Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Yet.
“Are you hungry?” I ask.
She smiles as I take her hand. “Sure. Thank you.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Dakota
“I love what you’ve done with the place,” I sarcastically say as I walk into the open-plan living room.
The apartment is large and high-end, but clearly, he hasn’t had a chance to properly furnish it yet.
The open-plan kitchen is shiny and seems stocked with cooking tools, but the rest of the apartment is empty. There’s a couch in the living room and presumably a bed in the bedroom – my whole being tingles at that thought – but not much else.
He chuckles, strolling over to the kitchen. My gaze snaps to his broad back, making the fabric of his shirt taut from shoulder to shoulder.
He’s got his sleeves rolled up, displaying those corded forearms.
My palm feels tickly, as though missing the feeling of him, his massively muscular chest.
His silver hair catches the electric light as he starts stirring the sauce, his back to me. I study it, feeling a warm glowing nugget of affection swell inside of me, expand more and more until I’m downright bursting with it.
It’s how natural this feels, how perfectly matched to our future life. He’s in the kitchen, casually cooking, and I’m here, in his home. The only difference is, in the future, it’ll be our home. But the casualness of it is what gets me.
I almost tell him now.
Things are more complicated than you think. I want you for life.
Does he just want me for sex, then we’re done?
I haven’t asked Anna’s advice about it. She’s still busy on her trip.
I’m flying solo.
“Would you like a drink?” he asks, turning to face me.
Our text messages flash across my mind whenever he looks at me. Random snippets return to me.
…going to strip you down and take my time, Danielle, massaging you all over, making your pussy BURN before I give you what you need…
…suck your nipples until you’re crazy with desire…
…hold you tightly as I drive up inside you, harder and quicker each thrust, until you’ve got no choice but to cream for me…
“Danielle?”
I clear my throat, doing my best to push all that way. “Sure. Water’s fine. Also, you still haven’t answered my question.”
He laughs as he opens a cupboard and takes down two glasses. “That’s right. What was it?”
I giggle. “I asked what’s for dinner.”
“Oh. It’s a simple, tasty chicken in sauce with some potatoes and vegetables on the side. I learned to make the sauce in England.”
“That sounds great.”
I smile, reaching forward as he hands me the glass of water. Our fingertips brush, and fresh electricity sparks up my arm, into my body, trying to make me kiss him again, to do other things – the stuff we’ve only ever texted about.
Snatching my hand away far too quickly – I’m scared of acting on these impulses – I greedily sip the water. Anything to cool me down right now. Every time we kiss, it feels like we’re on the verge of taking the next step.
Should I tell him?
I keep wondering if I should reveal the truth.
Will it make him want me more or less?
“I know this is strange,” he says, watching me across the kitchen island.
“What part?” I laugh dully.
“The whole thing. Me and you. You said you had a crush on me, so I guess it’s doubly strange for you. Maybe it all seems like a dream?”
“Yeah,” I say, wanting to pathetically sing because he can read me so well. “It’s completely unbelievable, but it also feels….”
Careful, I warn myself, trailing off.
He leans forward on the island, staring steadily at me. There’s something so inviting about his gaze. It’s like, as the object of his attention, I never have to doubt, worry, or wonder.
I can see it. Right there. All our affection and lust and…and the future brimming between us.
“What?” he urges.
“Sort of normal, as well?” I reply, phrasing it as a question as if that will somehow disarm it. “On the one hand, I keep expecting to wake up. But then it’s like we’ve kissed before. Been together before. I’m not saying it doesn’t feel exciting, you know, just new.”
“I know what you mean,” he says deeply, walking around the island.
“You do?”
He nods as he walks right up to me, causing me to crane my neck so I can meet his eyes. He’s so tall, a fact which strikes me all the harder every time I stand beneath him.
He’s big, strong, and ready to defend our family forever.
“I feel the same,” he says, taking my hands in his, and I can’t help but imagine we’re standing beneath an altar. “Kissing you, even texting with you, it has all the excitement of something new. But it feels familiar too. Like it was, hell, I don’t know….”
Now it’s my turn to urge him. I don’t think about it, just reach up and grab onto his arms, squeezing them.