Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
"Don't ask," I growl.
He slowly lays his head back down.
I yank the front door open, stomping inside.
"There you are," Deacon says, stopping halfway across the room.
"You're a jerk." I slam the door closed behind me.
"What the fuck, Sunshine?"
"If you wanted me to leave, all you had to do was ask. But I am not a problem, Deacon Cromwell," I growl, stomping toward him to poke him in the chest. "And I am not crazy. If I'm too much for you, it's because you're too small for me."
He grabs for me, but I duck under his arms, too fired up to be easily contained.
"And another thing, you don't get to sleep with me and tell me that I own you and then just decide that you can't live like this and want me out of here," I say, my bottom lip quivering. "If it was just sex to you, you should have just said that to begin with instead of letting me fall in love with you!"
"You're in love with me?"
"I was before I heard you say I'm a problem and you want me dealt with." My voice cracks, a tear slipping down my cheek. "Now, I just want you to take me to town so I can leave. I won't be a problem for you ever again."
"The hell you won't," he growls, grabbing for me again. This time, he manages to get his arms around me. Despite my best efforts, he manages to haul me up against his chest.
"Let me go!" I cry miserably. I don't want to remember what it feels like to be in his arms when I don't get to be in them anymore. I don't want to remember how good he smells when I don't get to smell him anymore.
"Never," he rasps, picking me up off my feet and carting me down the hall like I'm a freaking statue he's trying to move into place. "I will never let you go, Cordelia Shanks."
I choke on a sob, wishing he meant it the way I want him to mean it.
He drags me into his bedroom before tossing me onto the bed. Before I can even think about rolling off the opposite side of the bed, he's on top of me, pinning me beneath him. He yanks my jacket off me and then rips my shirt right down the middle before grabbing my hands and pinning them beside my head.
"You said your piece, now it's my turn, little girl," he growls, a maelstrom raging in his steely eyes again. I try to avoid his gaze, but it sucks me in like always. "You are crazy. You're the best goddamn kind of crazy I've ever met. But you have never and will never be a problem."
"That's not what you said on the phone," I mumble.
"I wasn't talking about you, baby. I was talking about this place. I was talking about the cabins. I can't fucking live another goddamn day knowing you're leaving in a week and I'm supposed to stay here without you," he growls. "It's driving me insane. That's my problem, Sunshine."
"Oh," I whisper, my heart leaping with hope.
"I'm so in love with you I can't think straight. When you leave, I'm going with you so I called Nell to have her find someone to manage the damn cabins. I didn't want to wait a week to tell you. Since today is Valentine's Day, I wanted to tell you today. That's what you heard me talking about, Cordelia."
"You love me?"
"Like crazy."
I sob his name, tears dripping into my hair. "I'm an idiot."
"No, you're a fierce little pixie," he says, releasing my hands to wipe away my tears. "You've been worried about me breaking your heart since you gave yourself to me. I realized that yesterday, Sunshine. I saw the look on your face when I said I never had a reason to leave this place."
"It made me sad," I whisper.
"I know it did. This place brought me comfort when I needed it, but it doesn't provide the same for you. It's not a shelter, but a prison for you. I can't ask you to live like that, Cordelia. You'd be miserable," he says.
"I'd do it for you if it's what you wanted."
"There isn't any version of this world where I want you to sacrifice your well-being for my sake," he says, stroking his fingers along my cheeks. "Being out here doesn't just make you unhappy, it makes you uncomfortable. It frightens you and gives you anxiety. You think I'd let you live like that?" He shakes his head. "Hell no, Sunshine. Taking care of you is my motherfucking mission in life now. I won't ever allow you to be miserable just because you think it'll please me. What kind of husband would I be if I allowed that?"
"Deacon," I wheeze.