leaning one hand on the wall next to her head, I cup her chin in the other so that my fingers are splayed over her pale cheeks. “You’ll break, Tatiana. Even the strongest of men do when I’m finished with them.”
She pushes off the wall, putting her body flush against mine. “I’m not going to say give it your best shot because I’m sure you’ve already started. All I can say is good luck.”
The smile that curves my lips serves as a warning. “Oh, I haven’t gotten started yet. Not even close.”
She ducks under my arm and sidesteps me. “I have work to do.”
“Go ahead. Run. Let’s see how far that’ll get you.”
She spins around and does exactly that, running even as she pretends to be walking. But her normal steps and forced slow pace don’t fool me. Inside her head, she’s running as fast as she can, mistakenly believing she can outrun the monster like before.
I’ve learned from my mistakes. She’ll never escape me again. Of that, I’ll make sure. If she walks away from me now, it’s only because I allow her to do so. The power she may think she has is nothing but an illusion of my own making.
Chapter
Thirteen
Tatiana
* * *
As I promised, I let Noah watch television on Saturday morning. He’s ecstatic, even more so because Dante joins him on the sofa in front of the big flat screen.
I’ve been terrified that Noah would tell Dante I wanted to leave. I told Noah it was our secret, but he’s never been good with keeping secrets. He was so upset with me that I expected him to run straight to Dante and blurt out the truth.
Thankfully, he seems to have forgotten about the unpleasant episode. Maybe the idea of running again is so traumatic for him that he avoids thinking about it. I certainly understand the art of suppression. I have a suspicion Noah’s resistance to leaving had more to do with Dante than flying in a plane or living in his big house or even watching television.
Admittedly, it’s the biggest TV with the best quality pictures Noah has seen. The old ones in the motel rooms I rented had snowy images and bad sound. This one even comes with surround sound.
I’m surprised that Dante is willing to watch Looney Tunes, which is Noah’s favorite cartoon. Dante seems fully focused on the episode, even chuckling at the right moments. Despite myself, I can’t help but find the scene endearing. I never imagined Dante enjoying anything so lighthearted. He’s much too serious.