Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 137144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Don’t push him too far.
“Sorry,” she muttered, lowering her gaze.
“All right, that I don’t like.”
What? Her arguing with him? She understood. Her mother and Rick had both hated her being argumentative.
“You don’t need to be afraid of me, Lily. You can tell me what you’re thinking without repercussions.” He reached out and placed his thumb under her chin, tilting her head back.
“I just can’t tell you no.”
The side of his mouth twitched as though he was holding back a smile. “Right.”
“You know that’s wrong, right?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
When he said that she couldn’t say no . . . was he talking in all things? Including . . . sex?
She swallowed. What would she do if he tried to have sex with her? To touch her?
Could she cope with that without her pills to get her through?
“Fuck. That isn’t what I meant.”
She kept her gaze on his chin, trying to stop her lower lip from trembling.
Take slow breaths.
“Lily? Unless you give me permission to be in charge, you can always say no to any sort of touching. Understand?”
“Even when you pick me up and carry me around?” she asked.
“Ahh, that’s different.”
Lily breathed out a long sigh. This guy was so frustrating.
“That’s usually so I can get you somewhere quick or because you’re trying to run from me. Or you can’t walk.”
Well. He wasn’t wrong.
“But I won’t touch you intimately without your consent. Or your arousal. Not that I’m worried about that.”
There he went again.
“Your arrogance is out of control.”
“Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“Of course it was. And, also, what I said was simply the truth. Eventually, you’ll want me to touch you. Then you’ll give your consent for me to take command of you. Of your body. Of your pleasure. You’ll obey me in all things. And you’ll enjoy it.” He forked up some more spaghetti and held it out to her. “Now, eat.”
Lily had to work so hard not to glare at him. “I’ll obey you and enjoy it?”
You cannot smack him in the face.
Violence is not the answer.
Oh, it was tempting, though.
“That’s right. Also, I did not touch you in any way except to move you and take off some of your clothes to make you more comfortable. I don’t need to use force. Not when you’ll willingly give me whatever I want very soon.”
It was so hard not to roll her eyes.
Honestly, she should win an award for her restraint.
“Do you realize what you sound like right now?” she asked him.
“Of course. I can hear what I’m saying. Now eat. No more questions until you take another bite.”
Shoot. She took another mouthful of the spaghetti bolognese, and it soothed her empty stomach as she swallowed it. The nausea was starting to dissipate, and she realized it might have been because she’d gone too long without eating.
At least it was still the same day. She hadn’t lost a lot of time.
“Why did you bring me here, Harvey? I thought you were Rick’s friend.”
She eyed him. Honestly, pretending to give in to him and lull him into a false sense of security wasn’t going very well.
Perhaps she needed another plan. Maybe there was something around the cabin she could use to drug him or hit him over the head with. Yeah, that sounded like a much simpler plan. Now she just had to find it.
“Not sure I like that look in your eyes,” he said. “You look like you can’t decide what would be the best method to use to kill me.”
Damn it. She also had to work harder on keeping her thoughts off her face. He read her far too easily.
“No protest. So, you really are dreaming up ways to murder me, huh?” he said with a grin.
She was kind of insulted that he seemed so amused about that. Shouldn’t he be a little bit scared about her trying to harm him?
“You don’t seem concerned about that.”
“You can try, baby, but you’re not going to be successful. Have another mouthful.”
“You didn’t answer my last question.”
“I kind of thought it was obvious.”
She shook her head. It really wasn’t.
“I took you because it wasn’t safe for you there. An opportunity arose and I took it. But the main reason that you are here with me is because it’s where you belong. You’re mine, Lily. And we’re going to stay here as long as we need to for you to learn that.”
He really was serious about her being his.
“You can’t just claim someone simply because you want them. You can’t just kidnap them and hold them hostage until they want you too.”
“I think the fact you’re here is proof that I can. However, I already know that you want me, remember? Wanting me isn’t the issue. Desiring me isn’t the problem. Acknowledging it to yourself is. Letting yourself be happy is. Giving me all of your problems and issues so I can make them go away is. Knowing that you’re going to be mine forever and embracing that, is.”