Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
It’s pretty damn tempting. “I would love to,” I admit, nuzzling her neck. She’s warm, and smells like her perfume—and me. It’s intoxicating. “But the world will still be there. I wish that wasn’t true.”
“Five more minutes, then?” She stretches and moves against me. I’m sure it’s innocent, though my dick doesn’t share the opinion and starts thickening against her plump ass.
“Keep that up,” I murmur in her ear, “and we’ll need a lot more than five minutes.”
She turns her head to look up at me. Nothing has ever been as beautiful as she is right now, with her hair mussed and her eyes half closed like she’s still trying to hold on to the dream she was in before she woke up. “Maybe that’s what I want.”
Is this real? Fuck, I want it to be. I want it so badly, it’s almost painful. I can’t help but indulge myself in the feel of her, letting my hand trail down the hourglass dip of her waist before it flares into her full hip. She’s finally mine, fully claimed. “Yeah, but I don’t think Emma would like it if she came in here and saw this.”
She snickers and arches an eyebrow. “Oh, and all of a sudden, you care what other people think?”
Yes, I do, and I don’t think I would have the words to explain it if I tried. I can barely understand it myself. Last night, everything changed.
I didn’t expect it. I knew once I had her like this, I would never want to let her go. That hasn’t changed.
It was me. I’m the one who changed. I would still burn down the world for her, but now I want to do it strategically instead of running into things headfirst and saying fuck the consequences. The consequences are real. The consequences are lying in my arms now, soft and warm and trusting me. Needing me. She needs me to be smart, to think things through before I take action. That’s what I’ve been doing, lying here since before the sun rose, thinking things over and letting her slow, rhythmic breathing soothe me.
I don’t have an entire plan in mind, but I know where the pieces are. I only have to put them together.
Step one. “You should call Saint. What do the two of you usually do together?”
“I don’t know. Sometimes we would go shopping.” She frowns, absentmindedly running her nails over my forearm. “Not that she ever had all that much money to buy anything, and her dad would never let her get what she really wanted.”
She doesn’t have to worry about any of that anymore. “Go out with her today. But when you do,” I add, “don’t, you know, overdo it. It won’t look right if you’re living it up while nobody knows where your fiancé is. Maybe mention your honeymoon,” I add as an afterthought.
She actually jerks in my grasp like I slapped her. “You can’t be serious.”
Like I want to think about him or any other man while holding her in her bed, naked and mine. “Do I sound like I’m joking? It’s the smartest thing you can do. Make sure anybody who sees you or overhears you knows you’re still committed to that bastard. You’re looking forward to the wedding, and you trust everything will be fine. It’s the smart move.”
“Sure, but will I be able to convince anyone I mean it?”
“You will, because you have to. You don’t have a choice.”
“Do you know how tired I am of not having a choice?”
Coming from anybody else, I might think she was exaggerating, trying to get my sympathy. That’s not my little filly. If anything, she takes on too much without asking for help.
I already failed her once by turning my back when all she needed was somebody who gave a shit. I won’t do it again. She’ll never be alone again.
Though I’m not being totally honest with her. Sure, she needs to put up a front, but I have things I need to do, too. I need to have a conversation with one of my brothers, and I can’t do it with Saint hanging around.
She rolls over to face me. I can’t stand to see so much confusion and doubt on her face. “I’m tired of everything I have to do. I’m tired of being scared. I’m so damn tired.”
Stroking soft hair away from her forehead, I whisper, “I understand that.”
There’s a sadness in her smile. “I know you do.”
I could drown in her eyes. She closes them when I drag the backs of my fingers over her cheek, then practically purrs like a kitten. “Are you sure we can’t just stay here?”
She has no idea how tempted I am.
Allie: Grabbing brunch first, then going shopping. Wish me luck.
Spending some time with Saint should help her feel more like herself. That doesn’t mean she’s okay.