Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
When I don’t answer for several seconds, Little Ricky starts the engine and pulls away from the curb. “Adriano? You okay?”
“Yeah.” I keep staring at the company, and when we drive past, I suck in a deep breath. “I just want to know who she is.”
He gives me a curious look in the rearview mirror. “But why?”
I finally regain my bearings and admit, “Because she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
A wide smile instantly splits across his face.
“Stop fucking grinning like that,” I grumble, then my phone beeps, and I reach for the device so fast, it has Little Ricky chuckling.
I open the app with my thumbprint before devouring the information.
Rosie: She’s Laurie Barnes. Aged 25. She’s from Findlay, Ohio. She’s worked at Mitchell’s Construction for the past six years. But bad news for you because she lives with a man who I’d guess is her boyfriend. Austin Doyle.
I don’t give a fuck about the man as my eyes zero in on the black and white photo of Laurie Barnes.
Adriano: I want her address, what car she drives, which gym she belongs to. Everything.
Rosie: Say pretty please with a cherry on top.
Adriano: Please, Rosie.
Rosie: That will have to do. Give me a few hours to get all the info.
As I stare at the photo, a dark hunger spreads through me like a lethal force and something in me clicks into place with terrifying certainty.
She will be mine.
I’ve spent years taking what I want, crushing anyone stupid enough to stand in my way, and right now, all I can think about is getting closer to Laurie Barnes.
Is she the kind of woman who submits easily and obeys every command, or does she like to be in control?
What does a day in her life look like?
The boyfriend is a minor problem I can easily make disappear.
I’m well aware my reaction to her isn’t normal.
Maybe it’s because of the way she looked standing outside my club, too beautiful for the ugliness of the world around her.
I don’t know, but there’s just something about her that hooked itself into the darkest part of me and refuses to let go.
La mia farfalla.
“Adriano?” Little Ricky grabs my attention. “What’s going on with you today?”
“I want her,” I admit to him. “I don’t care what it takes, but I’m going to make Laurie Barnes mine.”
“Okay then.” He lets out a sigh. “Want me to tell one of the men to bring her to you?”
I shake my head. “No, I want to watch her for a while so I can learn as much as possible about her.”
Little Ricky is quiet for a minute or so before he asks, “I get she’s beautiful, but a pretty face has never been enough to make your head turn. What’s it about this woman?”
“I can’t explain it.” I glance out the window, not taking in the passing scenery. “I saw her twice, and now I can’t get her out of my fucking head.” I suck in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. “It’s like the second I looked at her, she connected with the possessive side of me, and it decided she belongs to me.” A smirk pulls at my mouth as I meet Little Ricky’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “And as you know, once I want something, I take it.”
Turning his attention to the road ahead of us, he nods. “I get it. Kinda like me and buffalo wings. I can’t get enough of that shit.”
A chuckle rumbles from me while I shake my head. “Yeah, nothing can come between you and your wings.”
Chapter 3
Laurie
While Heather left to have her nails done, I’d taken a chance and snuck out of the office for fifteen minutes to look at a room that’s available to rent.
Taking time off from work was nerve-racking enough, but then those men appeared out of nowhere outside the club, and the massive one slammed me against the wall.
My shoulder blades feel tender from the force he used, and angry red marks circle my neck. I have no idea how I’m going to explain it if someone notices.
And I almost got run over.
Ugh, today is not my day.
But holy hell! Those men. The vibe I got from them put the fear of God in me. Jesus, I don’t know which one was scarier, the mammoth or the handsome one who looked at me like he was about to end my life as I ran across the road.
I swallow hard on the nerves still spinning wildly in my stomach.
All of that for nothing. The room is nothing more than a closet, and the owner looked like a serial killer. The place was filthy, and the air smelled sour.
While I open the spreadsheet I’m working on, my thoughts mull over the crazy incident.
I think the attractive man was the same one I saw a couple of nights ago. I have to admit, he’s even more good-looking up close.