Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
"But how can you be so sure?" she asks, her eyes, stronger now, but searching. "We barely know each other, and it’s all moving at light speed.” She lowers her face and under her breath mutters, “way too fast…”
"Maybe," I concede, my thumb stroking her cheek, "but you don’t feel like a stranger, Elowen. You never have.”
She furrows her brow in a silent question. I owe her an answer, but fuck…it’s hard.
"I don’t like to think about those weeks after Celeste died.” I start. “When I look back, it’s all grey…except the memory of you. Your emerald eyes. Your voice, uncareful and genuine. You treated me like a person, and it was a relief. I was too fucked up then to know why, but I knew I wanted you around when I emerged from the dark cloud of it all. When I was myself again, I could see why.”
“Why?”
“Because you fascinate me. I adore you, Elowen.” I lick my lips, knowing I have to say the next part, otherwise she’ll always question how I moved on so fast. “Listen. I did love my wife, but I was never in love with her, and she was never in love with me. I married her because it benefited us both financially and socially. I always respected Celeste and came to love her in time, and we both adored our daughter. But we hadn’t slept in the same room for almost a decade, long before she was ill. I was loyal. She was too. Her loss fucking devastated me. But this thing between us, Elowen? It’s a first for me. I’ve never wanted anyone or anything the way I want you.”
It’s true, and I struggle to understand it. My world is ordered, precise, but something I’ve never encountered before has hit me hard, and I’m in a spin. What is this? I cannot explain it or diagnose it. I struggle to even name it.
“Oh.” She laughs, a little self-consciously, dashing away a tear that she thinks I don’t see. “Well. I feel a little less ridiculous, then. I thought I was taking this new job too far. Too seriously. Don’t get me wrong, Adam, I love it. Love here. But I’m worried I’ve become a little too obsessed with you too.”
Victory surges up in me. Obsessed. It’s good for my ego, and it’s even better when she melts into my arms. I slide her forward and kiss her. It feels so natural and so uncomplicated, but she tenses. I’m attuned to Elowen in a way I’ve never been with anyone. There’s still a thread of something there. Something hesitant.
"What is it? What are you still holding back?"
"It's stupid," she tries to laugh again, but it’s high-pitched and full of nerves. "You'll probably laugh."
"I won't," I promise. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."
She looks away, her gaze fixed on the cinematic vista of the snow-covered mountains outside the window. "I'm…I'm a virgin," she whispers, sounding mortified. "I know I'm almost thirty, and it's probably weird, and it's not for any religious reason or anything like that, and I just thought you should know. I didn't want you to be disappointed or feel like you have to teach me or something.”
Elowen is flushed and embarrassed, twisting the blanket she’s used to cover herself between her fingers, looking anywhere but at me…and I’m filled with such a fierce, tender protectiveness that it aches. The possessive part of me that wants her all for myself howls in victory. A virgin, and she’s all mine.
I reach for her, "Hey. Look at me."
Her eyes meet mine, and she looks almost afraid. Afraid that I’ll reject her over something like this? Absurd.
"Elowen. This is not something I see as a problem. This is a gift. A gift you've been saving for someone who deserves it. I don’t know if there is a man on the planet good enough for that gift, but I’m greedy, Elowen, and if you’re offering yourself to me, my answer is always going to be yes.”
“Really?” She still doesn’t sound sure, but at least she looks up at me.
"Really," I confirm. I focus hard on her eyes. So hard, I feel a furrow tighten between my brows. I’m literally willing my eyes to reflect reassurance.
Her lips curve into a small, careful smile. "Okay," she whispers. Takes in a deep breath and sighs, “Okay.”
"Okay," I echo, my own smile widening. "Now, come here."
I pull her into my arms, her body fitting against mine like she was made for me. I slant my mouth over hers, tasting espresso and maple syrup, and she makes little whimpers as my tongue slides against hers that I’ll remember until the day I die.
I lay her back against the pillows, my body covering hers, the blankets and sheets we’d been using for modesty falling away until it’s just her soft skin on mine, only my boxers remaining. Elowen’s legs come around my waist, her nipples hard when she arches into my chest. She’s fucking perfect to me, and the hard line of my cock trapped between us makes that more than obvious.