Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“I know, honey. It’s why I’ve got them being looked after.”
She sighed, slumping back against me. “Oh.” She sounded deflated. Almost despondent. “Sorry.”
“Nadine, honey. Look at me. Please.” I traced my finger over her jaw, urging her to tip her head back to meet my gaze. “Everything is going to be OK. Chuck and Jermaine have to do their time. I can’t fix that. But Kiss of Death has strong ties with Terre Haute. We have some pull and some people on the payroll, so we can look out for men inside we want to protect. We can’t prevent every bad thing that happens, but we can provide a strong deterrent to anyone causing problems for the ones we’re protecting. So, yeah. We’ve got their backs as much as we’ve got anyone’s in that place. And you’re a remarkable woman for recognizing those two for what they are. You and Dr. Martinez are the only ones who try at all.”
“Dr. Martinez is a wonderful person, and she’s going to make a great mother.”
“She’s being protected too. Though she doesn’t know it.”
Then the sun came out and a warm ray of golden light fell on me like a blessing… Which is to say, Nadine smiled at me. A genuine, happy, almost worshipful smile. And that was it. I was done. I would forever be a slave to this woman’s will because there was absolutely nothing in this world I wouldn’t do to put that smile on her face and fucking keep it there.
“God, you’re beautiful.” The admission was raw and spontaneous. I couldn’t take it back if I’d wanted to, and when her gaze snapped to mine, her eyes wide with shock, there was no way I would ever want to take it back.
“What?”
“You heard me, Nadine. You’re fuckin’ beautiful.”
I leaned in slowly, my heart pounding like I was some damn teenager again. My lips brushed her forehead, lingering just because I couldn’t get enough of the feel of her skin on my lips. I meant the gesture only to comfort, but the moment I made contact, it was like a live wire sparked between us. I think I actually grunted, the impact was so sharp.
Nadine let out this tiny sigh, and I swear it was the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. She tilted her head back to meet my gaze, those gray eyes locking onto mine, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe.
I saw the trust in her features, the vulnerability, but there was something else too. A flicker of desire? Was I projecting my own interest and hoping she felt some of what I did?
“Pain?” My name was a sweet breath on her lips. She said it like a prayer and a question all at once.
I cupped her face gently, my thumb tracing the curve of her cheekbone. The tears were still glistening but were no longer falling. Instead, she gazed up at me with something like wonder. It made my chest tight in a way I never thought I could.
“I’ll never hurt you, Nadine. I’ll protect you with my life.”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“You with me, sweetheart?” I asked, my voice rough with need. Not really a sexual need, though there was plenty of that inside me. It was so much more than simple lust. I needed this woman with me. I needed her beauty. I needed her compassion. Most of all, I needed her to always look at me like I was her hero and could make all her demons flee in terror.
She nodded, the tip of her tongue darting out to wet her lips. It was a quirk of hers I’d noticed. But now? Now, that simple moistening of her lips was driving me crazy. I wanted to kiss her like I wanted my next breath.
“I’m with you,” she whispered, and it was like a punch to the gut, how much I wanted to believe her. The problem was, she might think she was with me, but she didn’t know me. Not really. She also didn’t know I meant she was with me forever.
I leaned in slowly, giving her every chance to pull away. Nadine met me halfway, her lips soft against mine. Her touch was tentative at first, barely more than a graze. I wanted to deepen the kiss, to pleasure her until she was stupid with lust and only wanted… me. My body. My cock.
But I couldn’t. She needed to make the choice. Consciously. She might be OK with me pleasuring her a little, but she wasn’t ready for sex. If I were honest with myself, I wasn’t ready for sex either. Not because I didn’t want to fuck Nadine. The woman had fueled my dirtiest fantasies since the first day I met her as an adult. Before I made her mine, I needed her to believe in me. That I would always be with her to protect her. She wasn’t ready for that. And I wasn’t sure I could survive the rejection.