Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“I don’t want to hurt you, baby,” I murmured. “Ain’t goin’ nowhere. Just rollin’ over so you can breathe.”
“I can breathe just fine.” Her voice was hoarse from her screams, and I had a surge of pride. I’d done that to her. I’d made her shout my name.
I gave her what she wanted for a few minutes. When she finally relaxed her hold, I rolled us slowly. My cock had softened and slipped out of her, but I still needed to deal with the condom. Reaching to the nightstand, I snagged a few tissues and cleaned myself up as best as I could before tossing the mess in the trashcan beside the bed. I snagged another couple and gently wiped between Cora’s legs. She murmured sleepily but didn’t protest further.
Once I’d discarded the tissues, I wrapped both arms around her and sighed. Had I ever felt this contented? I couldn’t say for sure about Sarah, but I knew one thing with absolute certainty—I loved Cora. The feeling wasn’t the same as what I’d experienced with my wife, but I knew love when I felt it.
I reached down, pulled the rumpled blanket over us both. She made a small, contented sound, burrowing closer to my chest. I tightened my arms, keeping her secure against me.
Outside, the rain had stopped. Through the tall windows, I could see stars emerging from behind breaking clouds. The world beyond these walls still held threats, but for now, in this moment, with her soft weight against me and her breath warming my skin, the outside world and its dangers seemed distant, maybe even manageable.
I pressed my lips to the top of her head, breathed in the scent of her hair. She murmured something indistinct, already mostly asleep. I let my own eyes drift shut.
I didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, but I knew whatever came at me, I wanted Cora to be at my side. And I’d beg, borrow, cheat, steal, or kill to make that dream the sweetest reality.
Chapter Eleven
Cora
I woke to the weight of a muscled male arm across my waist, heavy and warm like an anchor keeping me from drifting away. For a moment, I didn’t move, afraid that the slightest shift might break whatever spell had been cast over us. Morning light peeked over the distant mountains, painting a golden stripe across the rumpled sheets where it shone through the group of tall windows along one wall. I watched dust motes dance in the beam, feeling Marcus’s steady breath against the nape of my neck, each exhale a reminder that this wasn’t another dream.
I turned my head slightly, just enough to see his face in profile. Sleep had softened the hard lines that usually defined him. Even his thick, dark beard couldn’t hide the slight relaxation around his mouth or the temporary absence of the tension that seemed to live in his jaw. A scar I hadn’t noticed before curved along his hairline, pale against his sun-weathered skin.
As if sensing my gaze, his eyes opened -- no gradual awakening, no blinking into consciousness. One moment he slept, the next he was fully alert. Dark eyes fixed on mine with an intensity that sent a current racing down my spine, leaving goose bumps in its wake.
“Morning,” he said, his voice a low rumble that I felt more than heard, vibrating through me where he had me wrapped tightly in his arms. He lay partially over me on his side so I could see his face clearly.
“Morning,” I whispered back, suddenly aware of my tangled hair, my naked body, and the vulnerable state I found myself in. At least, I thought I should feel vulnerable. I was in bed with a man I barely knew. I was naked. I was surrounded by the biggest bunch of hard-asses I’d ever come across. Strangely, instead of being scared, I felt protected and wanted.
He didn’t move his arm from my waist, but his thumb began a slow sweep across the bare skin of my stomach, each pass igniting nerve endings I hadn’t known existed until his touch found them.
When he shifted slightly his beard brushed against my shoulder, the rough texture a striking contrast to the softness of his lips that followed. I shivered, not from cold but from the sensations he created within me from the mere stroke of his calloused fingers.
I breathed him in, this man who’d become my unlikely sanctuary. And it was more about Marcus than this place. I had the feeling that I’d never feel as safe, protected, and relaxed as I did when Marcus was with me.
“You sleep okay?” he asked, propping himself up on one elbow to look down at me. Before I answered, he leaned in to place a lingering kiss on my lips and I sighed in pleasure.
I nodded when he pulled back, not trusting my voice as my heart performed acrobatics against my ribs. My hands trembled slightly as I reached up to touch his face, needing to confirm he was real, that this wasn’t some elaborate fantasy my desperate mind had conjured. The solid warmth of his cheek and the coarseness of his beard beneath my palm sent relief flooding through me in a dizzying rush.