Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“This is…”
“Home,” Val whispers in my ear sending heat skittering down my spine.
His hand is still in mine, and he tugs me up the staircase, taking the steps one at a time while I attempt to keep up. Once we reach the first floor, he releases me and heads towards a corridor on the left-hand side. I’m still behind him, and as he reaches the third door along, he suddenly stops, causing me to slam into his taut, muscled back. Even under the thick material of his hoodie, I can feel the tension in his body.
“This is yours,” he says but doesn’t look at me.
He pushes the door open and steps aside. The bedroom is nothing like I expected. Everything, well, almost everything, is off-white. There are hints of pinks and blues, but it’s extremely girly. “This is the only room in the house that’s yours and yours alone.”
Spinning on my heel, I turn around, only to meet Kai’s icy stare. “And everywhere else in this house I’m fair game?” My question sounds detached, and all four guys chuckle.
But it’s Val who responds, “We all live here. Judah lives on the next floor up, directly above your room.”
Flutters tickle my stomach at the thought. He’s so close, the man I’ve been promised to.
“And you?” I whisper, keeping my focus on Val, but I can feel Kai’s stare on me, burning into the side of my face as he watches my reaction.
Even though I try to keep calm, the tremor in my hands is enough of a giveaway to confirm his effect on me.
“Kai and I are also on the third floor,” Val says, a smirk curling his lips. “If you need anything,” he waggles his eyebrows, “just give us a shout.”
“I think that’s enough now, Val.” Kai speaks for the first time, his eyes flicking between me and Val. The tension in the air between the three of us is charged with sexual energy. “Let’s go,” he says, and turning on his heel without so much as a look at me, he leaves.
I don’t know why it stings, but it does. He’s a stranger to me, but the fact that he’s ignored me since we met at the airfield makes my chest tighten.
“See you later,” Val utters, the promise in his voice has me shivering in anticipation of what’s to come.
Once they’ve gone, I wonder if I’m going to survive this. Now there aren’t eyes on me, the loneliness and anger take over. My father sent me here as a payment for a debt, and I have no choice but to survive.
The truth hurts, and I realise there’s no other way to get through this, except to fight back.
If I don’t, I doubt I’ll come out of this on the other side.
A DARK VOW
JUDAH
With enough money, you can own anything, anyone, you want.
It seems my father believed that till his dying breath. I haven’t gone to see her, even though I was tempted to last night. Jordan came to me after showing her the bedroom and told me he thought she was intriguing. I can tell my brother is interested, but she was given to me. A gift my father thought I needed right before my twenty-fifth birthday.
I can’t deny she’s beautiful. There’s something intoxicating about how she holds her own with me. I figured she would cower, but she didn’t. Most women either fall at my feet or they run in fear. The whispered rumours amongst the students have always been part of my life. But then again, none of it is fiction, I am the cruel bastard they call me.
When the rest of the Princes arrived came home with her yesterday, I wanted nothing more than to go to Brielle and introduce her to her new home. But I refrained, I didn’t allow my curiosity to get the better of me.
Yes, she’s beautiful, but she’s come into my home as a stranger, one that I don’t trust. I wasn’t lying to her when I said I would make sure she knows who her father truly is, but that will come with time.
She’s overwhelmed at present. I can tell from the glimpses I’ve caught of her. There’s a nervous energy emanating from her. I’ve learnt to read people all my life, and I can see it in her. She needs to be clearheaded when I finally reveal to her the information I have about her father.
I can’t allow my father’s gift to distract me from running this place. I have to make him proud. Forcing me to bring her here is frustrating. My father died when I was twenty-one and Jordan was nineteen. He knew I’d chosen never to marry. My focus has always been on taking over the family business. Once I’m named Boss, I’ll be able to leave the island. I’ll make sure Jordan takes over my responsibilities here, and I’ll return to the Italian mainland.