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)
His eyes flutter open. “Callie?”
I lean down and kiss him, savoring every second as his arms circle my waist and draw me closer. A groan vibrates through him as our mouths move together.
His hands skim over my bare skin, awakening every nerve in their path.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, voice hoarse as his lips brush mine.
I press my forehead to his. “Nothing. I just need you.”
His grip on my hips tightens, and the feel of him does the impossible and grounds me in this moment. “You have me.”
His words are gentle and fierce all at once. A life preserver in the dark I can cling to.
I exhale as my fingers curl around the waistband of his boxer briefs. Slowly, I ease them down over the firm lines of his hips, past the powerful cut of his thighs, until he kicks them off.
I shift, letting my body glide against the thick ridge of his cock. The friction is instant, and it sends a thousand shivers racing across my skin.
My spine arches as every nerve ending sparks to life, drawn to the heat of him.
I don’t just want this man.
I need him. Every inch, every part of him pressing into me until there’s nothing left between us.
Nothing in my life has ever felt this right.
Or this real.
Like something I never truly believed I could have but stumbled into when I needed it most.
“Callie,” he groans. “That feels so damn good. You feel so damn good.”
His fingers flex against my hips, digging in just enough to keep the control from slipping through his hands.
Every breath he holds is a silent promise that he’ll never rush me. That this will happen on my terms.
And that only makes me want him more.
I move slowly, teasing him, rocking my hips until I’m soaked and aching, until every part of me throbs with the need to be filled.
To be his.
His jaw clenches, the muscles in his arms trembling with the effort not to rush ahead, but still, his gaze never leaves mine.
He waits patiently.
He’s steady and unshakable.
Instead of demanding, he offers every part of himself.
And when I can’t take another second of space between us, I shift and guide him to my entrance. The thick head of his cock presses against me.
It’s hard, hot, and absolutely perfect.
I lower myself onto him, inch by inch, until he’s buried deep inside me and we’re fully connected.
I release a moan and settle against him, bracing my hands on his chest. He cradles my hips, anchoring me as we move together. And in this quiet hour, wrapped in shadows and everything that’s still unspoken between us, there’s no confusion.
No fear.
No past.
Just this.
Just us.
42
River
The sheets are cool to the touch when I reach for her. My hand drags over the place where she should be, searching for her warmth and curves.
At this point, it’s instinct.
Much like breathing.
But she’s not there.
I sit up quickly, my chest heaving. My heart slams against my ribs as last night rushes back in vivid flashes.
The way Callie climbed on top of me before we started moving as one.
Almost like I was her choice, and it meant something.
And maybe it did.
I glance around at the emptiness that surrounds me.
Then again, maybe it didn’t.
My bare feet hit the floor as I shove a hand through hair that’s still mussed from her fingers tugging at it last night. My body aches in all the best ways, even though my insides feel as if they’ve been carved out.
After throwing on a pair of flannel pants, I rush across the hall to Nora’s room. A month ago, it was a barely used guest room, now it belongs to a two-year-old with golden curls and a smile that melts everything inside me.
My lungs constrict as I quickly scan the space.
Nora’s gone.
Just like I suspected she would be. But everything else is still here. The baby monitor on the dresser. Nora’s fuzzy blanket folded at the foot of the bed. The Railers teddy bear I brought home last week is propped against the pillows. And there’s a pair of tiny sneakers by the closet door.
All of her things are still here.
Relief and confusion roil within me until it’s impossible to ignore.
She didn’t take anything.
Which means that she didn’t leave me.
It’s always possible that she just stepped out with the need for air.
Space and time to think.
Although, try telling that to the part of me that’s already panicking that I’ve lost her.
I head to the kitchen, hoping to find a note. Something that will stop the mental spiral.
But there’s nothing.
Why didn’t she wake me before taking off this morning?
No matter how hard I try to reason it out or how many scenarios I run through, my gut keeps dragging me back to the same conclusion.
She ran back to Zane.
The thought lodges like a splinter that’s impossible to dig out.