Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 80942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
I don’t think I will ever not be scared of him. There will always be that slight tinge of terror about how dangerous he is and how monstrous he can get to ensure his goals are met. However, I’m strong and mature enough to ignore that fear and focus on what he is.
Who he is.
The man who showed me a different world, one where I’m cared for and I come before anything else.
The man who fought for me when I didn’t have the will to fight for myself.
The man who saved me, even when he tortured me. Who took my hand when I thought there was no hope left for me.
The man who gave me the most precious gift in the form of Jeremy and nurtured him with me. He provided me light, even when he himself was always used to the darkness.
And to have him all to myself these last couple of days has been more exhilarating than anything I’ve experienced in recent memory.
I know he keeps himself updated by talking to his guards, especially Kolya, in hushed tones, but he doesn’t let it occupy his days and nights.
Jeremy and I do.
We have movie nights and lazy mornings. We cook together and mess up the kitchen before Adrian shoos me away so he can clean it. We take walks together whenever it’s not snowing hard, and Adrian is even teaching Jeremy how to ski.
At night, after we put our son to sleep, Adrian worships my body or makes up some sort of punishment just so he can satisfy his sadistic tendencies—and my masochistic ones.
But today, there’s a change of plans.
After Jeremy is in bed, I invite the guards over so we can play Scrabble. Something that Adrian isn’t very happy about, and he says that there’s no way in hell all the guards will come over and we’ll stay unprotected.
So Yan shoos the two younger guards outside, filling their hands with snacks.
I expect Kolya and Boris to scold him, but they just sit on the sofa across from me and Adrian. After Yan finishes his mission of getting rid of the younger guards, he settles on the chair on my right.
Tightening the wool scarf that’s draped over my shoulders, I angle my neck to soak in the warmth from the fireplace. Although the house is fully heated, I feel like a kitten in the cozy setting.
I prepared countless snacks and placed a case of beer on the table beside the Scrabble board Jeremy found in his exploration of the house.
Adrian loops an arm around my shoulder, his fingers digging into my skin. It’s not strong enough to hurt, but it’s firm enough to imply he’s not pleased with my idea of spending the evening playing with his guards.
His lips brush against the shell of my ear as he whispers in hot words, “Tell them you’re feeling unwell and go up to the bedroom. Now.”
“No,” I hiss.
“If you don’t, I’ll whip you hard, then fuck you just as hard so that you won’t be able to move tomorrow.”
“It’d be worth it,” I murmur, even as my core throbs at the promise.
It’s official. Adrian has ruined me beyond repair.
“I feel bad for them,” I tell Yan, who opens a bottle of beer and drinks from it, releasing a sigh of contentment. Kolya and Boris are dressed in army fatigues and Adrian is in his formal attire, but my friend is wearing a casual shirt and pants with a jacket.
I’m just glad he’s well enough to move and even drink now. I also saw him running with Adrian and the guards during their morning workouts. And yeah, these crazy people actually run in the snow when it’s below zero degrees.
“They’ll survive.” Yan throws up a dismissive hand. “The cold will make men out of them. They’re lucky they weren’t in the Special Forces.”
“Was is that brutal?” I ask.
“Brutal?” Yan scoffs. “Try deadly. Try, we’re the fucking chosen ones for getting out of that training alive. Remember dragging kilos of tires in fucking freezing Siberia, Borya?”
Boris’s stoic face falters for a second as he nods, and even Kolya’s lips twist, probably recalling the same circumstances.
“Seems the cold hasn’t made a man out of you, Yan,” Adrian says with nonchalance, then takes a sip of beer.
“How can you say that, Boss? I was second in my unit.”
Adrian raises a brow. “Not first.”
“Not everyone is a perfectionist freak like you and Kolya.”
I stare at Adrian. Yan told me he was in Special Forces before, but he never mentioned rank. “You were first?”
“Unlike Yan.”
“He’s all bark and no bite,” Kolya agrees with his boss, opening a bottle of beer.
“Oh, fuck you, Kolya.” Yan’s temper rises. “Rank isn’t important, skill is. What do you say, Boris?”
“I was first in my unit, too.” Boris throws a nut into his mouth. “Pay respect.”