Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
It was hard to be mad at someone who only wanted what was best for the woman you were in love with.
When he’d purposefully given lime to Mable knowing she was allergic to it, I couldn’t stand him. But now, seeing both sides of the story, I could relate.
Shade’s methods were wrong, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t agree with protecting Birdee at all costs.
“What is it?”
“I saw your stepdad leaving today. He stopped by the diner to get food. He was headed out of town, apparently for good. I overheard him talking to Ovina.”
“Whoa,” she said. “Where was he going?”
“He got a job in Florida,” Shade said. “I heard him telling Ovina all about the job, and his plans. He got like eight grand for moving fees, and bugged out. He said he’d never be back. Told Ovina to have a nice life.”
“Whoa,” she breathed.
“Anyway, thought you’d want to know. Go back to sleep. Also, call me so I know you’re alive. You know I hate driving in the snow.”
I chuckled as Shade hung up without a goodbye.
“Shade means well, I promise,” she said quietly.
I tucked a loose lock of curly hair behind Birdee’s ear and said, “You ready to talk to me?”
She flushed. “Yeah.”
I pressed both of my palms down onto her hips before saying, “I love you.”
Her mouth fell open in an O as she stared at me.
“I’ve known for a while, really. I wasn’t upset with you, really, once I understood about my sister,” I said. “After putting the puzzle pieces together, I knew you meant well. I knew that you only wanted what you didn’t have. And again, you’ll never know how sorry I am for how I acted. It was out of fear, really. But like my sister said, I need to start letting her make her own decisions. She’s an adult. I shouldn’t have kept the news of my being alive from her and I definitely shouldn’t have reacted the way I did with you. I just…I’m stupid, okay? I’m totally stupid. I know we’ve already gone over this but…I can only say that I wasn’t expecting you to mean that much to me. I wasn’t expecting you to go above and beyond.”
“I love you, too, you know,” she whispered. “I don’t know when I realized it. Probably the day that you came breaking into my home. Your words were like a shot to the heart, and it wasn’t until Charleigh asked me the next day if I was in love with you that I realized why your words hurt so much.”
Again, the shame hit me like a brick to the face.
“I’ll never act like that again,” I promised her. “From now on, I’ll be even-tempered and I’ll never take it out on you.”
“I kind of like you being wild,” she pointed out. “I don’t want you hiding who you are from me. If I piss you off, tell me. Because I have no relationships to work off of here. I’m a virgin, for Christ’s sake. I’m going to mess up.”
“I’m not any better relationship-wise,” I pointed out. “I was in jail for the better part of my adult life. I had no chance to experience anything relationship-wise. Loving my sister doesn’t compare to how I feel about you.”
“You make me want things,” she said as she leaned forward, making her intent known.
Her lips were an inch from mine when nerves started to swarm my stomach.
Our first kiss.
Gentle.
Be fucking gentle!
I breathed a shaky breath as her lips met my own.
The hint of surprise was short-lived, and then I took control, cupping the back of her head with both of my hands so she couldn’t pull away.
Then I was leaning hard into the kiss, my tongue slipping past her lips as I tasted her.
“Jesus Christ,” I growled, pulling away with a rumble of incoherent words. “You make me want things…”
“Take them.”
“Birdee…
“Please,” she begged. “I’m okay.”
“But you weren’t okay just a few days ago,” I pointed out. “And the doctor explicitly said no sex.”
Because that was exactly where this was going, we both knew it.
“You’re fully capable of taking care of me,” she challenged me.
She had a point.
“I can be oh, so gentle,” I breathed.
Birdee shivered at my words. “How gentle?”
“So. Gentle.”
She leaned backward. “Take your shirt off.”
I did her one better.
I took my shirt and my jacket off, leaving me bare chested on the couch.
Her eyes took in every inch of me, from the breadth of my shoulders to the smattering of hair that led down to my cock.
“Oh,” she breathed, her hand attached to her good arm sifting through the hair on my chest. “You’re very…well defined.”
I snorted. “I had plenty of time to work out while in prison.”
She smirked. “Well, I can’t say that it isn’t appreciated.”
She slowly started to undo the buttons of her shirt with one hand, and I stayed there, frozen, as I watched her struggle.