Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
It's part of why I was quick to forgive him when I learned everything. Obviously, I'm not going to let him get away with murder. Well, okay, maybe murder, but you know what I mean. I knew I would forgive him for it, so I wasn't going to draw it out. This time. I wanted him to see that because I don't believe he's had that in his life before, and I'm going to give it to him.
My Killian will always know he is loved.
Chapter Twenty-Four
KILLIAN
My heart thunders in my chest. I'm on overload, and I have to remind myself that I need to keep control. I'm not used to it slipping through my fingers. This roar I have in my ears.
I thought I was ready for this. I'd even read up on it to be sure so that I didn’t disappoint or ruin this for her. Then Teddy goes and says she loves me. Those are words I have never had uttered to me. Nor have I said them to another person. Fuck, I didn’t understand love until now. It was only a concept, but it was also a thing I never bore witness to.
Between that and all that went down at the fight, I don't feel normal. My calm is a different kind. It's the deadly calm that runs deeper and darker. My Zolotse could have been hurt tonight.
The stakes in my life are higher than they have ever been. It makes me unhinged, which you never want to be. That's when things can become fucked up. When it came to feelings and emotions being involved, there wasn't much there until Teddy. I could flip them on and off easily enough. I left them off for the most part.
No wonder Tristan is an edgy asshole all the time. He's had Lily for years, and he's breaking his own rules over her. At this point, he's going to be more unhinged than all of us. He's not going to take too kindly to me taking his girl, but maybe don't do shit that has your girl running from you in the first place.
I'm starting to understand now why he keeps her under lock and key. I'd do the same if Teddy was trying to get away from me. It’s easier if you get them to come to you, not that I have advice on that.
But if Teddy is happy, then all is good in the world. It can’t be too hard for him to keep this Lily happy, but then again, I don’t recall ever seeing Tristian smile before, although I wasn’t paying much attention. He’s a cold bastard, though, and it would likely stick out.
"Are you okay?" Teddy asks when I pull into the parking garage.
I grunt a response, which always makes her smile. Thank fuck, because words have never been my strong suit. "You're intense," Teddy tells me as we get off the elevator. I have my hand wrapped around her wrist, with no plans to release it until we're in our room with the door closed.
I sweep her up into my arms when we enter our suite so that I can move us faster to the bedroom. I don't stop until I'm at the end of the bed, putting Teddy on her feet.
"So." Teddy rocks on her heels, a coy smile on her shiny lips that tonight taste of strawberries.
"Sweater." I grunt for her to take it off. I’m trying to be better with words, but she gets me so worked up that they elude me most times.
I walk over to the round table off to the side and remove my weapons along with the vials I'd gone to collect. I take off my boots and then pull my shirt off. When I turn back around, Teddy is standing there with only her underwear on. The woman is pure temptation. Can anyone truly blame me for taking her that day and lying? There’s no doubt in my mind that I would make the same decision over and over again if it meant having her.
Teddy folds her arms over her chest, pushing her beautiful tits up. I never understood the fascination with tits before. I had thought of them as nothing more than what a mother used to feed her young. It's a whole other fucking spin on it when they’re the tits of the woman you want to put that child inside of. Now they are one of the most alluring things in the world.
I swallow hard, my jaw tight, and all my muscles feel strained.
"Are you only going to grunt and growl?" she teases me, licking her lips.
"I love you, Zolotse." Teddy's whole face goes soft. Those are the words I wanted to say before anything else.
"I know you do." She reaches behind her and unclips her bra, making it fall to the floor. My mouth waters at the sight of her dusty pink nipples that are already hard. "I love you, too."