Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
He strokes my hair. “She helped you. That’s what’s important.”
“She saved my life. She got me a roof over my head, gave me a chance to finish school. I graduated early and went to work for a PI friend of hers. She’s the reason I survived and why I use my abilities to solve crimes. And then I stopped speaking to her because I didn’t think I could let her in. I can’t get close to anyone.” I pull away from Rex, scrambling back on the bed. Rex reaches for me, but I avoid his touch. “Everyone I’ve ever loved has died. Being close to me is a death sentence, and it is absolute.”
* * *
Rex
* * *
She stares at me so solemnly. The tear tracks under her eyes glitter.
This is it. She’s confessing everything now. She’s giving me everything, even though she’s afraid. She’s trying to scare me off, but one thing I heard rises above the rest.
I grip her hair in my fist, squeezing but not pulling. “Are you saying you love me?”
She doesn’t have to say it. The way she’s looking at me. . . I know.
“Little bird—”
“We can’t be together. It’s impossible.”
“You think that will stop me?” I lean in. “There is nothing that will keep me from possessing you.”
“It’s been so hard, going through life alone.”
“I know.” I draw her into my arms. She pushes against my chest, but not hard enough to keep me from hugging her close. “I was so lonely until I found you.”
She hides her face against my shoulder. “I can’t have this,” she whispers.
I cup the back of her head, unwilling to let her pull away. “You’re so afraid. Give your fears to me.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
“Oh, but I do. I’ve been waiting all my life for you. You are everything to me.”
“Rex, are you hearing me?” She digs her nails into my biceps, but the bite of pain only makes my cock harden. Maybe I like it to hurt a little, too. “It’s not safe for you to be with me. Everyone who gets close to me dies.”
I draw her head back by her hair, forcing her to face me. “I’m not afraid. If being with you is a death sentence, so be it. I’d rather die than live without you.”
“You don’t mean that.” Her gaze darts between my eyes, her breath coming in pants like she’s ready to run.
“I do.” I rub my cheek along hers, drawing her focus with a touch. “Will you be with me?” My lips find her ear. “Be with me, Inara.”
A jolt runs through her, and she pushes at me. I don’t give her an inch. I wrap my arms around her, rolling us so she’s under me. “Be with me,” I order because she loves to be a good girl and do what she’s told. “Please?” I add, because I want all of her. I’ve had her reluctance, and now I want her to come to me willingly.
“I’m so scared.”
“I know, my love. I know. But I’m here.”
“What if we don’t get to have good things?” Fear is written on her face, and I feel it like a punch in my gut. We’re both afraid of the same thing—that childhood tragedy will mark our lives forever. When the worst thing that could ever happen to a kid happens to you, how do you believe there’s good in the world?
I squeeze her tighter. If she feels fear, I’ll share it with her. I’ll take the burden gladly. “I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. If I could control it, I would.” I’ve spent many years trying to exert control over every part of my life. I failed, but it doesn’t matter because it led me to her. “But. . . I have you now. And you have me. If all we have is this moment, it would be enough.”
“Rex,” she’s crying now.
“Inara, please.” It’s a special kind of hell watching my wife cry.
“I’m here. I’m with you. Don’t let me go.”
“Never,” I whisper.
Her eyes are wet, pleading. She needs me to keep me with her. Present with me. I set my hand on the back of her neck and clamp down. Nothing focuses the mind more than the threat of a constricted airway. “And when you leave this Earth, I’ll chase you. I’ll follow you into the darkness, and we’ll be together.”
She shudders with a sob. I move my hand around to the front of her throat, collaring her. “You are mine.” I increase the pressure of my fingers and watch her mouth go lax as she calms under my dominating touch.
“Yes,” she whispers. I squeeze her neck tighter and shift my position so I can reach down and plunge the fingers of my free hand into her sex.
Her body bows upward, and her pupils bloom. She’s wet, wetter than I’ve ever known her to be. My fingers are drenched.