Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 119476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 597(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 597(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
“I…” she starts, but nothing follows.
My chest grows tight as disappointment swells inside of me. I pushed for too much, too soon. But that is on me, not her, and I need to make sure she knows that.
“Hey, it’s okay.” I let my hand drop from her cheek, curling my fingers inward to keep from reaching for her again. “Nothing has to change, Nora. You’re still welcome here, and you’re certainly still wanted here. This arrangement isn’t dependent on you being with me. No matter how things turn out, this will always be your home, do you hear me?”
“What?” She blinks up at me, confusion swirling in her hazel eyes. “I don’t understand.”
Clearly I’m doing a shit job of explaining myself. “What I’m trying to say is—if you want me, I’m yours. Hell, I think I’m yours either way. But whether or not you feel the same doesn’t change your status here. This is your home, too, Nora, no matter what.”
“You’re mine?” she asks.
Something about the way she says those two words has hope popping off inside of me like bottle rockets on the Fourth of July.
“Yeah, Pip. I’m yours.”
“Good.” She launches herself at me, looping her arms around my neck as she all but tackles me to the floor. “Because I’m yours, too, Atlas Wallace. Every single part of me.”
“You mean that?” I ask, skimming my nose over hers.
“Yeah.” She nods before ghosting her lips over mine. “I mean it.”
And then, she’s kissing me.
Her warm lips dance over mine before she boldly licks her way into my mouth. I groan as our tongues slide together, happy to sit back and let her take the lead.
Because I know—for now, at least—that’s what she needs. Control makes Nora feel secure, and I always want to be a safe space for her, especially when we’re intimate.
She tunnels her fingers into my hair, tugging me closer as she sucks on my lower lip. The motion puts her center right over mine, and I know from her sharp gasp that she feels the steel rod that is currently my dick.
“Shh, it’s fine,” I murmur against her lips. “Just ignore it.”
Nora flicks her tongue against mine and then rolls her hips. “What if I don’t want to?”
With a willpower I didn’t know I possessed, I grip Nora’s hips and still her movements. “Talk to me, Pip. Check in. Where’s your head?”
Her kiss-swollen lips turn down in the most adorable pout as she glares down at me. Once she sees I’m not budging, she plants one hand on my chest and pushes herself into an upright position.
I groan at the pressure, but we both ignore it.
“This is weird,” she mumbles under her breath before clearing her throat and addressing me. “I like the way you make me feel—you’re the perfect mix of gentle and assertive. You’re always aware of what I need, even before I am sometimes. I feel safe with you, like I can explore the things you make me feel…”
“And how do I make you feel?” I ask, my heart nearly thumping out of my chest as I wait for her reply.
“Protected. Cherished. Desired. Powerful.” She licks her lips before giving me a wicked grin and rolling her hips again.
“Nora,” I groan, wanting nothing more than to thrust against her, to show her exactly how powerful she truly is. “You’re all of those things, and so much more.”
She rolls off of me so she’s sitting on the floor beside me. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you ignored my question.” Her tone is teasing, and everything in me aches to sit up and kiss her smiling lips.
It takes me a few seconds to realize she said something—my body is too busy mourning the loss of her heat to fully focus. “I’m sorry, say that again?” I ask, reaching down to rearrange myself.
Nora giggles and repeats her question. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“Oh, uh.” I didn’t plan on telling her my plans while flat on my back with a raging erection, but here we are. “I took some time off, figured we could work on a nursery for the jellybean and—”
That’s all the explanation I manage before Nora’s back on top of me, kissing the hell out of me, instantly reigniting my need for her.
“You’re so good to me.” She speaks the words against my mouth before teasing the seam of my lips with her tongue.
I open for her instantly, greedily swallowing her small moans as our bodies move together. “Fuck, Nora, I—” I suck her lower lip into my mouth before my next two words can escape.
Jesus, Atlas. It’s way too soon for that.
“You what?” she asks, breaking our kiss, panting.
“I want you.” Same number of words, same number of letters, but only half the truth.
Because I do want her—but not just her body, I want her heart, her mind, her laughs, her smiles, her dreams. Hell, I want her whole ass her future. All of it, every single thing she has to offer. I want it all.