Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Why would he have this?
I’m tense as I quietly get to my feet. Roman’s still in the kitchen. I only have a few seconds before he comes back. I creep over to the window and glance out, looking for an unfamiliar car or maybe more guys like him. But what I see scares me even more.
A gray duffel bag on the fire escape. With the barrel of a rifle sticking out.
My heart rate skyrockets. This changes everything.
But does it really? I already knew Roman was a bad man. A dangerous man. He was spying on me from outside. He broke into my apartment. No ‘good man’ does something like that.
But I still wanted him. I mean, I wanted him more.
I look back to the photo of me. But this…why does he have this?
The floor creaks behind me, and I whirl to find Roman standing in the kitchen doorway, his eyes fixed on me. The expression on his face is undeniable. I’ve been busted.
But then again, so has he.
“Why do you have this?” I ask, raising the picture. He pauses. My heart pounds painfully. “Roman?!”
“Your father owes money to my employer.”
Goddamn it.
“How much?”
“Two million dollars.”
The number stuns me, but it all makes sense now. Why Dad’s been gone for days, why he’s been unreachable, why the one time he answered my call he said everything was fine and that I shouldn’t worry. I knew he was lying. I can always tell when he’s lying.
“You know I don’t have that money, right?” I ask.
“I know.”
I’m starting to shake again. That same fear that hit me when I first saw him standing in my apartment is coming back. And I don’t like that. I don’t want to feel that when I look at him.
Not the man I just gave myself to.
“So why are you here, Roman?”
Since he arrived, he’s had his eyes on me. Now he looks away. “My boss sent me here…to kill you.”
His words hit me like a truck. I freeze.
I knew it. Somehow, I just knew this day would come. Dad has fucked up so many times that I knew eventually he’d screw over the wrong person, and he’d pay the price. I guess I always thought he would pay the price, though. Not me.
Maybe Roman’s boss, whoever he is, wants to kill me as a threat. Show my dad what will happen to him if he doesn’t pay up. Or maybe it’s just a way of taking something from him. Incentivizing him to hurry up and pay up or something else will happen.
I may be naked, but rationally, I know I should just turn and leap out onto the fire escape, climb down, and run for my life. But let’s face it, I haven’t been rational at all tonight. Can I really start now?
I stomp forward, my insides burning with rage and betrayal, blinking hard to keep the tears from welling up in my eyes.
“You knew who I was!”
“Yes.” He nods, still looking away.
“And you came here to kill me!”
He nods again. “Yes.”
“But you didn’t. You fucked me,” I lash out. “You took my virginity! Did your boss tell you to do that too?”
Roman looks up. His eyes snap to mine, and I see an emotion I’ve yet to see from him. Pain. I hurt him.
“Of course not!” His voice is tense like a coiled spring.
“Then why didn’t you kill me—”
“Because I couldn’t do it!” he roars. The volume and strength of his voice nearly knocks me over. I stumble back, steady myself, and somehow manage to find my voice.
“Why not?”
His massive shoulders slump. His chest deflates. But the pain in his eyes morphs into something so sincere it goes straight to my core.
“Because I saw you, Annie.” He steps closer. I step back. “And you became more than another assignment to me.”
I scoff. “So you thought you’d come in and fuck me instead?”
“I came here to warn you,” he snaps. “That’s all. I was just going to warn you, and then I was going to leave. But…”
“But?”
My head is spinning. I just need to be alone. I need to sit with this, process this, see if I can possibly understand the enormity of what has happened to me tonight.
“I think you should leave,” I finally say.
“No,” he replies strongly. “And you’re not staying here either.”
He walks to his clothes and quickly starts getting dressed. But his eyes are on me. Like I already belong to him. Me questioning his authority doesn’t even seem like an option he’s considered.
“Um, excuse me?”
“You’re coming with me, Annie.”
“Oh, sure!” I laugh. “The man sent to kill me. I’m just gonna go with him!”
“When they find out I didn’t kill you, they’ll send someone else,” he barks. “So get dressed. Now.”
The absurdity of this situation. I’m almost offended. But despite everything that’s happened, I still want this man. His cum is dripping out of me, splashing on the floor by my feet. I’m tingling all over. I’m blazing with heat. I want more.