Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Her lips part on a shaky exhale as her chest rises. The desire she’s trying so damn hard to bury, flares in her eyes, breaking through the surface like a spark catching flame.
Her pulse flutters beneath my fingertips where I hold her wrists as her gaze stays locked on mine. It’s wide, filled with something raw and unspoken.
It’s so damn tempting to kiss her.
Hell, I’d like nothing more than to devour her in one tasty bite.
Instead of giving in to temptation, I hold still and inhale her sweet scent, letting her feel the power in this moment and know that it belongs to her.
I’m not here to take.
I’m here to give her the choice.
The permission to decide.
When she doesn’t pull away, I dip my head close enough to taste the air between us and feel the hunger clawing at my ribs.
“You better be careful, sweetheart.” My voice is low and rough as it frays the edges of my restraint. “Keep talking like that, and I won’t be able to control myself.”
She swallows hard as a shiver courses through her and her legs shift restlessly beneath me. There’s a war being waged in her eyes. She’s unsure if she wants to surrender or escape.
Should she give in to the want or cling to self-preservation?
God, I want this woman.
Not just tonight.
Or for now.
I want her forever.
My gaze dips to her mouth. The slight tremble of her lower lip and the subtle invitation written across her expression calls to something primal deep inside me.
Even when her lips part and her eyes darken with desire, I don’t move.
Callie isn’t a distraction, a temporary fix, or a one-night escape from reality. She’s the future I didn’t know I was missing until the moment she walked into my life.
The sad truth is that she’s not ready yet.
Not in the way I need her to be.
Not for what I’m offering.
I want more than just her body pressed beneath mine.
I want her trust.
Her truth.
Her heart.
Every scar.
Every shadow.
All the pieces she never lets anyone see.
Already, I realize that if I push now and take more than she’s ready to give, I could lose it all.
So, I do the only thing I can, and force myself to retreat.
My fingers loosen from around her wrists, the contact slipping away even though every part of me protests. I sit back slowly, putting space between us, even when it feels like I’m ripping out a piece of myself to do it.
The silence stretches as I watch her closely. It would be impossible not to notice the way her expression shifts. How she processes what didn’t happen.
Even though it’s only been a few days, I’m getting better at reading her.
Disappointment flashes in her eyes before she can hide it. And that nearly undoes me on the spot. I could have kissed her and given her what we both wanted. Confusion settles in next. She doesn’t understand why I stopped or what it means.
And finally, the one that confirms I made the right call.
A burst of relief that’s small and fleeting, like it was caught inside for too long.
When I reach up and gently brush the backs of my knuckles along her cheek, she leans into my touch before she can think better of it.
It’s instinct.
The beginning of trust.
And it’s everything.
“Get some sleep, Callie.” My voice is rough with everything I’m fighting to keep locked up.
Like how I’d burn the world down to make her feel safe.
How I’d wait a lifetime if that’s what she needed from me.
How she already owns my heart and doesn’t even realize it yet.
Before she can respond or I can change my mind and give in to the gravitational pull between us, I rise to my feet. Every muscle screams in protest as I circle to the other side of the bed. The mattress dips beneath my weight as I lie beside her, careful to leave a sliver of space between us.
Not because I want the distance.
But because she needs it.
Getting impatient and rushing her now would be the quickest way to lose her.
The room falls into silence. It’s the kind that buzzes with everything that hasn’t been said.
It’s the kind that holds its breath and waits.
I stare up at the ceiling, all the while steadying the storm inside me and trying to forget the way her skin felt against my hands. The way she looked at me like I could be something more than the man she thought I was.
Like maybe I could be the one she lets in.
Beside me, the sheets rustle.
A small shift, then another, and I know she’s turned to face me.
I don’t move.
I wait as a long moment stretches between us and then her chest begins to rise and fall in a slower rhythm, the tension in the room easing with each passing second.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Steady and trusting.