Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
I dug her, she was awesome, but the only reason she didn’t scare the pants off me was because she liked me too.
“Fuck no,” he replied to my deepest depths of gratitude. “No one tells Tempie what to do.”
“You order her around all the time.”
“She ignores me most of that time.”
This was true.
“She’s sticking close to home, and him out in the cold, for Chassie,” I deduced.
“She is.”
Shit again.
“Chassie heard her talking to him yesterday, and apparently, he’s pissed she went to London without seeing him.”
“You and I have had one day and two nights in my bed, and two weeks of teasing, and if you came to London for even an hour without seeing me, I’d be pissed at you.”
Wow.
He really liked me.
I smiled smugly to myself.
“I see you’re coming to understand where I’m at,” he noted.
I looked at him to see him watching me.
“The Duke and The Novelist is a shit title, but I bet some publisher would publish it,” I replied.
He shook his head but did it with his lips curled up.
“How’s this?” I started. “I’ll talk to Prue, and I know she’ll be okay with it, then I’ll talk to Chassie about taking her with us to visit Ravenna. If that goes well, I’ll find some way to remind Tempie that I’ll be around for a while, I can keep my finger on the pulse, and if she wanted, I don’t know…I have to find a better word for it, but for now I’ll say…a break, she can take it.”
“Darling, you’re brilliant. That might work.”
I tried not to preen. “I have my uses.”
“You’re also no longer clutching the pommel.”
I glanced down.
“Holy hell!” I cried. “Look at me!”
“Care to try a canter?”
I wasn’t sure.
“Do you think I’m ready? I mean, I’ve only been on this girl for half an hour.”
“You know how to stop, so do that if you’re feeling uneasy.”
I could do that.
“Let’s go for it,” I decided.
“Loose reins, give her your heels, guide her behind me. She’ll follow.”
I nodded.
“Ready?”
Another nod.
He studied me a moment to be sure I was all good (he was so sweet).
Then he took off.
I did as told, and Noelle and I took off after him.
I couldn’t say I wasn’t uneasy. The first few minutes were a little hair-raising.
I could say I didn’t give up, and I kinda got the hang of it.
In the end, though, even if it was a little scary, it was still awesome.
CHAPTER 19
THE ABSENCE
Early Monday morning, I woke to a hot guy nuzzling my neck.
I turned in his arms, murmuring a drowsy, “Baby.”
He tipped up my chin and didn’t bother with preliminaries.
He took my mouth in a deep kiss.
I melted into him, but even so, Battle slid a hand between my legs, cupping me there. Using his hold, he yanked me forcefully so I was plastered to his body and had no choice but to hook a leg over his hip.
I was rewarded for this first by the rush of wet it caused between my legs, and second, with deeper kisses and his fingers wreaking delicious torture on my clit and in my pussy.
Once he had me whimpering into his mouth and pumping against his fingers, they glided away, only for something bigger, thicker, harder and much, much better to take their place when he slipped his cock inside me.
He also stopped kissing me.
But with his hand fisted in my hair at my nape, his eyes held mine all the while our lips brushed, our labored breaths mingled, my hands clutched his back, my nails digging in, and he thrust inside me.
The look in his eyes was carnal, sinful, downright diabolic, possessive, assertive and demanding.
Yeah.
All that.
It was fucking amazing.
And the hold he had on my hair pretty much meant I couldn’t move anything but my hands, which felt illicit and crazy exciting.
So yeah, that was fucking amazing too.
Therefore, when he slid his free hand between us and toyed playfully with my clit, I came apart.
“Battle, baby,” I breathed, rocking my hips to try to get more of him.
“As I said,” he growled, “greedy.”
He pinched my clit.
I exploded.
His mouth took mine so he could consume my orgasm that way as well.
Talk about greedy.
When it was done, he rolled us so I was on my back. He came up on his knees but rested back on his ankles, dragging my ass up his rough thighs to keep our connection. He wrapped my legs around his hips and grasped mine, slamming me into him as he slammed into me.
I was still panting, my breasts bouncing, as he watched me with that lethally hot look on his face, then he dropped his gaze to my body, our connection, and he watched himself take me.
Seriously.
If I thought the look on his face was carnal before, I was wrong.
That look was carnal.
It was so hot, the pressure built up inside me again, and I almost lost it, but then he shifted his hips, adjusted his angle and banged against the spot. So with a deep moan and long whimper, my second orgasm surged through me.