Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire's Pet: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

SOPHIA“Are we going outside the building?""Yes.""Is that safe?" My voice rose slightly. "Big Mike has people watching.”"I said we're going out. Now go get dressed before I change my mind." His tone left no room for argument. I hurried upstairs, my mind racing. Where were we going? What was the surprise?I threw open the closet and grabbed the simple black dress I'd worn the day I came to Cassian.I slipped it on, wincing as the fabric brushed against my still-burning ass cheeks. I checked myself in the mirror quickly, then rushed back downstairs. Cassian was waiting by the door, wearing a black jacket over his white shirt. He led me to the door and my stomach clenched with fear. The second we stepped outside, I'd be vulnerable. Big Mike's men could be anywhere.But, right outside was a massive black SUV with windows so heavily tinted I couldn't see inside. The engine was already running.Cassian opened the back door and held out his hand. I stared at it for a moment, caught of

CASSIANShe was on her knees in a hospital bathroom, naked and still sobbing, and all I wanted to do was hurt her even more. And no, it wasn't because I was angry. The terror that had flooded me when she'd disappeared had turned my blood to ice. Big Mike could have had men waiting. She was mine to protect, and I'd almost failed.But that wasn't why I wanted to break her right now. It was the tears, the raw grief in her eyes when her mother had called her Ruth. The way she'd looked at Margaret like she was watching her slip through her fingers.I understood that pain. In fact, I knew it intimately.My mother was still alive, but she'd been lost to me for years. She was lost to the demons that Big Mike had planted in her when he'd gotten her hooked. Sophia's pain was my pain, and I hated it for both of us. So I'd give her what she asked for. A distraction brutal enough to wipe away everything else."Stand up," I ordered.She rose on shaking legs, her blue eyes red-rimmed and defian

SOPHIACassian crossed the kitchen and swept me into his arms like I weighed nothing."Cassian, I can walk…" I held his shoulders. I felt his arm settle under my ass, pressing against the welts from his belt. Pain and arousal shot through me. My pussy clenched, and I hated myself for getting turned on while being carried to my punishment."Look at your feet," he commanded.I looked down and saw blood dripping from cuts on my feet. "Oh.""You would have ground that glass deeper with every step. So stop fighting me and let me carry you."I became still in his arms, aware of every point of contact between us; his chest against my side, his hand burning through my dress where it held my thigh. I was sorry Collete would have to clean up my mess. Maybe I should have just sat there while she cooked. I relaxed in Cassian’s arms as we passed through rooms I'd never seen before until he opened a door at the end of the hall.We walked into his study. He locked the door behind us with a clic

CASSIANI stood, my chair scraping against the floor. "Give me a few minutes, Sophia."Her eyes were wide with confusion, but she nodded.Cristian was already halfway to my office, his shoulders rigid with fury while Dante followed him just as angrily. I closed the door behind us and Cristian whirled on me."Explain right fucking now, Cassian. Why is Sophia Winters sitting at our dinner table?""She came to me three days ago asking for protection.""Protection from what?""Big Mike cornered her after David's funeral. He told her to move into his bed or he'd kill her mother and pass Sophia around to his entire organization."Dante's eyes narrowed. "So you took her in.""Yes.""Out of the goodness of your heart? You just decided to shelter the daughter-in-law of the man who destroyed our family?" Cristian's tone was mocking."I offered her a contract. She lives here under my protection, provides information about the Winters operation, and in exchange, I pay for her mother's medical ca

SOPHIAThe next morning, Marcus and I drove to the camera shop. Cassian wasn't with us because he had gone into work. I ran my fingers over a Canon EOS R6, my heart racing with excitement I hadn't felt in years. Marcus stood by the door with his eyes constantly searching the street outside, but I tried to ignore the reminder that I needed a bodyguard just to buy a camera."This one's beautiful," I said, lifting the camera to look through the viewfinder.The salesperson, a young woman with purple streaks in her hair and a name tag that read "Isabelle," grinned at me. "Great choice! That's our best seller. Do you want to test it out?""Can I?""Absolutely!" Isabelle bounced over with an enthusiasm that was infectious. "Here, try this lens too. The 50mm is gorgeous for portraits."I attached the lens and snapped a few shots of the store, of Isabelle making silly faces, of Marcus looking uncomfortable by the door. Each click made something in my chest a little less tight. This felt norm