Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“They’re dead, so their opinions don’t really count,” Corvus tells me and rests his head on my chest, one hand sliding into my hair as he listens to my heartbeat. “You’re always sweet to me.”
I take a deep breath of his spicy cologne and kiss his head before pulling him along. “Come on then, let me be sweet to you.”
Chapter 30
Corvus
Dalton’s place is a dump. The only time I ever visit apartments like this is to capture or question some lowlife down on his luck, but this… this bachelor pad from hell is where Dalton spent last night.
The trash scattered over counters doesn’t feel like messiness but rather like a naturally-occurring sediment, sand brought in by the tide. As if a place this run-down couldn’t possibly exist without a pile of empty pizza boxes in the corner, or the tiny shower stall tucked by the kitchenette.
In the bitterly cold apartment, the king-sized mattress resting on the bare floor looks almost inviting. It is one of those places a man might leave utterly wrecked, then roll off onto the floor, cover himself with a garment from the pile right next to the bed, and then proceed to his walk of shame. A place for the fuck of a lifetime you’d tell no one about.
We could continue our conversation someplace more comfortable, but I don’t want to let go of his hand or wait twenty minutes until I get to feel his skin against mine. I want to be with him, and it doesn’t matter where.
“I missed you,” I tell him, pushing one hand under his T-shirt. He’s mine. The ring on his finger tells me so, and I’ll make sure he always feels worthy of me.
Dalton gives me a soft kiss. “I wanna tease you that it’s only been a day, but I really had a rough time. It feels like someone took a scalpel and cut you away from me.” He hastily adjusts the comforter before we sit on it. “I’m sorry, it’s so messy. I just didn’t think… Dad did always tell me I’m only good at fighting. Exes did say I’m a good lay, but no one’s ever mentioned cleaning, I’m afraid.”
The apologetic smile he offers does something to my chest, and I pull him close to kiss his lips. “Stop apologizing. Your exes don’t matter anymore, and neither does anything they had to say. And don’t even start me on your bastard father,” I add, because that man sickens me so deeply I would have gladly played with him in my dungeon, if he wasn’t already dead.
The relationship I had with my own father was difficult and strained, but he cared for me more than he cared for his own life. Dalton didn’t have that, but if he lets me, I will show him there’s so much more to him than he’s been taught.
Emotion wells up inside me, until I’m too confused to dress it up in adequate words. But he’s still watching me, waiting, so I blurt out, “I just want you back with me, so I can feel again.”
Dalton’s eyes soften and he pulls my legs over his lap. “Oh yeah? How do I make you feel?”
I stall, air trapped at the back of my throat as he peels back the layers I use for protection and sees the real me underneath. He’s always been so understanding, never judged me for the things I like in bed, never told anyone. With him… I feel safe.
“You make me feel like I deserve more than the life everyone expects of me. I’ve always been ashamed of my secret, the secret that killed my father,” I whisper, playing with his fingers. “But you always just took me the way I am, and never teased me.”
There’s such comfort and safety in his touch, so when he pulls me closer, I yield without question. “Because the real you is the man I fell for.” He kisses my cheek, his skin and hair soaked with the familiar notes of cigarette smoke and the perfume I composed for him while I was still in denial about my feelings. He must have used it today, even though we parted in such a bitter way. “I love it when you lose yourself.”
My heart flutters, as if I am that dumb teenager again, ready to have the tiniest sample of what love might feel like, but this time I’m not in danger. He’s not here to hunt me down. Dalton cares for me and offers me so much more than just the fleeting taste of lust masquerading as affection. I open my mouth to tell him he has my trust when my gaze strays to a shining bit of metal resting on the floor by the mattress.
Handcuffs. And not the flimsy sex shop kind with pink fur.