Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
“Please,” I joke. I know she wasn’t propositioning me, it’s just fun to tease her. “The moment you stepped into this room and saw all these beds, you were like… we should take one for a ride!”
Her head turns so she can look me in the eye. We’re literally lying down, shoulder to shoulder, so these royal blue eyes of hers are just a few inches away. “You heard what I said, right?”
“That you’re having my baby? Oh, I certainly did.”
Her sigh comes out long and a bit tired. She turns over, propping her head up with a hand. “So what do you think about that? It cramps our plans to… you know, save the world and shit.”
I just want to stare at her. I could look at her for a whole lifetime and still not see everything there is to see about the rebel, Jasina Bell. A long piece of red hair has fallen in front of her face, so I push it aside, sliding it over her shoulder. “Creating new rebels is a calling all its own.”
This makes her smile and she flops back into the feather bed, making it poof up around her body. “I guess it could be.” She side-eyes me. “Is that what you want? To make more rebels?”
“Jasina, there’s plenty of room in the scholar’s cave for a whole pack of rambunctious rebels.”
“Is that a yes?”
I turn over on my side, placing a hand on her soft, fair cheek. Then I lean in and touch my lips to hers, whispering, “That’s a yes,” as I kiss her. “In fact, it’s more than a yes. It’s more than I deserve, to be honest.”
“What?” She snickers. “What do you mean? You’re the Extraction Master. You were born into a life that guaranteed you a good future. I would say that knocking up a down-city—”
I place two fingers over her lips, stopping that sentence before it can finish. “Don’t you dare say it, Jasina.”
“Say what?” She kisses my fingers.
“Whatever name you were going to call yourself.” I shake my head. “No. You’re not allowed to talk that way. Not anymore. You’re… good. And pretty. And very, very smart and brave. There is nothing down-city about you, Jasina. Not a damn thing. You’re… royalty.” I let out a breath. “My queen.” Then, as she giggles, I slide my arm under her and pull her close. “I think this might be the best day of my life.”
Everything about her relaxes in this moment. Her shoulders drop, she exhales, her body goes soft. “I just wonder if…”
She doesn’t finish, but I know what she’s thinking. It’s what she’s always thinking. “I know, I know. You wonder if I’m good enough for you.”
Which makes her laugh. “No. That’s not what I was wondering at all.”
“You wonder if… I’ll be a good father.”
“You know that’s not what I was wondering.”
“You wonder if… I have what it takes to be a scholar. I mean, I’m pretty useless in most areas. Aside from officiating over the sacrifice of young women to fake gods in towers, that is.”
“Now you’re just being silly.”
“Yeah.” I reach down, finding her hand, and bring it up to my lips as my eyes find hers. I kiss her knuckles. “I am. Because you’re being silly. Your doubts? They’re unfounded. I’m in, Jasina. I know we’re on the new side of this relationship and choosing someone to be the father of your children is a huge step that should probably not happen while you’re trying to form a rebellion and escape a cult—but I’m glad it turned out this way because…” I wince. “Well, it’s all in my favor. I’m gonna annoy the fuck out of you. Chew wrong, or something. Or not please you in the bedroom.”
She actually snorts. “I can honestly say that your sexual prowess was never in question.” Her hand comes up to her face, which is flushed now, to fan herself.
I grin too. Looking down at her breasts as they press against the fabric of her button-down shirt with each breath. “The sex is pretty good, right?” She rolls her eyes, but this gesture gets cuts short when I slip my hand up her shirt and start playing with her nipple.
I don’t pinch it hard, but she gasps, wiggling away. “I know you think I like it rough.”
She scoffs. “Think? Um… I was there, Finn. I know exactly how you like it.”
“Right. But I like it other ways, too.” And to show her, I fondle her breast gently now. Letting my fingertips skim over her skin in a touch so light, goosebumps appear and the next time I touch her nipple, it’s tight, and peaked, and all I want to do is put my mouth over it and suck.
It’s bad timing. I’m pretty sure that asking for sex right now, right after she told me she’s pregnant with my child and while we’re squatting in a foreign Little Sister dorm in a city that’s suspiciously falling apart outside, is the height of absurdity.