Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
I’ve avoided relationships all my life. They’re a liability in my line of work. Women have been disposable. I enjoy their bodies, but I never, ever let myself get emotionally attached.
That’s for their protection too.
The moment a woman becomes important to me is the moment she has a target on her chest.
Allie was a mistake. She’s the one error I’ve made in my personal life. And it’s not just Rosie that was wrong.
I never should have gone anywhere near Allie to begin with.
I knew better. Her links to me run much too deep. If she ever finds out I knew who she was from the start…
But I already damned myself. I took her home that night. I slept with her and felt a piece of myself open with the thought of taking her again. And when Rosie was born—
Everything changed.
Now I can hardly recognize myself.
Especially as I creep to the bed, moving softly.
I bend down and lightly stroke my fingers over Allie’s cheek. She stirs but doesn’t wake. God, she’s so beautiful in only a tight tank top and a pair of black panties. Simple, but perfect.
Rosie whimpers as I lift her from the bed. I do it as slowly and softly as I can. She wakes as I rock her against my chest and carry her from the room. Her little mewls are adorable. Even the angry way she squints at me.
“It’s okay, baby girl. I’m only putting you back into your bed.”
She glares as if to say, but I was in my bed already, you fucking idiot.
“You’ll be more comfortable here and your mother will sleep better.” I rock her until her eyelids flutter. “That’s right, little girl, go back to sleep. Daddy’s got you.”
When I’m sure she’s back down, I place her in the crib and linger for another moment.
I’m not a man of faith. I learned a long time ago that God doesn’t answer my prayers. He saves his miracles for people worthy of His mercy.
But this is the first time I truly believe I’ve been blessed by a divinity.
What else could explain this feeling?
“What are you doing?”
I turn to find Allie standing in the doorway. She’s frowning but doesn’t seem alarmed. I move her from the room and close the nursery door behind me. She seems so small in the darkness of the hallway. “I put Rosie in her crib.”
“We were fine in bed, you know.”
“And you would’ve been woken up at five in the morning.”
“So what? That’s what we always do.”
“Let Satya take care of Rosie. You deserve to sleep in.”
Allie frowns slightly. She’s very close to me. Her nose wrinkles. “You smell like smoke.”
“It was a busy night.”
She opens her mouth but seems to think better of what she wants to say. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I move forward. She steps back, ending up against the wall. I touch her hips, my fingertips barely grazing her exposed skin. Her mouth opens, and I love the spark of hunger in her eyes.
“You know, for a big, violent man, you can be really gentle with her.”
It takes a second to understand. “She’s my daughter.”
“Fatherhood doesn’t always bring the best out in men.”
“That’s only true for the weak.”
“Which makes you what?”
“Well adjusted.”
She grins despite herself. “I forget you’re funny sometimes. You don’t seem like the kind of guy who would be funny.”
“I like jokes. Want to hear a good one?”
“Always.”
“A girl and a dragon are alone in a hallway.”
Her lips twist into a smile. “I’m not sure I want to know how this one ends.”
I lean forward, kissing her neck. Her hands tug me closer. “The dragon devours the girl,” I whisper in her ear. “He rips her to pieces. He strips her and takes everything from her. He gives her the release she’s been begging for all her life.”
“Doesn’t sound like a joke to me.”
“Guess I’m not as funny as you thought.”
I kiss her again, this time taking her mouth. The adrenaline of the battle courses through me, and I find it very hard to resist her temptation. She whimpers into my mouth as I lick her tongue and bite her lower lip. My hands lift up her tank and cup her bare breasts, finding her nipples stiff under my fingers. She’s so fucking soft and lovely, and all I want to do is destroy her. It burns in me how badly I want to fill her, fuck her, make her beg, degrade her until she’s torn to shreds and panting my name.
If fatherhood brings the best out in me, then marriage makes me the worst kind of devil.
I tease her breasts, squeezing and pinching her nipples as I kiss her mouth and make her mine. I slip one hand down, possessively cupping her warm, wet pussy, thrilling at how she’s already soaking. She’s trembling like she’s terrified but also can’t control herself.