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)
And he’s hungry.
Territorial.
Most of all, he belongs to her.
My eyes lock on hers, and for a second, everything else fades away.
It’s just us.
And the ache filling my heart.
Along with the truth I’ve held inside for years.
“I need you to understand exactly what you’re getting yourself into,” I say. “I won’t let you go. Not easily, anyway. Not like he did.”
Her gaze never wavers. “Good.”
Something inside me loosens at her easy acquiescence. It’s like a knot that’s been tied too tight finally gives.
I brush a strand of hair away from her cheek. “And if you end up with a baby in your belly, I’ll put a ring on your finger so damn fast it’ll make your head spin. I’ll be dragging your sexy ass to the altar. No questions asked.”
A smile tugs at her mouth. “And if I say no?”
I groan, teasing her entrance with the tip of my cock, watching her arch into me, as if she needs me as much as I need her. It only takes a stroke or two before a moan slips free from her.
“Are you really gonna say no to the man who worships the very ground you walk on?” I rasp, dragging myself through her softness.
With a gasp, she shakes her head. “No, I wouldn’t. But—”
“There are no buts,” I growl. “Now, are you ready to be fucked the way a man should’ve been fucking you all along?”
Her head tips back as a needy sound spills from her. “God, yes.”
That’s all I need to hear.
Every single part of me screams to claim her pussy. To finally slide into the heat I’ve been dreaming about for years. To make her mine in every way that counts.
I shift forward, cock poised at her drenched entrance, her body open and eager beneath me—
“Hello?” A woman’s voice echoes from down the hall. It’s muffled but unmistakable. “River? Where are you?”
Callie stills beneath me as her eyes fly open.
With a groan, I drop my forehead to hers in defeat. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Who is that?”
“My sister,” I mutter. “Willow.”
We stare at each other for a long beat, her face flushed, chest rising and falling rapidly. I’m still so hard it hurts, and she’s panting.
“River?” The voice comes again, louder this time and much closer.
I curse.
And then, as if by silent agreement, we’re scrambling. Half-laughing and half-panicking as I roll off her and Callie grabs the blanket, yanking it up to cover her bare body.
With a groan, I push off the bed, still rock hard, still tasting her sweetness on my tongue, and shake my head with a rueful grin. “So damn close.”
Callie looks over at me, panting and dazed, her hair a wild halo around her head.
She’s seriously the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
But it’s way more than that.
It’s just her.
Her lips twitch. “Yeah… close.”
As I take one last look at her in my bed, tangled up in my sheets, her lips still parted from all the things we almost did, I know one thing with absolute certainty.
If I wasn’t already in love with her, this would’ve been the moment I fell.
And the truth?
I’m not sure I’ll ever get back up again.
31
Callie
My heart pounds as I stare at my reflection in the mirror and try, for what feels like the hundredth time, to make sense of my life.
I’m about to meet the sister of the man I’m living with.
The one I’m on the verge of sleeping with.
Who I’m not even dating.
Technically.
A few weeks ago, I was drowning, barely able to keep my head above water. The bakery was bleeding me dry, Nora was growing so fast it felt like I couldn’t keep up, and I was surviving on caffeine, adrenaline, and the kind of stubbornness that borders on reckless.
And now I’m here.
With River.
Living in his penthouse.
Even though it still doesn’t feel entirely real, it feels better.
I’m better.
And Nora is most definitely better.
She’s happy and strangely settled.
So maybe that means I’m allowed to want this.
Him.
Us.
Still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to hide out in this bathroom for a few minutes longer. Okay, maybe for the rest of the day. My palms are damp and my stomach is in knots.
What if Willow takes one look at me and sees every one of my flaws?
What if she thinks I’m nothing more than a burden to River?
Or a mistake?
Just some struggling single mom who crashed into her brother’s life, looking to become a WAG.
I straighten my spine.
She might not realize it, but that’s not who I am.
And it’s not who River thinks I am either.
After a quick pep talk, I push open the bathroom door, cross the bedroom, and step into the hallway.
I peek into Nora’s room, surprised to find it empty.
Well, hell.
Looks like I’m on my own.
My pulse spikes as I walk down the hall, toward the voices, and round the corner. I find Nora sitting in the middle of the kitchen, knees bent, hair wild, giggling. Two other kids surround her, building towers with magnetic blocks.