Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
She said almost in a whisper, “But you and my mom have made me see the truth. And it’s that I don’t think who I am as a person on the inside—” She put hand to her chest. “—is enough to hold a billionaire’s interest for very long. I’m too ordinary, too one-dimensional.” She sniffed. “Too boring.”
Words seemed to burst out of him. “Good God, you’re extraordinary. With so many facets I want to learn so much more about. How could you ever think you’re boring? I’ve never once believed you aren’t good enough for me, or any other man on the planet. How can you not know how awesome you are? I knew it the minute I walked into your office.”
As her hand trembled beneath his, he felt how vulnerable she’d made herself. How much she’d put her true self on the line.
And she’d done it for him.
“That’s why I needed to say this to you. Because I want you to know this isn’t about you. It’s about me.”
Holy hell, this wasn’t a brush-off, was it? He would have to fight if it was.
But she went on, “Somehow, you’ve managed to break down every wall I’ve put up to protect myself. I’ve stopped caring about the fact that you’re a billionaire.”
Because he was the man he was, he couldn’t help asking, “But what if I’m a frog?”
Finally, finally, she put her hand to his cheek. “You are the furthest thing from a frog I’ve ever met in my entire life.”
His heart leaped as if he were that very frog jumping off his lily pad right into her lap.
“I’ve lied to myself about my feelings for you, and it hasn’t worked. I’ve had my freakouts, like the morning after you made love to me.”
Christ, did she know how much he’d needed her to call what they’d done making love?
“I’ve even imagined my heart being broken and taking as long as Mom has for it to fully heal. But none of that has worked. The truth is, I’ve tried everything except for actually trying. Everything except risking my heart with you.” Holding his gaze, that shimmer of tears still in her eyes, she whispered, “I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but would you be willing to give it a whirl with someone who’s afraid to get her heart broken?”
He couldn’t let one more moment go by without pulling her into his arms. Her hair whispered against his lips as he said, “There’s nothing more I could ever want to do in my life than to risk my heart and everything I am with you. You are a better woman than I could ever have wished for. Believe me. And believe in yourself.”
“I’ll try.”
He rubbed his nose against her cheek. “Don’t try. Do.”
She laughed softly then. “Said like an Olympic gold medalist and inspirational speaker. I won’t just try. I will do it.” She cupped his cheek, her eyes shining. “I think I love you, Troy.”
After a brief brush of his lips against hers, he murmured, “There’s no think for me. I love you, Michaela Killian.”
Then he kissed her with all the pent-up passion of the week they’d spent apart.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was just as Michaela had told him all those weeks ago on their hike. There were so many equally amazing kisses in her future. What she hadn’t said was that they were all for him.
The passion in his kiss surpassed all the other kisses they’d shared. She moaned against his mouth, and it only made him delve deeper. It felt like no other kiss that had ever come before between two lovers, a kiss for the ages. He took control of her very soul.
While he seduced her with his lips and his tongue, his hands roamed her body, her shoulders, her back, her belly, and finally her breasts. His touch after all these days apart was so fiery, so intense, she had to pull back just to breathe.
When his thumb caressed the peak of her breast beneath her swimsuit, she gasped. “Troy. Oh God, Troy, please.” She wasn’t sure what she was asking for—just more, more.
He took her mouth again, swallowing her words as if he needed them buried deep inside him. She’d never been ravished before, never wanted anyone this much, never needed a man the way she needed him.
They wore so little that her wrap and bikini and his swim trunks and shirt seemed to fall away beneath his questing fingers. He pinched the tip of her breast lightly, and a jolt of sweet pleasure shot down to her core.
The curtains were closed over the portholes, and the cabin’s air was cool against her skin, but Troy made everything hot, hot, hot.
“I need to taste you,” he whispered, his breath warm and tantalizing. “Every inch of you.”
“Oh God, yes.” Her voice was breathy, her body quivery.