Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” I say gently.
“I am,” she exhales slowly. “But not tonight. Tonight, I just want to feel safe and normal—right here in your arms.” Something in me aches at that. I don’t know what happened to her, but I’ll be damned if I let her feel anything but safe with me.
“Have you always lived in Cherokee?” I ask, trying to shift the weight of the conversation to something less intrusive.
“When Dad got sick,” she says, “I convinced my brother to let me take care of him.”
“You had to convince your brother to do that?” I frown.
Her body tenses. “My brother’s not a good person, Blade. He hates me. Dad, he tolerates—but barely.”
“Sounds like a piece of work.”
She gives a short laugh with no humor. “You have no idea.”
“My old man was an abusive asshole,” I tell her quietly. “Haven’t seen him for more years than I can count. If there’s such a thing as karma, he’s dead and burning in hell.” She’s quiet and I worry I’ve said too much.
“I’m sorry, Usdi. I didn’t mean to get dark on you. I just—I don’t want you to think I’m the kind of man who hurts people. Especially not the ones who trust me. I just think that a man who would willingly hurt someone weaker than he is deserves to be put down like a rabid dog—especially when it’s clear they enjoy every minute of it.”
She rolls onto her back, eyes meeting mine. “Will you stop being so amazing? You’re making it very hard to resist this pull I feel toward you.”
“Livy,” I murmur, brushing a strand of hair from her face, “I don’t want you to fight it.”
“This is a bad idea, Blade.”
“I think it’s the best damn idea I’ve had in a long time,” I counter. That makes her laugh again, and I can’t help smiling back. “I really want to kiss you,” I admit.
“I really want you to,” she whispers, “but I don’t think you should.”
“You think too much,” I murmur—and then I kiss her.
Her lips are soft, warm, tasting faintly of chocolate from the dessert we had for dinner. The world goes still, the only thing real is her mouth under mine. The little sound she makes when my hand slides to the back of her neck wraps around my cock. Fuck, I could drown in her. The kiss quickly turns from mild to hot as hell. Her fingers move under my shirt as I deepen the kiss. Her nails press into my skin, adding a delightful sting to the fire her sweet tongue sliding against mine is already stoking.
“Blade,” she gasps as I move my lips down her jawline and to her neck. I rake my teeth against the tender flesh of her neck, nibbling on the area where her pulse is pounding. “Oh, God,” she whimpers.
I bring my hand under her shirt, letting my finger swipe against her nipple, kissing my way back to the shell of her ear. “I want you so fucking much, Livy,” I croon, as I use my fingers to pinch and pull her nipple.
“I don’t think …”
“It’s okay, Usdi. I’m not going to push you for more tonight. Anything that happens between us will be at your speed. I promise.”
Her hand comes up to cup the side of my face and her beautiful blue eyes capture mine. “I have some scars from the past. I don’t really want to talk about them right now, but I need time,” she says, pain present in her gaze that I don’t like. I want to demand she tell me what’s going on, but I know that’s not what she needs.
I shove down my hunger for her and slowly pull back, breathing hard. “Then we’ll keep going slow. Just one thing, though. I need you to tell me that I can see you tomorrow.”
“Please come see me tomorrow, Blade,” she says, smiling against my chest.
“Do you have plans?”
“I usually go grocery shopping, but I can go early if you want to come over,” she answers, and I like that she seems eager to spend the day with me.
“What time do you go grocery shopping?”
“Late morning.”
“Then I’ll come early and take you,” I respond. “We’ll get your shopping done, then we’ll grab dinner for the three of us.”
Her eyes brighten. “How about I cook after shopping?”
“I don’t want you to work on your day off, Livy.”
She shakes her head. “Cooking isn’t work. It makes me happy.”
I study her face, the little confident tilt of her chin. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
I give her another deep kiss—just much slower this time. She whimpers into my mouth. Fuck, I’m definitely getting addicted to this woman. Her body melts against me before I force myself to stop, resting my forehead against hers. “If we don’t stop Livy, I won’t be leaving. I need you too much.”