Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
“Yeah.”
She studied me then. Her brow pinched. Eyes narrowed slightly, like she was trying to read a page she already knew by heart—but the words were changing.
“Where were you all night?”
“Out with everyone.”
Too simple.
And dismissive, far more than I ever wanted to be with her. It was the best I could give her right now. You didn’t casually tell your girl you were out killing in her honor. That had to be handled with care and finesse later down the road.
“Rye…” Her voice came softly. Hesitant. “I love you. Okay?”
Fuck.
Three words. That’s all it took to get me to my knees. I’d never get tired of hearing her say them. Not when they came out like that—unarmed, unguarded. All that fierce loyalty wrapped in something that still made my chest ache.
“You love me, Sass?” I asked, my voice dropping to a rough whisper.
I could see the walls she’d built, the ones she’d been hiding behind for so long.
They were crumbling, falling apart right beneath me. I wasn’t stopping until they were dust. I knew better than to think it’d all be easy. Her mind was a maze of memories and second-guessing, but right then, she wasn’t holding back.
She nodded. “I might adore you too,” she teased me.
That earned her a crooked grin. My nose brushed hers, fingers trailing up her thigh, slow and possessive, like I needed to remind her she was mine. “I love you too, more than you can imagine.”
Then I kissed her.
My mouth slanted over hers. My fingers dug into her hips, dragging her against me as I took everything she offered—and more. She tasted like something I didn’t deserve and would never give up. Her hands fisted in my shirt. My tongue swept into her mouth, claiming her, my teeth teasing her bottom lip before I sucked it gently between mine.
She whimpered, hips shifting beneath me,
“Rye…” she whispered, her voice all breath and want.
I pressed another kiss to her lips and then pulled back, reaching for the hem of my shirt. She held on for a second before she let go, letting me pull the fabric over my head. I tossed it to the floor, never breaking eye contact.
Her eyes raked over me, slow and greedy, and when they dipped lower, a crooked grin tugged at my mouth. Every late night. Every grueling morning. All those hours training, pushing, punishing myself… worth it. Just for this. Just for her to look at me like I was her favorite sin.
“Your turn.”
I gripped her top and gently dragged it up. She lifted her arms for me. Trusted me. I peeled the shirt off and tossed it somewhere behind me.
And there she was.
Laid out beneath me like something holy. My eyes dragged over her collarbones, the slope of her shoulders, the delicate straps of her bra.
“Fuck,” I whispered, heat lacing every syllable.
She shifted, almost self-conscious, but her eyes never left mine. Like she was waiting for reassurance. I had been trying to work out if she didn’t see it because of something someone had said to her or if my girl naturally had doubts about how gorgeous she was. Either way, I would work through it, but I would like to know where this came from.
I leaned in again, mouth brushing hers, my breath skating across her lips. “You’re beautiful, Sass,” I murmured, hands gliding up her sides, thumbs tracing the underside of her breasts. Her lips parted, a shaky breath escaping—and I caught it with my mouth, swallowing the sound as I kissed her again. Rougher
I wanted her so badly I could’ve split the mattress clean in half with my dick. My body ached with it, hard and straining, my restraint fraying by the second. Holding back felt like walking a razor’s edge between instinct and discipline—and one wrong move, one sound, one breathy plea, and I was gone.
And once I started, I wouldn’t stop.
Once I let myself have her, really have her, it wouldn’t be one stolen moment. It would be a reckoning. All the nights I’d spent wound up in my sheets, eyes on the ceiling, imagining her—writhing, breathless, begging for me.
Which was exactly why I had to keep my damn head.
Not to mention, we were in her parents’ house, and though they loved me like their own, I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be thrilled about me making their daughter scream my name while I fucked her so hard, I rattled picture frames off the walls.
Still... I needed a taste.
I dropped my mouth to her throat, planting a slow, open-mouthed kiss against that spot where her neck met her shoulder. She tasted like warmth and want and something sweeter than I deserved. My tongue dragged across her skin, and she gasped, her nails digging into my shoulders like she didn’t know if she was pulling me closer or pushing me over the edge.