Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 85834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
“God, it looks even worse, Georgi. You should get professional care.” The worry in her tone warms a spot deep in my heart that’s never been touched by a woman who’s not related to me.
I don’t have issues, I’m just very selective about who I let in because in the past, Raya tried to get to know whoever I was fucking, and that didn’t sit right with me at all.
She’d get attached, and it would hurt her when I dropped the woman.
Since I bought this building and moved my sister into the apartment beneath mine, I haven’t brought any women home.
I either fuck them at their place or a hotel.
And it’s always just fucking.
My eyes drift over Nina’s delicate features, and I know with dead certainty that it will never be the case between us. With my attention locking on her mouth, especially the scab on her bottom lip, I think of something that’s never been my thing.
A kiss.
Growing up, my mom was very affectionate, peppering my cheeks and forehead with kisses. I loved every single one. When Raya got older, she also started giving me a kiss on the cheek to thank me for something.
To me, a kiss means love, so it’s the one thing I’ve never given a woman.
Christ, this is uncharted territory for me. I’ve done just about everything sexual with a woman, and I have a very high sex drive, but for once, it’s not at the forefront of my mind.
Shoving the thoughts away, I walk down the hallway, Nina following close behind me.
When I sit down on a couch, Nina asks, “Do you have a first aid kit?”
“In the kitchen. The cupboard above the microwave.”
She hurries away, and a moment later I hear the scraping of a stool.
Fuck!
I move fast, shooting up and jogging toward the kitchen. Just as I rush in, I see Nina grabbing hold of the cupboard handle and standing up on the stool.
I don’t think, and coming up behind her, I wrap my arm around her waist and lift her off. While she gasps and twists in my hold, I open the door and grab the first aid kit.
Nina’s right hand lands on the side of my neck while her left clutches my shoulder. The position I’m holding her in puts her at eye level with me, and when our gazes lock, something explodes between us. It’s so intense that we both react. As I quickly set her down, she glances away, a very nervous expression tightening her features. We step back from each other, then stand like idiots while scrambling for a way to handle what just passed between us.
Nina is the first to move, and with a flash of panic in her big brown eyes, she scurries in the direction of the living room.
I take a deep breath before I follow her, and pretend nothing happened when I take a seat and hand the black bag to Nina. While she zips it open, I grab hold of the hem of my shirt and drag the fabric over my head before dropping it beside me and relaxing against the back of the couch.
Her eyes flit over my chest, and this time a blush creeps into her cheeks.
Nina steps between my thighs and braces her hand on my shoulder so she can lean in close to clean the cut across my chest.
My eyes roam over every inch of her face, noticing how the bruises on her cheek have changed color. The red is gone, and only blue marks remain.
Lifting my hand, I brush my thumb over them, and it has Nina’s eyes darting to my face. She goes very still, watching me and trying to anticipate my next move.
I keep our gazes locked as I lean forward. Nina’s breaths instantly speed up, and panic returns to her face, but I push through and press a kiss to the marks that fucker left on her skin.
Her breaths stall, and she remains frozen like a deer in oncoming headlights.
I inhale the scent that’s uniquely hers, and process how right it feels to kiss her, even if it’s just on the cheek.
It should scare me how natural it feels to show her such a level of intimacy, but it doesn’t.
Relaxing back again, I smirk at her. “I just wanted to kiss it better.”
To my surprise, Nina’s lips twitch as if she wants to smile, but then suppresses it. Tearing her eyes away from mine, she moves out from between my thighs and begins to check the wounds on my left arm.
After a while, she murmurs to herself, “It’s going to leave scars.” The sigh coming from her sounds unhappy, and it makes the corners of my mouth lift again.
Nina cares about me…more than she knows.
I’m thrown back to our time in the basement, when she was the only light in that dark room. Nina’s healing touch moves over my body while I stare at her, memorizing every inch.