Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Military habit, or Boyd habit?”
He pauses, his lips pressing together and his coffee-brown eyes glancing to the side for a second. “Both.”
I pick up a wrench, careful to remember its spot. “You’ve been avoiding me again.”
Boyd freezes. “I’ve been giving you space.”
“That isn’t the same thing,” I say gently as I slot the wrench back into its spot.
Silence fills the space between us, charged with a restless energy.
He puts his tools down with care and gets to his feet, raking his fingers through his unruly hair like he’s trying to reset himself. “You’re with Atlas.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not interested in competing with him.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
He finally looks at me then. It’s a long look. “Kira—”
“I care about Andrew. And I care about you,” I say. “Silas, too.” I let out a breath. “It seems complicated, but I’m not choosing one of you over the other.”
He drags a hand over his face, looking tortured. “I don’t know if I can share you.”
“I know.” I take a step closer anyway. “I’m prepared for whatever you decide, but I can’t keep wondering, and I don’t like you keeping your distance from everyone.”
Things go quiet, and I focus on his tools to give him time.
“I want you,” he says finally, his voice hoarse. “But I’ve only ever known how to be all in … or all out.”
“There’s no need to hold back,” I say. Very gently, very lightly, I rest my hand on his chest, right over one of the pockets on his soft plaid shirt. He’s warm and hard with muscle. “What if all in looks different this time?”
His jaw works as he considers that.
“I want to be with you,” I say softly. “But I don’t want you to betray yourself to be with me.”
With the intention of giving him a little more time and hoping we’ll talk about this again soon, I turn to leave.
He catches my wrist.
“Kira—”
His hand is warm and calloused, and like the alignment of his tools, his touch tells me more than his words.
“I don’t want you to walk away,” he says. “And if the only way to have you is to make room … then I’ll learn how.”
Relief and desire collide inside me, one rising up like hope, the other sinking lower, heavy in my belly.
When I turn back to him, he pulls me against him, circling his strong arms around me and pressing me into his chest. The kiss that follows is nothing like the first or the second. No hesitation, no restraint. Instead, there’s certainty, heat, joy threaded with awe.
He takes ownership of my hips and tugs me closer, until there’s not even a molecule of space between us. His mouth claims mine, over and over, as he cups the back of my head with his big hand, making me feel tiny and secure and … needed.
Tightly coiled desire unspools rapidly as our mouths collide.
“Kira …” He mutters my name like a prayer or an oath, and the coarseness in his voice ignites fires all through my body.
“Boyd.” Being kissed by him, without reservation, is everything I imagined and more. Every slide of his tongue and every touch of his hands is purposeful, tender, and filled with passion and need.
Nothing else exists but him and me. Our breath grows ragged, our hearts beat ever faster, and our hands are desperate to find their way under each other’s clothing.
When he pushes my coat off my shoulders and his mouth goes to my neck, my head falls back, and I gasp. Heat floods my core with each scrape of his beard on my skin. His teeth press in below my collarbone, and I find a path in under the back of his shirt and grab handfuls of hard muscle.
“Boyd.”
His eyes meet mine, soft, but darker than they’ve ever been, and he instantly reads everything I’m not saying. He scoops me up, carrying me like I weigh as much as a basket of feathers, and easily grabs a bulky blanket from a nearby shelf with his free hand.
These men really are prepared for anything.
Still cradling me in his arms, he spreads the blanket on the workshop floor, then brings me down to lie next to him. He rests my head on his bicep and wraps his other arm around me, pulling me into another kiss.
He slides lower along my body, fitting a hand under my sweater before he pauses. “Is this okay? Are you comfortable?” He glances at the blanket, indicating the hard floor beneath.
I nod quickly as I reach for his face, not sure I’ll be able to get enough of him. “I want you, Boyd.” I stroke my hands over his cheeks when we pause for a breath. “I need you.”
“Kira.” There’s fire in his kiss as he aligns his body over mine, pressing down just enough to let me know how much he wants me, too.