JOEY

“A bookstore?” I question Keir, my brother.

He shakes his head and gets out of the car,

and I follow. We both look inside—the lights

are on and the name Pages of Sweets glares

back at me.

“Sweets?” I shake my head. “Is that a subtle

reference for porn?” I ask.

Keir’s lip twitches, and he continues walking

until we get to the door.

“Remind me why we’re here?”

Again, he doesn’t reply, he simply opens the

door. At the same time the

bell rings above the door, our heads snap to

the back of the store when we

also hear a faint noise. My eyes scan the

space which isn’t much bigger

than a small living room, but there are books

everywhere.

“What the hell is that?” We both walk farther

in, the noise becoming

louder with each step.

Is that a… moan?

Maybe this is a front for an actual porn shop.

Not only porn books.

Maybe role play?

Okay, now that’s a bookshop I want to be a

part of—sign me up.

“Oh my God, do not stop.”

We both halt as we look up.

A woman with long brown hair flowing over her shoulders, her eyes

tightly closed, her hands in someone’s hair, her skirt up around her waist as

she screams for someone to not stop fucking her pussy with their mouth is

backed against the wall and one leg over her shoulder.

Just as I see an orgasm take over her body,

her eyes pop open. They

lock onto mine—

dark whiskey-colored eyes are sightly closed

but well aware we’re

standing here. I don’t even spare a glance at

the second person until the

woman who was getting fucked puts her leg

down and smirks. That’s when

the person who was kneeling between her

legs stands. She has short blonde

hair cut and styled in a masculine way. The

jeans she’s wearing hug her

tight, showcasing female curves, but her

loose shirt would have had me

mistaking her for a man from the back at a

quick glance.

“This how you treat all your customers?” I ask with a lift of my brow.

The blonde turns around and gasps, wiping at her face before she

reaches for a stack of books on the floor and

then runs straight past us until

we are left alone with the woman with

whiskey eyes.

“I feel like whatever you buy now, you should pay extra for the show,”

she replies, flicking her long hair over her shoulder and adjusting her skirt.

“Not my fault you gave it away for free,” I retort.

She pulls a soft smile. It’s wary as her eyes lock with mine, but it’s gone

as she bends down to pick up a pile of books.

“How can I help you? Lucas isn’t here,” she says, referring to our

cousin. How on earth she got involved with

him I can’t imagine,

considering Lucas likes no one.

“You know that’s not why I’m here,” Keir says,

and there’s a

threatening edge to his tone.

I glance at him, confused, and then back to

the woman with whiskey

eyes.

Her gaze hardens as she stares at him, lifting her lip in an almost snarl.

“I see no reason for you to be here other than for Lucas. So if you don’t

want to purchase books, it’s best you leave.”

“I think it’s time you closed for the day…

wouldn’t you say?” Keir is

persistent. Not many people argue with him other than his wife.

I watch as she licks her lips, then sucks air

between her teeth. “No, I

don’t think it is.” To get past us, she will have

to ask us to move or

physically shift us herself, as we’re blocking her way. She walks up until

she’s standing right in front of us, then

pushes herself between us.

Keir moves, but I stay still.

What the fuck is going on?

“Why are we here?” I ask Keir again.

“You should tell Joey why we’re here,” Keir presses to the brunette.

“Again, if you aren’t buying books, you should leave.”

“Okay, what the fuck is happening?” I ask Keir and point to the woman.

“And who the fuck is she?”

Keir heads to the door, but I stay put, still having no clue what is

happening.

He looks over his shoulder at me. “That is Adora, your soon-to-be

wife,” he states, then walks out without another word.

I glance back at Adora as she stands there with her eyes wide and her

mouth slightly open—the shock is written all over her face.

Her stance and expression match mine, I’m

sure.

What the fuck?

I’m supposed to marry her.

No way.

No fucking way.

Never!

“You fuck women. No way am I marrying a

woman who chooses pussy

over my cock.”

Adora throws her head back and laughs.

I’m dead serious.

She picks up on my incredulous stare, and her laughter dies down as her

eyes find mine. “Oh, you are serious?” She almost whispers the words, but I

still hear the amusement in her voice.

“Look…” she steps over and places a soft hand on my chest, and pats it,

“… I’m not going to be your wife. We both know this. Make your moody

boss see it’s never gonna happen, will you? Okay, champ?” Adora pats my

chest again, this time with more force, then goes to step away, but I reach

out and catch her wrist.

“Champ?” My eyebrows rise in another incredulous stare.

She just shrugs as I drop her hand like a hot tamale.

“The way I see it, this…” she waves between us, “… never happened.”

A slow and steady smirk touches her lips.

“Do you not like cock?” I ask, confused.

“Not yours. Now leave.”

“I will not under any circumstances marry a woman I will have to

convince to sleep with me.”

“See, it’s settled. Now, can you tell your brother, boss, or whatever you

call him?” Adora waves to Keir who’s waiting by his car, his face a picture

of everything I don’t want to see—the stony glare, the upright posture of

defiance, and above all, fuck me if there isn’t determination in his damn

eyes.

“You simply don’t tell Keir anything,” I mumble.

“I’m sure you’re a smart man. Think of something,” she responds with a

shrug while waving her hand around.

“You also don’t lie to him if you want to live,” I say, my eyes narrowing

into a glare. “Do you know nothing?”

This woman has to know.

Her father is well known. Dangerous. When we were kids, he took his

daughter and moved her to Italy when she was ten, and that’s the last time I

saw her. If I am being perfectly honest, I hardly remember her.

“Where is your father?”

Adora walks behind the counter and stacks a few books before she

glances back at me.

“Dead. I killed him,” she states.

Then she smiles.

ADORA

He’s cute. Handsome even, but his face is

one of utter shock as he looks at

me. The sharp angles of his jaw are ticking,

and I wonder if that’s a sign

he’s agitated, disturbed, or just plain angry.

“You what?” he asks, apparently not having heard me the first time.

“I killed him.”

“Fuck this shit! I’m out.” Joey shakes his head and stalks to the door.

I

watch his retreating back, smiling as he goes.

Maybe I’ve been avoiding this for no reason at all. I mean, he did get

quite the introduction.

I would have apologized, but I think it helped my

case too.

You know, not marry someone who I clearly don’t want to, and

who probably doesn’t want me either.

He pauses, his hand on the door.

“How long have you been back?” he asks.

“Years,” I answer without hesitation, and he turns back to face me.

“And Lucas knew of this?”

“It took him a while to realize who I was,” I tell Joey honestly.

“But,

yes, he knows who I am.”

The woman from earlier pushes the door open, and Joey steps aside,letting her in.

She blushes when she sees him and then looks at me.

Dammit! I didn’t even get her name.

“Becca,” she says, sounding shy, or at least shyer than she seemed a few

minutes ago.

Joey looks between us, a smirk touching his lips.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” I wave to the door where Joey’s watching us.

Becca glances behind her, then nods to the counter. “I left my phone.”

She walks over and reaches for it, and I place my hand on top of hers.

“Do

you want my number?” I ask.

I mean, she did just eat me out. Granted, we had only just met when she

placed a book on the counter to purchase. Then we got to talking, and one

thing led to another, and she ended up with her face between my legs.

What can I say, I have sex appeal.

“You don’t want her number.”

We both turn to Joey, and I raise a brow at him. Now is not the time for

me to make a stand.

He ignores my sharp glare and focuses on Becca.

“Leave. Now.”

She snatches her phone from the counter and basically runs past him

and out the door.

I bite my tongue. Hard. So hard I can taste blood.

When I glance back at Joey, the front door is closed, and he’s standing

there with his arms crossed over his chest while he stares at me.

“That’s not going to happen again.” He indicates where Becca just ran

out the door.

“You think you can boss me around?”

“I remember you now.”

His hand runs along the top of my romance

books as he slowly approaches the counter. “You and your little sister.”

I go to speak, but he cuts me off.

“How is she?” He smirks. “Still breathing?”

There is a dare dancing in

his eyes. “Let me think! Do I remember correctly?

If the deal is not

fulfilled, her life will be forfeited. Is that still correct?”

Okay, so I was hoping he wouldn’t know about the damn deal.

Joey looks away from me and taps a few times on his phone before he

grins.

And the grin that touches his lips is pure evil.

This man is not nice if the vicious glare is anything to go by.

Lucky for me, I’m not nice either.

“This is her, is it not?” He flips his phone, so I can see a picture of my

sister with her arm around a boy at her school back in Italy.

My head snaps up as an unholy gasp leaves my mouth.

How did he do that?

How could he possibly know where Abigail is?

I pay for her to go to the best schools—schools where integrity and

privacy are assured. He shouldn’t have been able to find out where she is or

even the name she is using.

“How did you find her?” I ask with curiosity lacing my tone, even

though I’m finding it harder to breathe every second with this new

information.

“It was you they couldn’t find. They never thought to look right under

our noses.

That was very sneaky of you. But this…” He nods to the phone

and pulls it back, sliding it into his pocket.

“This was… stupid. Did you

really think we wouldn’t find her?”

“My father signed those contracts. I had nothing to do with them and

don’t want any part of them.”

“Our life doesn’t work like that, and you know it. You see, if I don’t

uphold my contract, that will reflect badly on us as a family. And we can’t

have that now, can we?”

“You could call it off.”

“No, I can’t,” he replies, leaving no room for argument.

But that doesn’t stop me from trying. “You can. You’re choosing not

to.”

“I’m not, actually. I don’t want to marry you either.” His eyes roam over

my body, taking in my long legs in my denim skirt to my midriff top, which shows off my belly and tanned skin, followed by my long brown hair and

dark eyes.

“I prefer my women with a bit more meat on their bodies,” he remarks

with a sinister smile on his lips.

I’m thin, there’s no denying that.

Every morning, I run for an hour straight.

Not for physical fitness, but for my mental health. It helps drain out the

thoughts that run rampant inside my mind.

I started after the first time my

father hit me. To get out of the house and away from him I would run—run

from him—and before I knew it, hours had passed. Every single time, I

would arrive back in a state of exhaustion and simply collapse.

Now the old bastard is gone, but those demons still haunt me. They’re

not as bad as they were, though. I can breathe out here, now I am away

from that life.

I had hoped this day would never come.

I even believed it wouldn’t, considering how much time has passed.

But it seems my luck just ran out.

And in walked a tall, dark, and handsome villain.

“You aren’t my type either. I mean… you do have a cock, do you not?”

I question, pursing my lips

in thought simply to annoy him.

“I do. One you would be lucky to have between your legs.”

At his words, I can’t help but bark out a laugh. “Does that actually

work? You saying that women should be pleased to have your cock because

it’s such a damn gift?” I roll my eyes for good measure.

Joey steps closer and leans down into my face. “No, just you.” He

smirks.

“Well, I don’t feel honored. Actually, I want nothing to do with you…”

I glance down at his crotch, “… or your cock,” I say with a smile, bringing

my eyes back to his as slowly as possible.

“It doesn’t matter what you want. You will be my wife, and you will not

fight me on this.”

“Oh, I won’t?”

“No, because I’m sure Miranda would not be happy with the outcome.”

“You’d take her instead?” I ask, shock evident by my tone, but the look

on his face answers my question before he does.

“I would. I mean… when she becomes of age, that is. She’s almost

eighteen, is she not?”

My hands clench at my sides and my nails dig into my palms. In the

fine print of the contract, it states, should he choose not to end her life, he

could take her as his bride.

That’s never going to happen.

When I don’t respond, he adjusts his shirt collar and walks back to the

door, and without turning around, he says, “I’ll see you at six tomorrow for

dinner.” He pauses and looks back, assessing eyes roaming over me again.

“Dress appropriately! I expect the best from my betrothed. Do not come

looking like that.”

Before I can tell him to go fuck himself, the door slams behind him. I

watch as he walks to the car waiting outside, then he gets in and it pulls

away.

What the fuck?

Fuck!

I run to the back of the shop and press call on Lucas’ contact in my

phone. He answers straight away.

“What?”

Isn’t he charming?

“Joey knows,” I tell him.

Lucas has been covering for me—kind of. Well, he just didn’t tell them

when he should have. But as he stated, it wasn’t his place. I always knew if

they’d have asked, he wouldn’t have lied, but they never asked.

“When?” he questions.

“Joey just left. Keir brought him in.”

“Fuck!” He groans, then I hear some tapping, and he says, “They’re

coming here.”

“I want to run.”

“That would not be wise,” he warns, then hangs up.