Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 47525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
“I’m thinking we should hold off until after the storm,” Sheldon replies.
“That’s fine with me, too.” I shut my folder.
I try to redirect the group to go over the session findings, but I notice them not-so-subtly packing up their things.
I offer to make pasta. I even joke about cracking open some beers while we wait out the worst of it, but they’re itching to leave.
As the thunder growls louder, my mind flicks to Sadie. I hope she’s wearing her headphones. I hope she’s tuning all of this out.
Another bolt of lightning rips through the sky like a strobe light, and the clouds keep sinking lower—thick and bruised, like they’re threatening to drop a funnel cloud any minute.
“Okay, that’s it.” Robin calls out as the lights flicker once, then again. “Everyone, let’s go. We’ll head down in my van.”
“Let me call the lead guard,” I say. “I need to ask how we’re supposed to handle transporting Sadie.”
“We don’t transport her at all.” She furrows her brow. “You know that. She has to stay here.”
“By herself?”
“Uh, yeah.” Robin brushes past me as Sheldon picks up his bag.
“We don’t have permission to move inmates, no matter how bad it gets.” He shrugs. “It’s not your job to risk your own life to save hers.”
“I’m leaving!” Robin yells from the front door, just as the rain slams harder against the cabin. “Let’s fucking go!”
Sheldon gives me one last pleading look before following her out.
I stand at the window and watch their headlights flash, then disappear down the winding road.
I triple-lock every entrance under the eyes of the cabin’s cameras, but then the power goes out.
Several seconds pass in the darkness, without the electricity returning, so I immediately search for Sadie.
She’s in the tub, curled beneath a blanket, my headphones snug over her ears. Water clings to her skin in delicate beads, glistening under the flickering bathroom light. The storm outside rages louder now, wind howling against the glass, thunder rolling like distant artillery. But she’s still. Quiet. Her chest rises slowly, her breaths shallow and measured—like she’s trying not to exist too loudly.
I kneel beside the tub, reaching for the blanket that’s pulled up to her chin. My fingertips graze the soft fabric, then the delicate slope of her shoulder.
She doesn’t flinch.
I trace a line from her collarbone to her wrist and take her hand. She grips mine like it’s the only real thing left in the world.
And with the cameras completely shut down—I pull her with me.
I help her out of the tub, wrapping the blanket tightly around her soaked body. I towel her hair gently, then press a kiss to her temple. Another to her jaw. Another just below her ear, where she shudders beneath me.
I walk her across the cabin, through the low-lit hallway and into my suite. The lights flicker above us, casting shadows that move like ghosts. I close the door behind us, lock it, and let the silence deepen. The storm becomes the only soundtrack—rain hammering the windows, thunder cracking above.
I lay her down on my bed like something sacred.
She reaches for me the second her head hits the pillow. Her eyes shine, glassy and wide. There’s something desperate in them—something feral and aching.
I don’t ask what she needs.
I give it.
I peel the blanket back inch by inch, revealing soft skin still damp with heat. I slide her panties down her legs and toss them aside. Then I lower my mouth to her thigh, kissing my way up with slow, reverent care. Her hips arch off the mattress when I reach the spot between her legs.
She gasps my name—whispers it like a prayer.
I kiss her deeply, hungrily, savoring the way she melts for me. Then I pull myself up over her, positioning myself between her thighs, and I still.
Her eyes lock on mine.
A silent question.
A silent yes.
I enter her slowly—inch by torturous inch. Her hands fly to my back, her nails digging in as her body arches up to meet mine. I move with her in sync, in rhythm with the storm, each thrust paced to the crash of thunder, each groan lost in the rain.
I kiss her through it all.
Her mouth.
Her jaw.
Her throat.
The soft, tender curve between her breasts.
Her pulse.
She wraps her legs around my waist and tilts her hips to take me deeper. I roll us over, letting her straddle me. Her hair falls in wild waves as she moves, eyes closed, breath caught in her throat. Lightning bursts across the ceiling. The lights blink out completely.
We fuck in darkness and fire.
She grinds harder, rides me faster, breaking apart over and over in my arms. She collapses against my chest, breathless, trembling. I flip her beneath me again and take her harder this time—rougher, deeper, needier—because I need to feel her give in. I need to feel her stay.