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)
His arms relaxed the tiniest bit. “You can fight all you want,” his lips were a feather-light caress near my ear, “but I’m not letting you go.”
The somber truth was that I didn’t want him to. What had just happened should have made me scream at him to never touch me again, but the truth of how I felt was the opposite.
“Okay,” I relented on an exhale, surrendering to the inevitable. “I get it.”
“Good.” His voice slid over me like a velvet-bladed caress, soft and intimate, edged with promise and threat. “Now you have to stop being mad,” he murmured, his lips grazing my skin, “or I’ll be forced to climb through your window later and apologize on my knees.”
I twisted my head, glaring at him. “That’s insane.”
He chuckled. “It’s us.”
I sagged back against him, letting him carry the weight of the moment. His lips traced the edge of my jaw next, and I shivered, even as alarms screamed at the back of my mind. God, Sanjana. You absolute mess. Why was it so hard to just be the good girlfriend? The loyal best friend? The girl who didn’t burn her whole world down just to steal small, forbidden tastes of what she was never meant to have?
I was tipping closer to the flame with every passing day, knowing damn well it would scorch me alive. I turned around and looked up at him, our bodies still pressed together.
“For the record, I’m careful.”
His expression twisted. “Yeah, I’d really rather not hear about that. In fact, let’s make that a rule. I never want to hear about it. For both our sakes.”
“I’m just letting it be known. Plus, I’m on a journey of celibacy,” I said with mock solemnity. “You’re my best friend. It’s not oversharing.”
That was all I was willing to voice on the subject. I wasn’t about to unpack Ashton’s fumbling foreplay habit or the fact that I had to fake each orgasm, as terrible as that was. The alternative had been demolishing his ego in real time, and I wasn’t cruel enough for that. I sure as hell wasn’t going to admit that Ryder was the benchmark, and Ashton had never come close to making me feel the way he did without even trying.
He stared at me for a second, eyes hooded. “I hope that journey comes with a lifetime devotion, because I fully support it. Especially if it includes not letting that idiot touch you again.”
I smiled despite myself, and then he smirked a dangerous curve of his mouth I’d never been immune to. “I’m not exactly doing anything that would cause that concern either, using your own words, for the record.”
The implication was clear.
It brought forth a barrage of questions I refused to ask for the same reason I hadn’t told him that my relationship with Ashton had an expiration date. Talking about them like this felt like the greater betrayal, worse than standing there, pressed into him.
“So those tests are for the little ferret, then?” Amusement slid back into his tone like it never left.
“What did I just tell you about calling her that?”
He laughed lightly, “Alright, alright, my bad.” He raised his hands like I’d pulled a weapon on him.
“Don’t say anything, please.”
His expression sobered. “I always keep your secrets. Even the ones you never told me.”
“I don’t have any secrets from you,” I pointed out.
“If you say so. I won’t tell anyone about Fey. Not to any randoms, anyway. I’m still judging, though.”
“Accidents happen, Rye.”
“Sass, a man doesn’t come in pussy by accident.”
My face scrunched. “Did you have to say it like that?”
“Forgot you had delicate ears.” He studied me, head tilted slightly. “Or maybe you’ve just never had someone talk to you the way you like it.”
“What?”
“You’re blushing,” he teased, “And all I did was say the word—”
“It’s too dark out here to see if I’m blushing or not,” I interjected despite the warmth in my cheeks. I wasn’t a prude or scandalized by the word pussy.
It was him saying it that had me reverting to some rosy-faced virgin. And nothing with Ryder was a slip of the tongue. He knew exactly what he was doing. Fortunately, I was a professional at feigning nonchalance. Oscar-worthy, really. Too bad my pulse was currently betraying me in every damn way, and he could probably hear how loud my heart was beating.
“Judge away in silence, but don’t you dare say anything or make her feel bad. Like I said, accidents happen.”
“Wasn’t an accident. I can confidently say neither me nor the boys have ever ‘oopsied’ a nut.”
I smacked his chest with the back of my hand. “You’re disgusting.”
“I’m trying to teach you biology.”
I laughed, but then my smile faded. “No more fighting, okay?” The words were barely above a whisper, as if even saying them too loudly might shatter whatever fragile peace lingered between us.