Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
“I-I paid the bill, Mr. Lockwood,” Trevor says, his voice still trembling.
“Good,” I reply, my eyes still fixed on Anna. “Now get the hell out of here.”
“Yes, of course! T-thank you, Mr. Lockwood.”
I hear him scrambling behind me as he gets up from the table, followed by the sound of his footsteps as he races off to his car.
Without hesitation, I take Trevor’s seat. Only this time, I pull it up beside her. I need to be close to her, not across from her.
“How did you end up on a date with him?” I ask. Her succulent lips are quivering. She’s still afraid. “Anna, don’t be afraid of me.”
“Don’t be afraid?” she asks. “How can I not be? You’re Blake Lockwood.”
“I would never hurt you, Anna. And that’s a promise. Why do you think I just stepped in and got rid of that prick?” I put on my best smile, something I rarely ever do.
“I don’t know,” she says. “Why did you?”
“Because I saw him put his hands on you,” I reply, forcing the image from my mind. “And I saw you clearly not having a good time. So you know what I’m doing to do, Anna?”
“What?” she asks.
“I’m going to take you out,” I reply. “And show you what a real date is like.”
3
Anna
This can’t be happening.
I’m sitting in the back of Blake Lockwood’s car with no idea where I’m headed.
The cruel king. The man who crushed and killed his way to the top of the crime syndicate that currently runs the city. There isn’t anyone around who doesn’t know his name or his face. His cruel, handsome face that belongs on an actor, not a kingpin.
I’m terrified and turned on at the same time. He’s older than I am; I remember reading that somewhere. Somewhere in his late thirties, but he still has a youthful charm beneath all the hardship and pain that is etched into his face.
His eyes are brown, but a bright almond brown like crystals. They stare at me as though they contain a hidden power. As though they see right into me.
“Would you really have killed Trevor?” I ask, finding the courage to speak. “Right there in broad daylight?”
The corners of Blake’s lips twist up slightly, and he cocks his head. “You do know who I am, don’t you?” he asks. “You think it matters whether it’s day or night to me?”
“I…guess I hadn’t thought about that,” I reply.
“I have so many cops working for me that I might as well own the entire police department,” he chuckles.
“I-Impressive.” I don’t know what else to say.
“And maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“If he didn’t listen to me,” he says. “If he’d put his hands on you again. Then I wouldn’t have been so nice.”
Nice? That was him being nice? No wonder they say the things they do about this man.
I feel my heart rate elevate. My mouth is going dry. I lick my lips and try my best to look like I’m not nervous as all hell.
Blake Lockwood smiles and places a hand on my knee. “Relax, Anna. I told you I would never hurt you, and I meant that. I may be many things, but I’m not a liar.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lockwood. I just–”
“Blake.” He smiles. “Call me Blake. I’ve got enough people who call me Mr. Lockwood,” he says. “I don’t any need more.”
This is definitely the strangest experience of my life. No one’s going to believe me, of course. I wish I could take a picture with my phone. He looks terrifyingly sexy in his charcoal black suit, his off-white shirt open with no tie, and a pair of blood-red loafers that definitely cost more than my monthly rent.
He clearly has a gym-body under there too. This is a man who has a legion of others willing to obey his orders but is obviously capable of doing his own dirt if need be.
“Okay…Blake.” It feels wrong saying his name like that. Like he might slap me for doing so.
He smiles to himself and lets out a soft laugh. I feel myself start to blush.
“W-what?” I ask. “You said to call you by your name–”
“No, I’m not laughing at you,” he replies. “I just haven’t had this in so long.”
“This?”
“An honest interaction with a woman. One not out for my money or my power.”
This is wild. Blake Lockwood is smiling at me and complimenting me when really everything I know is telling me that I should be getting kidnapped right now. Or killed.
“That must be lonely,” I tell him. I don’t know where I’m getting the courage to speak to him this way, but there’s something about him that seems to be tugging the words right out of me. Maybe it’s the fact that he saved me from that nightmare of a date with Trevor. Or maybe I truly do believe what he said about never hurting me.