Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
I open my eyes to an empty bed, and my heart stops. Was it all a dream? A mirage? My panic quickly subsides when Callum walks in. He’s showered and dressed, a cup of coffee in one hand and clothes draped over his other arm.
The harsh lines of his face soften as he smiles at me, but sadness lingers in his eyes.
“What is it?” I ask, jumping out of bed and grabbing the clothes he offers me. “Wait, these are my jeans. How the hell did you get my clothes?”
“From your apartment.”
“How the fuck did you get into my apartment?”
Callum smiles sheepishly as he rubs the back of his neck. “We have a key.”
“You have a key?”
“Umm… we own the building. We also own the surveillance company that installed the security system.”
“You don’t own the company. Roger Simpson does. That’s who I leased from.”
“We bought it from him. Offered him three times what the place is worth. How the fuck do you think you got all those upgrades? You think Simpson would’ve done that? That cheap ass hadn’t done upkeep on that hellhole for two decades. Also, why are you living there? Your brother-in-law is God-like rich.”
“I didn’t want to get used to a comfortable life. I had issues about wealth and consumerism when I was younger. I enjoy living where my clients are. Once you get accustomed to wealth, you become desensitized to poverty. Too much luxury allows a sense of superiority. Rich people get a false sense of entitlement and think they can do whatever they want. Too much money creates evil. If we saw each other as human, we would stop living like animals, and the best way to do that is to expose yourself to reality.”
“Lev isn’t an asshole. He spends a lot of that wealth helping others. He started a charity in your sister's name. I doubt you would become a megalomaniac if he set you up.”
I take a deep breath before I admit my truth. “Lev’s different. His heart has always been pure. I lusted after shiny things for years. I don’t think I’m nearly as good of a human as Levinston.”
Callum tilts his head and examines me for a moment. I’m not sure what he’s searching for, but he’s seeking something.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You know Lev kills people, right?”
I laugh nervously, realizing how hypocritical I sound. But Lev doesn’t kill anyone who doesn’t deserve it. I gaze into Callum’s eyes and smile. “Every single man in my life kills people, including you.”
“So, are you planning on keeping me?”
I move closer and pat his cheek. “I don’t know. Are you gonna be a good boy and listen?”
Callum laughs as his hand circles my throat, and he slams me down on the bed. It’s hard to breathe. A normal person would panic if a man like Callum threatened to suffocate them. But I’m not sure I’m normal.
The weight of the thickening silence is sliced by the sound of a zipper being lowered.
“If you want me to stop, tap my arm, but once I start, know this, Kitten, I’m going to own this pussy. You’re ours, mine and Atlas’s. Ours to love. Ours to protect. Ours to fuck. I’m not a good man. I never claimed to be, but fuck, Mona, I’ll be anything for you.”
My response is tactile and desperate. I brush his dark hair back and stare into his mesmerizing gray eyes. Eyes that hold the promise of everything. Of something more. The elixir for healing.
He impales me with one motion, his eyes never leaving mine as he takes my breath away, both physically and spiritually. My mind is wiped of any coherent thought other than the need to breathe and the sensations exploding from my pending orgasm.
“Eshghe mani,” Callum whispers in Persian. “You’re my love. “Ashegetham. I am in love with you. Dooset Daram. I love you.”
I’m transported into a world unknown to me before, a world full of stars, galaxies, and never-ending possibilities. I want to tell him I love him. As fucked up as it is, I love him. I want him to know that he and Atlas are the reason I am who I am today. How meeting them shaped me and compelled me to become someone I love—someone strong and compassionate. I want him to know that meeting them made me a better person.
“You and Atlas are my world. There’s nothing I won’t do for the two of you. I’d die to make you happy. I’d kill to keep you safe. I’m nothing without the two of you.”
“What did you say?
My eyes leave Callum’s face to see Atlas standing by the doorway. His eyes are glassy, and his hands shake.
Callum turns his head and gazes at Atlas. “I said I love you. Both of you. My life is worthless without you.”