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 swept her into my arms, carrying her the short distance to our bed. She went willingly, her arms looped around my neck, her head resting trustingly against my shoulder. I laid her down with more gentleness than I’d shown minutes before, the sight of her sprawled across our sheets sending a fresh surge of desire through me despite my recent release.
She reached for me, her arms open in invitation. I followed her down, covering her smaller body with mine. This time, when our lips met, the kiss was softer, the urgency replaced by something deeper, more tender.
“I love you,” I murmured against her mouth, the words still new enough to feel like a revelation each time I spoke them. For years after Sarah died, I’d believed that part of me had died with her. Cora had proven me wrong, awakening feelings I’d thought forever lost.
Her hands framed my face, thumbs tracing the contours of my cheekbones with reverent care. “I love you too,” she whispered back. “So much it scares me sometimes.”
“Don’t be scared, honey. I will guard your heart with my life.”
“I know.” She stroked my face as she pulled me back for another kiss.
I sank into her again. This time the sensation was no less intense for its gentleness. I moved, watching her face as her pleasure built slowly. This wasn’t the raw, animal coupling of before, but something equally powerful for the love it conveyed.
With a soft cry, she came, milking my cock again for the seed I needed to plant inside her. I shuddered as I came, groaning against her neck as I held myself inside her as deeply as I could, never wanting to be free.
After, as our breathing slowed and the sweat cooled on our skin, I wrapped my arm protectively around her, drawing her close against my side. She came willingly, her body molding to mine so she fit perfectly.
“No regrets?” I asked, my voice low in the quiet room. “About us? About your parents?”
She tilted her face up to mine, her expression open and unguarded in a way she rarely was with anyone but me. “Not a single one,” she said firmly. “My only family is right here.” She pressed her palm against my chest, directly over my heart. “Everything I need, everything I want. It’s all right here.”
I covered her hand with mine, feeling the steady thump of my heartbeat beneath our joined fingers. The peace I found in her arms was something I never thought I’d experience again.
Cora was my love. My wife. My everything. I’d lost so much and had dwelt on those losses for a long time. Now, all I wanted was to embrace the second chance I’d been given.
“Tell me you love me again,” I demanded.
I felt her lips move against my chest as she smiled. “I do love you, Rancor. With all my heart.” Her voice was thick with fatigue, and I knew neither of us would last much longer.
As sleep claimed us, cradled in each other’s arms, I felt a sense of completeness I’d longed for my entire life. In Cora, I had found my anchor, my sanctuary, my reason to believe in second chances and the enduring power of love.