Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
I shuffle into bed next to him, sliding my hand across his middle, feeling the hard ridges of his abs. “I don’t want to leave you,” I admit. “I should, and I know that I’m probably a little cray cray, but it’s the truth. I want to be here for you. I don’t want you to wake in the middle of the night, terrified, with nobody there to comfort you.”
“I don’t…”
“What?” I urge.
“I was going to say I don’t need anybody, but that’s something the old Dom would say. It’d be a lie, and I can’t lie to you.”
“Ask me to stay.”
He rolls onto his side, our noses brushing as we stare into each other’s eyes. “Stay with me, Keepsake.”
In the back of my head, a voice screams: a little girl trapped in the life of The Vultures, in the shadows of abuse, with Mason looming over it all, his thumbs tucked through his belt loops as he leers at me. You’ll never be free…
But Dom isn’t Mason.
“I’ll stay,” I whisper. “But I need to think of a new nickname for you.”
He laughs ruefully. “Luckily, yours is perfect as it is.”
I move closer to him, pressing my nakedness against his warm body. “I’m going to stay awake until you fall asleep. If you have another nightmare, I’m going to be here for you.”
I lay my cheek against his chest again.
I always knew you were an idiot, Mason mocks from my mind. A real fucking fool. Do you think this man cares about you? He twisted your head. Showered you with gifts. He’s the same as me, Evie. You’re a deluded little girl.
The Evie who first came here would’ve waited for Dom to sleep, then snuck out of bed, found Meatball, and got out of here. Without the ankle monitor, there’s nothing stopping me.
But I don’t want to leave, and I’m getting sick of pretending I do.
CHAPTER 21
DOM
When I wake, I watch Evie sleep for a few minutes. She lies on her side. The sheets pulled up around her chin. That’s probably for the best. If I saw her naked again, I’d lose it, and I know her inexperienced body probably needs the rest.
Last night was…
Magical.
Men like me aren’t supposed to say or even think words like that, but I can’t deny the truth of it.
First, the way she responded when I walked into this room with my mind in a lust-fueled haze. I couldn’t think about anything except her perfection. I thought she might tell me to back off, but then she gave herself to me, indulging my domination.
Then after, when I woke from a night terror, on-edge, borderline goddamn hysterical, and she talked me down. She made me understand I don’t have to be ashamed about my feelings.
Finally, the fact she’s still here. With no anklet keeping her prisoner, she remained. She made the choice. She could’ve left. Maybe she should have left. It would’ve been the reasonable thing for her to do.
But she stayed.
I don’t want to wake her. It’s only six AM. Climbing out of bed, I pull on my briefs and leave the room, but not before taking one last moment to look at her.
I shoot Rafe a text to check in about The Vultures situation, grab a quick shower, then head to the gym. Waking next to my woman has flooded me with a newfound energy. I need to work out, to exercise and exorcise these demons of desire.
Rafe texts back,
Rafe: Nothing yet.
Walking into the combat gym, I put on the MMA gloves and work the heavy bag for a few minutes, thinking about Mason and the other Vultures, thinking about what I’m going to do to those sick fucks when I get my hands on them.
The round timer goes off, and I turn, rolling my shoulders…
I stop when I see Evie standing across from me. She’s got her hair in a tight braided bun and she’s wearing a pair of my MMA gloves with a smile on her face. In her shorts and T-shirt, her form is outlined temptingly. My manhood shifts as it floods with firmness.
“Do you want to join me?”
“Join you?” She smirks. “I want to show you how it’s done. Come on–put them up.”
I chuckle. “You’re joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” she says with that adorable sassiness lacing her voice. She takes a stance–a decent one, honestly–and walks toward me. “Or are you scared?”
I raise my hands. “Promise not to hurt me?”
“I can’t do that, Warden.”
Ah, so even without the anklet, she enjoys teasing my kidnapper status.
She runs across the room, then aims a punch at my face. I duck to the side and wrap my arm around her, feeling her heat, pushing her against the nearest wall. My manhood tickles with tension, growing hard. “Do you think I want to hurt you?”