Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
My man. God, he has no idea how much I want that. How damn badly I want him to be mine, not in secret, not just for a little while, but forever.
"That's it," he croons, the head of his cock brushing my folds. "You're such a good girl for me, Loralei." He slams inside me, bottoming out in one thrust.
"Ash," I whimper, writhing against the cool metal.
"Shh," he breathes, kissing all over the side of my neck. "I've got you. I'll take care of you."
He fucks me slow and deep, and then hard and fast, not letting me get used to the rhythm before he changes it up, leaving me hovering on the edge until I'm sobbing and begging, desperate to go over.
"What time is the gala?" he asks when tears leak from the corners of my eyes, and I can't take any more.
"Seven!" I cry, giving in because I need to come so badly, I feel like I might die. "It's at seven."
He presses his lips to the side of my throat in a sweet kiss. "Good girl," he breathes against my skin, his voice so soft, a tear rolls down my cheek. "Now, come all over me."
He starts moving again, slow and deep, his lips still against the side of my throat, as if he's tasting the beat of my heart with every thrust.
"I love you," he says.
I splinter in his arms, shattering into pieces with those three little words ringing in my ears.
When I can breathe again, I wriggle out from beneath him, spinning to face him. "What did you say?" I ask, pretty sure I look like a wild woman.
"You heard me, Loralei," he murmurs. "I didn't stutter."
"I…" I press a hand to my forehead, my mind spinning.
"I love you."
Okay, so I did hear him correctly. He's in love with me.
"You think we've been hiding because I'm ashamed of you or something, but that couldn't be further from the truth," he says, tucking himself back into his pants. "Maybe we've been hiding because I don't want you to realize how fucked up my life is before you decide you feel the same way about me."
"Ash…"
"I can't give you all this," he says, motioning around us. "This isn't my life right now." His throat works convulsively. "But I want it to be. I want to be the man who gets to waltz into the library and take you to lunch without causing a scene. I want to be the one who can take you to dinner without every fucking camera in the vicinity invading your privacy. I'm not that man, Loralei."
"I never asked you to be him, Ash," I whisper.
"You didn't have to ask, beautiful. My world wasn't made for you."
I cringe, taking a step away from him. "What does that mean?"
"It means you deserve better," he says simply. "You shouldn't have to deal with the bullshit that'll come your way if I don't have everything sorted out before…"
"Before what?" I ask, watching the way his jaw clenches. "Before you decide it's okay to love me openly?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Isn't it, though?"
"Hell no," he growls, his blue eyes flashing. "You've always been good enough, Loralei. But I don't want you walking away from me when you realize that my world isn't good enough for you."
I stare at him for a long moment, and then shake my head sadly. "God, you're such an idiot," I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself. "I never needed your world to be good enough, Ash. The only thing I ever wanted was you. You think I care if they shove cameras in my face or plaster me all over the freaking papers? I never cared about that. The only thing I've wanted since I met you was you. I fell in love with you. And I was willing to hide because I thought we were protecting your privacy. But I never signed up to be the damsel in your story, Ash. I never asked to be infantilized like that."
"Loralei, I…" He takes a step toward me, looking stricken.
"I have to go," I mutter, backing away.
"Loralei, wait."
I shake my head quickly, the whole world blurred by tears. "No, Ash. I think I'm done waiting," I say, climbing into the car. I think I've spent my whole life waiting to be brave enough or strong enough or to feel like I was good enough. And the truth is, I always have been. It just took meeting him to realize it.
But I can't wait for him to realize that I don't need him to protect me from his world. I just need him to let me into it. If he can't do that, then maybe there is no future for us. Maybe all we were ever meant to be was two people who met in a storm and realized that we were too different, after all.