Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
“I’m not going anywhere, Livy,” he vows, as his mouth continues making a trail to my neck. The minute I feel his teeth rake against skin, long forgotten fissure of desire courses through me so strongly that my body trembles with need. I arch my neck, giving Lake better access. My hand moves down his body, brushing against the column of his neck, down his shoulder, his bicep, until I finally curve to find the hem of his T-shirt and snake up underneath it. “Fuck, Livy,” he groans, his voice sounding even darker now. “That’s it baby. Touch me. Feel what’s yours.”
Mine.
I surrender to the desire I’m feeling—something I haven’t felt since the last time Bear and I made love. Even then, the hunger I’m feeling now wasn’t as intense. Bear and I made love with emotion, but we were both in pain. It’s a miracle we managed to come together. This is different. It’s all need and hunger, and the strength of it should be impossible. It’s so strong that I can’t pull away from it. My body is reacting in ways that I never expected it to again.
I lift his shirt, quickly bunching the soft cotton in my hands. Lake helps by raising one arm, and shrugging out of it. That hand immediately goes back to holding me, while he repeats his action with his other arm. When it’s all said and done, the shirt is in the floor, I’m lying on the bed, and Lake is over me, looking down into my eyes with an intensity that feels as if he’s marking my body as his.
“I ...” I’m not sure what I’m doing—let alone what I want to say. Lake stares down at me.
“It’s okay, Livy. This doesn’t have to go any further.”
His words should kill the fire burning inside of me. I’m actually surprised they don’t. “It’s not that. It’s just …”
“You can tell me anything, Livy.”
“I haven’t done anything like this in a long time,” I confide. Under his intense stare, I start to feel uncomfortable. “I mean, at least not willingly.” The minute I blurt those words out, I try to pull away from Lake. I’m such an idiot.
“Livy, stop,” he says pulling me back around to face him before I can get away.
“Lake—”
“We’ll go as slow as you need to Livy. There’s no time limit here. I want to be with you more than my next breath, but I will wait for you as long as you need me to.”
“I don’t know what I can offer you, Lake. My head is a mess and Bear, well …”
“I’m here to stay, Livy. I’m not asking you to promise me forever. We’ll just go day by day until you’re ready for more.”
“Maybe you should go home. I need to work through some things,” I suggest, feeling weird. He put a stop to everything. I’m not sure what changed. Yet, now I just feel lost. Does he not want me? Was it because I said too much about my past? “Just lock the door on your way out. I’m going to take a shower,” I mumble, getting up off the bed I walk to the bathroom and close the door. I go straight to the shower and turn the water on, adjusting it like I usually do. Then, I take off my clothes and get inside. I learned a long time ago that crying in the shower is easier, because your tears are hidden. I feel so stupid. I just wanted one night where I could feel normal. I let out a self-mocking laugh. I’ve never been allowed to be normal. I’m not sure why I’d get it now. I let the water beat down on my back. I keep my head down and after I let a few tears escape, I look up at the ceiling. “Bear, you left me alone and now I’m lost. I don’t want to let go of us. I just want to try to … live. Can you help me?” My question comes out strangled and quieter than the rest. I’m so tired of hurting.
“Turn around and look at me, Livy. I’m alive and I’m here,” Lake says, pulling the shower door open.
My body jerks, as I spin around to see Lake standing completely naked. He got in the shower with me and once more … he didn’t even ask.
24
SHOWER SEX VIRGIN NO MORE
OLIVIA
“Lake,” I whisper brokenly.
“The time for talking is over, Livy,” he growls, as he drops down to his knees.
“I… Oh, God,” I moan, as I feel his fingers slide deep inside me. My hips thrust out to meet his demand. I reach down to tangle my fingers into his hair. I grab at him roughly, already so excited that I’m barely hanging on. Still, my first thought is to pull away but when he starts sliding his tongue against my delicate folds, I rock my hips into him, wanting more.