Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
My breath caught in my throat when his fingers swept over my knee then trailed along the water, to hover just above the bubbles covering my breasts.
He stared down at me with those sharp, sterling silver eyes of his that gave away nothing.
Using the tip of his finger, he popped one bubble, then another. And another.
The lit candles cast shifting shadows on the wall. The only sound in the room was the patter of rain against the windowpanes.
He caressed the top curve of my breast through the soap bubbles. “I can’t get the image of your breasts out of my mind. The way they looked in your lace bra, bared to the wind and rain on that cliff’s edge. So beautiful.”
He reached for the belt of his robe and slowly pulled on the knot. It slipped open.
He met my gaze. “Do you have any idea how much you fascinate me, Madison?”
I stared at his muscled chest as he shrugged out of his robe and let it fall to the floor. He was still wearing his suit trousers from earlier. Drips of dried blood trailed from his head wound.
I remained silent.
He raised one eyebrow as he reached for the fastening of his trousers. “Do you?”
I licked my lips. “No.”
He flicked open the top button. He smiled, but it was without mirth. “No. Of course not. Innocent creatures like you never know your effect on evil, jaded men like me.”
His trousers slipped low. He was all hard muscle and tanned skin.
He gripped the opposite sides of the tub with both hands and leaned in close until his face was only inches from mine. “Tell me. How many times did you fuck my brother?”
Goosebumps rose along my arms.
The blood pounded in my ears.
“It’s none of your business.” I held my chin up and tightened my core to stop the shaking in my hands.
“You are my business.”
“I don’t think….”
His response was whip sharp. “Answer me.”
“Never,” I blurted out.
His eyes narrowed. “What?”
I slipped lower in the tub until I was submerged almost to my chin. “I never had sex with your brother.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“How’s that possible?”
“We’d only dated a few weeks when the accident happened.”
He grabbed me by the jaw and tilted my head back. “What about your mouth?”
I whimpered, not sure what he was asking.
He ground out, “Did you suck his cock?”
I shook my head as I kicked my legs. Water splashed over the edge, soaking his trousers.
He seemed not to notice. His stare searched my face. “Why not?”
I grabbed his wrist. “Please, I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I need to know, Madison.”
I broke. “He tried. He couldn’t get it up. He got angry and hit me, which is why I was breaking up with him. We argued that night and then he crashed. Okay? Are you happy now?”
He let go of my jaw and reared back. Standing to his full height, he turned away, thrusting a hand in his hair and clenching it.
There was a long, tense silence.
His back stiffened as he lowered his arm to his side. Finally, he spoke. “My brother hit you?”
I didn’t want to answer. Didn’t want to relive it. I just stared at his flexing back muscles. Stared at his hand, slowly curling into a fist. How strange, to know that when Jameson did that it was to strike against me and for reasons that defied understanding, I knew that Pierce was doing it for me.
The tops of my shoulders cooled as I struggled to form a response but failed.
Pierce turned and faced me. “Tell me.”
“Please don’t make me.”
“It’s important.”
“Why? Why could it possibly matter? He’s dead.”
His brow furrowed and he opened his mouth as if to say something then closed his lips. He moved closer to the tub and reached out to trace the side of my face with his fingertips.
His throat worked as he swallowed. “Answer me...please.”
I blinked. “You said please.”
“I did.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what.”
“Yes, he hit me.”
“More than once?”
“Yes.”
He inhaled through his nose as his lip curled. “I’ll kill him.”
I frowned and leaned forward, the water shifting around me. Placing my hand over his where it rested on the edge of the tub, I said softly, “He’s already dead, Pierce.”
He flipped his hand and captured mine. “You of all people should know that nothing gets in the way of something or someone I want…not even death.”
A chill ran over my skin despite the warmth of the water. I pulled my hand back, surprised when he let it go. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He lowered his chin and pinned me with an intense look. “You know damn well what that means.”
Just then an ungodly crack of thunder, so loud the very foundations of the house shook, startled me so badly I screamed.
At that moment, Pierce leapt into the tub with me.
I screamed again as he grabbed my shoulders, pulling me up to meet his face.