Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Woman plastered to me as I kept her bound.
Her pulse fluttered like hummingbird wings against my palm.
Frantic and wild.
As wild as her eyes that met mine in the mirror.
My voice was hoarse as I offered her a piece of myself that I shouldn’t.
“And all those secrets are exactly why you should come to me.”
A tremor rocked down her spine. “I think you’re giving me every reason why I should stay away from you.”
My lips ran the length of her neck. “Is that what you want, Piper? You want to stay away from me?”
A heavy rush of air gushed from her lungs. “I should.”
“But you want this, don’t you?”
Didn’t even know what the fuck I was saying.
This woman winding her way into all the places I couldn’t allow.
“I want this. While I’m here.” It was tremulous, though I could tell what she was trying to insinuate.
This thing could only be temporary.
“And how long is that going to be?”
I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t want to beg her to stay.
I knew I couldn’t make good on the promises that wanted to spill from my mouth.
My footing quickly slipping.
But I could be here for her while she was. Show her what it was like to be cherished. Show her that she deserved to be adored.
Maybe hunt down the motherfucker who hurt her and wipe his stain from the earth so she didn’t ever have to think of him again.
She breathed out a labored sigh, and she barely shook her head, the scent of cherry filling my senses as her hair brushed across my chest. “I don’t know. I get…antsy if I stay in one place for too long. But Nelly has been begging me to find a place for us to stay. And I know she’s right. Somehow, I need to find a way to give Finn a good life. A home. Security. But I’m not sure I can ever give it to him.”
No question, whatever she was running from wasn’t so far in the distance. Wasn’t relegated to the past.
I ran my nose along the angle of her jaw. “And what could I do to convince you to make it permanent? To give him that here?”
Clearly, I didn’t know how to stop the betrayals from dropping from my mouth.
Not when this goddess was standing in front of me like this.
“I don’t think we’re talking in permanents, Theo Mallin.” It was soft and wistful and tinged in regret.
“Think you’re forgetting that you have me.”
Except she couldn’t.
Not completely.
Still, I pressed, “I could help you make that happen. Make this place your home.”
“You think I don’t see those ghosts in your eyes?” she whispered. “You think I can’t tell you have your own mess you’re dealing with?”
Unease wound through my being. A clash of greed and restraint and a clattering of the chains that forever kept me trapped.
“Maybe that’s the one thing I could give you. Safety.”
She wavered for a moment before a coy grin tweaked at the edge of her seductive mouth.
“I don’t know, I kind of like the orgasms, if I’m being honest.”
No question, the words were delivered as a distraction.
Our conversation was getting too deep. Our spirits becoming too attached when it was clear neither of us were in the position to fall. The hand I had on her neck slipped downward, smoothing over her chest and between her tits until both my hands were splayed across her trembling belly.
“That what you need from me, Little Liar? Orgasms?”
“I guess I wouldn’t mind so much.” It was a shivery tease.
“And here I thought I was a sure one-star?”
She bit down on her bottom lip. “Well, that review might need to be amended.”
“Guess I’ll have to whip up a package deal that is too good to pass by. Quaint cabin in the woods. Amenities included…orgasms for your entire stay.”
A quiver rolled through her. “Is that package offered to all the guests?”
“Nah, baby. Limited time offer for the stunning woman staying in Unit B.”
A bit of the easiness pilfered out of her, and her words turned wispy. “I’m afraid if I give myself to you, then I’m never going to get that piece of myself back.”
“No sex. Just all the orgasms you can handle in every other way.”
My dick thrashed in protest.
But it was for the best.
Because I was pretty sure if I had her that way, I’d never let her go.
And I couldn’t keep her.
“I’m not sure how to handle any of you.”
A smirk pulled to my mouth, and I hugged her closer, loving the heat of her bare flesh against mine.
This connection that thrummed and glowed and pulsed.
Something that didn’t feel so superficial.
Something I had never felt.
Not once in my fuckin’ life.
That old voice whispered in the periphery of my mind. Where she would forever haunt me. A reminder of who I was. Your black heart is too sick and twisted and selfish to love, and you’re never going to know what that really means.