Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79244 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79244 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
I have upgraded.
“If you want, I can show you the area during the day. It’s really beautiful out here,” Damen tells me after the helicopter sets down.
I smile at him so widely I worry I might look like the Joker. “I want to see everything. Will I get to ski? I’ve never done that.”
I take off my headphones with his help, and he even tightens the scarf around my neck as if I could catch a chill on the way from the helicopter to the house big enough to be a hotel.
“Of course. I enjoy cross-country skiing a lot.”
He gets out first, then reaches his hand out for me, helping me step out of the helicopter as if I’m a princess needing assistance to leave a horse-drawn carriage.
I’m officially living a fairytale.
I’m about to kiss Damen when a tall figure appears out of the darkness.
“You’re late,” the man says in a curt voice, and when he steps into the glow of the lights mounted around the pad, I take in his handsome features. There’s silver threaded through his tidy beard, but each step he takes is filled with youthful energy. He’s wearing an elegant winter coat, similar to the ones I’ve seen in the luxury stores today.
Damen turns toward the stranger. “Titus. You’ve been waiting for me since Mom’s call?”
“Of course I’ve not been standing here for an hour. It’s snowing. But I came out to tell you in person how you won’t get away with bad behavior this year. Mom’s been— Who’s that?”
His dark gaze zeroes in on me as if I’m a roach he needs to step on. The massive house behind Titus somehow makes him look more imposing despite him being of average height.
Damen glances my way, then back at Titus, who I assume must be his brother, as if the question was unreasonable. “This is my husband, Killian.”
Titus cocks his head, staring at us as if his brain was going through a blue screen of death moment. He’s back with a twitch of his shoulders. “Very funny. I—”
“I’m not joking,” Damen says, and the weight of his arm on my shoulders feels like a woolen coat to keep me warm in all this snow.
“No. This is unacceptable. You’ve really reached the limit with this shit! Father will never allow it.” He steps closer as if to bar us from entry like a Christmas bouncer. “I know what this farce is about. You think this is your ticket to the hunt. That you’ll get more trophies than me.”
Damen laughs. “Obviously, I will. I’m a way better shot and tracker than you. You’ll be lucky if you get in one kill this year.” Titus chokes, expanding like a blowfish, but Damen doesn’t let him cut in and grabs my hand, showing him the huge ring I’m wearing, and the matching wedding band. “And I’m dead serious. It’s the twenty-first century, and I’m done pretending I’m something I’m not just so you aren’t uncomfortable. The rock on this one might even be bigger than Bree’s. What do you think?”
I stay silent, a kind little mouse who might have green fur, but will not fuck this up. I’m more than happy to see Damen tease his brother though. Based on what he’s told me about his family, they deserve it.
“I think you’re out of your mind. You think we didn’t know what you were sometimes up to? But it’s time to grow up and think about family, not bring home…” He points at me from head to toe. “This. For shock value.”
Okay, maybe I can’t stay silent after all. I scowl at Titus. “And fuck you too.”
Damen squeezes my shoulder, speaking in a clipped, spiky tone. “If you offend my husband again, I will hire someone to cut Bree’s hair. I swear to God, I will do it.”
Titus blinks, taken aback. “You wouldn’t dare!”
“You know I would.”
Titus kicks one of the lights mounted around the helipad with such ferocity it pops out of its mount and dies. “You’re a disgrace to this family!”
“You didn’t say that when I cleaned up the job you botched in the spring,” Damen says, putting himself between me and Titus as we pass the man who’s now so red-faced I expect the snow will soon start melting around him.
The only reason I’m not that worried is Damen’s presence, because otherwise, Titus is a grenade about to blow. Since I don’t know him, and I misjudged Damen when I first met him, I’d rather stay on the safe side. I’ve already said too much to him. Deescalating is one of the many things I’m shit at.
“Is that your dad?” I whisper with my heart in my throat when a man appears on the front steps of the mansion some distance away.
“Oh no, that’s Colin, our butler. He’ll take our luggage,” Damen says and leads me down a cleared path toward the massive… palace. Everything looks much smaller from up in the air, but now that we’re approaching his home on foot, I’m floored by the sight before me.