Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
I’m having to half lie about so many things that when our conversation grows deeper, I’m honest with my answers to her.
Lily: You should.
Me: I want you to be careful, Lily. When you go looking for something, you just might find it.
Lily: My dad used to say that all the time.
Me: Like I said, good man. He knew.
Lily: He did know.
She’s locked on to this, and in true Lily fashion, she won’t stop until she gets the answers she’s seeking.
Lily: I’m going to try to sleep. This is too much for a stranger.
Me: I’m not a stranger.
Lily: That’s either romantic or creepy.
Me: Both. Good night, Lily.
Lily: LOL! Good night, M.
I wait another hour before I head over. I do it every night now. I can’t stop myself. I have to be near her. Being in her presence settles me. It allows me to afford her this time to figure some things out at Teddy’s. Otherwise, I would have already stormed in there and taken her, willingly or not.
I’m getting a little careless in my visits. I have to rein myself in, but it’s almost impossible once I’m there. Each time I find myself staying a little longer, not wanting to leave the bed, the smell of her all around me. I was desperate and took a pillowcase last time, but I slept better than I had in weeks when I put it on mine.
I take one last check before I’m out the door and over the stone wall. That first night, I hooked a latchkey to her window so that I could get in and out through there. I didn’t want to risk running into anyone in the hallways.
In no time, I’m on her balcony. All that working out paid off. Victor and I used to do that together. He was the one that got me more into being healthy and fit.
I stand on the balcony. The bed is unmade, sheets tangled from restless sleep. Her phone glows on the nightstand. I slip inside and over to her bed. I watch her for a few minutes before I take off my shoes and climb onto the other side of the bed. I lie over the comforter, rolling to my side so that I face her.
I have what she’s searching for, but will she want it from the man she’s trying to escape?
Chapter Sixteen
LILY
The weight on the bed shifts, slowly pulling me from my sleep. Then I hear it. Soft but slow, even breaths. They’re close enough that I can feel the warmth.
I don’t move. Barely breathe. I lie still and wonder if I’m dreaming.
My phone. I need my phone. I left it on the nightstand. If I can reach it, I can call Teddy. Aka Killian.
“Don’t.”
The voice is barely above a whisper, filled with sleep. I know that voice. I’ve heard it in my dreams and my nightmares and every moment in between.
I start to open my eyes when he shifts, coming down over me. Tristan’s hand clamps over my mouth before I can scream. Fuck, before I can do anything at all.
My whole body goes rigid, my heart hammering against my ribs as panic floods my veins. Then I smell him all around me. The same smell I swore lingered in the air recently when I woke up each morning. And I know for certain it’s Tristan.
My eyes slowly adjust to the darkness so I can see his face more clearly. It’s only inches away from mine. I can see the wildness in his gaze. He’s breathing harder now. He releases his hand from my mouth. We stare at each other, and once again, his eyes drop to my mouth. I wait, curious, but I only last a few seconds.
“What—”
He kisses me. Hard and deep, devouring whatever stupid question I was about to ask. The fear leaves me as quickly as it came. It transforms, hot and reckless, pouring into something I’ve been denying since I was eighteen years old and he first looked at me like I was a problem he couldn’t solve.
I bite his lip. He makes a sound against my mouth, desperate, and then he’s pulling me under him, his weight fully settling over mine, his hands everywhere at once. Then I feel it: his hard cock pressed against my panties. They’re the only bottoms I’m wearing and the MIT shirt.
His hands slide under my shirt, warm and rough against my skin. I arch up into him, needing more, badly needing him to press down hard on me, the ache starting to build.
Tristan pushes the fabric up, exposing my breasts to the cool air, and then his mouth is there, hot and wet, wrapping around my nipple. My whole body jerks, and I cry out, my fingers sinking into his hair, needing to touch him.
When he sucks, then grazes his teeth on my nipple, it’s like a live wire shooting down between my thighs. He switches to the other side, relentlessly giving it the same attention. I’m panting, already so close to the edge. Could I really come from him only sucking on my breast?