Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 54899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
In the mirror, my expression is rapturous. I sink into the warm glow that suffuses my chest.
My orgasm is a slow wave of bliss that swells inside me rather than surging. It washes through my body, flooding me from between my legs all the way to my fingers and toes.
My pussy flutters around him, compelling his mutual release.
He comes on a rough shout, driving deep one last time. His cock pulses inside me, and I wish I could feel his cum marking me. I crave for him to claim me in every way imaginable, just as I want to own every aspect of him.
We were made for each other, tempered by loss and bound by pain. Our bond is unbreakable, eternal.
I look at our reflection as he holds me with tender reverence, and I know I’m right where I’ve always belonged.
14
BRANDON
I’m still holding Karolina on the floor of the dance studio when my phone chimes with a security alert.
I immediately grab it from my pocket to check the feed from the cameras at the front gates to the long driveway.
Ghost gives the camera a sardonic salute, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
No one is coming to threaten Karolina.
Now that my friend is here to help watch over her, I can finally track down Pasquale Costa and kill him for scaring her at the café.
After I extract the full extent of the truth from him.
I have to know if others are coming for her.
The fact that he might’ve been working with Ivanov is beyond unnerving. They shouldn’t even know each other, so how did they both end up in York at the same time? How did they both know to target Karolina, not me directly?
If someone is orchestrating a coordinated attack…
“What’s wrong?” she asks, brow furrowed with concern.
I kiss the worry line away. “Nothing. My friend is here to help me figure out who’s threatening you. He’ll help keep you safe while I handle this.”
She doesn’t so much as flinch at the implication that I’ll kill Costa for her. She trusts me implicitly, and she’s always been a realist; survival means doing what’s necessary.
From now on, I’ll fight all her battles for her. She’ll never be plagued by nightmares of her own necessary violence ever again.
“Is this the one you’ve told me about?” she asks. “The friend who’s good with tech?”
“Yes. He’s the best. He’ll help me locate the man who threatened you, and he’ll stay here with you until I’ve dealt with anyone who might even think about targeting you to get to me.”
She shakes her head slightly. “I still can’t quite believe this is happening. You have enemies, Brandon. It barely feels real. Like something out of fiction.”
I study her carefully. “Does it bother you that I’ve made enemies?”
She’s said that she accepts I’ve killed criminals, but she thinks it was all during heated fights in the ring. She has no idea how cold and calculating I can be while hunting down my quarry for money.
“Of course it bothers me,” she replies, but she’s not spiteful. “I don’t want either of us to be in danger.”
She’s worried for me.
“You’re smiling like a maniac again,” she observes.
I kiss her, hard and fast. “You make me the happiest man in the world.”
Her lips curve with her own pleasure, but she eyes me like I’m nuts. “There will be time to be happy once your enemies are gone.”
I’ll find particularly savage satisfaction in eliminating any man who might frighten her, but she doesn’t need to know that.
I take her hand in mine and get to my feet. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to Ghost.”
She stands with me and grabs her clothes that we tossed aside before we had sex.
“Ghost?” she repeats. “What kind of name is that?”
“An alias.”
“Yeah, I guessed that much. I mean, what’s his real name? I’m not calling your friend Ghost.”
I shrug. “He used to go by Logan, but he won’t like it if you call him that.”
“Why not?”
I shake my head. “I’m not the only one who reinvented himself. He’s Ghost now.”
She frowns, clearly not satisfied at the idea of using my friend’s alias.
“You might’ve gone by Bones and Rand, but you’re still Brandon,” she insists. “I would’ve preferred if you hadn’t reinvented yourself.”
I smother a wince. She’s still unhappy that I lied to her about my identity.
My phone chimes again. Ghost is at the front door.
“I need to let him in,” I say, changing the subject. “Do you want to meet him? If I tell him to keep his distance, he will.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to meet him?”
“I know him from a part of my life I’d rather you didn’t hear much about.”
She gives my fingers a gentle squeeze. “You’ll tell me about it when you’re ready. For now, I’m happy to meet your friend.”
I cut my gaze away. I don’t ever intend to tell her about those terrible years when I gave in to my most vicious urges.