Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 110089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Again, her instincts, or raw intelligence, are spot on.
The dog whines.
“Why are you here, Ella?” My patience is about gone. It’s shocking I have any left.
She glances at the animal. “For him.”
I blink. Barely. “Explain.”
She shrugs. “Somebody called in an animal cruelty report, and nothing was done, so I came to take him.”
Is she bullshitting me? “You came here, knowing you’re being hunted by not only me but somebody who sent an assassin after you last night, to save a fucking dog?”
Pink bursts across her high cheekbones. “Yes.”
I don’t know what to make of that. Kindness, sweetness, even vulnerability aren’t attributes I want to find in her. She definitely isn’t my type. I date women who want a hard and fast—often painful—fuck. That’s it. “Explain better,” I snarl.
She wipes rain off her nose. “That’s the entire situation.”
“What do you get out of it?” This doesn’t make sense.
She sighs, her sapphire-colored eyes softening. “A safe dog. He can’t protect himself, so here we are. Do you want to make a deal or not?”
We both know I can take her out of here in a second if I wish. Yet, having her cooperation will be helpful. Plus, I’ll never admit it, but I’m damn curious about what she wants. “All right. Give me your terms.”
She perks up, looking like a rare lily in the gray storm around us. “Excellent. All right. So, you’re going to help me save, um, Leo here.”
“Leo? His tag says Killer.”
She moves closer to the dog and stops when I shift my weight. “Not anymore. He’s Leo. It’s a strong and admirable name with ties to Citrine because of the astrological sign.” Her voice lowers to a purr. “Right, boy?”
He cocks his head, his focus on her. Then he gives a short whine.
She bunches as if to move toward him, and I shake my head. “Stop. He’s dangerous. So I help you with … Leo, and then you’ll help me?”
“Sure. I’ll give you twenty-four hours of my hacking skills, with the provision and your word that you let me go afterward. That you take twenty-four more hours before coming after me again, if that’s your choice. And that under no circumstances, no matter what, do you try to kill me.”
No circumstances? What exactly does the woman have planned?
The dog lunges again, chain rattling hard enough to snap.
I keep my focus on the woman. She guessed I need her hacking skills, and she’s mostly right about that. Yet she can’t call all the terms. “I’ll help with the dog, and you’re mine for forty-eight hours.” If she can’t fix it in that time, I’m fucked, anyway. “And during that timeframe, you’re mine in any way I want you.”
She takes a step back and slides in the mud. “What does that mean?” Her voice quivers just slightly, and my cock tries to punch out of my pants. Again. For her. At her.
“Exactly what you think it does.” I’m tired of ignoring this pull between us. A couple of hard fucks, and she’ll be out of my system. “I’m not gentle or even kind, princess. I want to see you beg, and I want to see you cry. Before you agree, understand exactly what you’re getting into.”
She swallows. “If I disagree?”
I glance around. “You’re coming with me, anyway.”
Her chin lifts, and pure challenge filters across her face. “Fine. But I like a good fight, and I’ll give it to you. May even kill you.” Those eyes darken. “Either way, after forty-eight hours, you let me go and give me the same amount of time before you come after me.”
“No. You get the twenty-four.”
“I may kill you, Justice.” She glances at the dog. “All right. Deal.”
Something settles in me, and I take note of how her voice hasn’t harmed me. Not once. I stare at the dog.
He’s wild, desperate. I step forward, my boots sinking into mud, and crouch low to meet his eyes. He snarls, lips peeled back, but I don’t flinch.
“Easy,” I murmur. My hand goes to the chain first, not him. He jerks, teeth snapping inches from my arm, but I keep steady pressure, shifting his weight until he’s forced to stumble closer. His growl cracks, confusion slipping into it.
Ella makes a soft sound behind me—low, steady, the kind of noise you’d use with a child. Her voice carries under the storm. The dog hears her and freezes, ears flicking back.
My knife cuts the lock off, and the chain drops, the sound sharp under the rain. The dog stumbles free, muscles coiled. He lunges once more, but this time toward me, pressing his weight against my legs instead of tearing them apart.
I steady him with a hand on his neck, my palm against wet fur. His tail gives a single, uncertain wag.
Ella exhales like she’s been holding her breath for hours. She takes a step forward, cautious, her hands open. The dog’s head turns, eyes catching hers. He doesn’t growl this time.