Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 121310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
She smiles down at me, radiant as the sun, and then lowers her mouth to mine. The kiss is deep and desperate, her fingers threading through my hair, her body pressing closer as if she could merge us into one being. I groan against her lips, my hands sliding beneath her shirt to find the warm skin of her back, tracing the knobs of her spine one by one.
Time slips away from us, long minutes passing into half an hour as we lose ourselves in kissing each other like randy teenagers. When we finally break apart, we're both breathless, her lips swollen from my kisses, her cheeks flushed with desire.
"You brought Thai?" she asks, suddenly noticing the takeout bags on the counter, her smile widening impossibly further. "From Sukho?"
I laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, delighting in the way she leans into my touch like a cat seeking affection. "Your favorite. I wanted to surprise you."
"You're the best," she says, pressing another quick, hard kiss to my lips before scrambling off me. "The absolute best. Have I told you that lately?"
I try not to groan at how hard I am.
"Not nearly enough," I tease, rising to my feet and following her to the kitchen.
She chatters through dinner, more animated than I've seen her in weeks, filling the room with the music of her laughter. She talks about a book she's reading and a new bakery she wants to try downtown. Normal, mundane things that somehow feel miraculous coming from her lips, as if she's breathing life back into our home with each word.
Throughout the meal, she can't seem to stop touching me. Her fingers brush mine as she passes the green curry. Her foot hooks around my ankle under the counter, and her hand settles on my forearm as she tells a story about Mrs. Abernathy next door and her ridiculous poodle. Each contact sends electricity skittering across my skin, awakening every nerve ending like I'm being touched for the first time.
"Let's go out tomorrow night," I suggest as we clean up, unable to resist pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck as she loads the dishwasher. "Somewhere special. Just the two of us."
She whirls around, eyes bright with excitement. "Yes! Oh, Domhn, yes! Let's go to that new place—what's it called? The one with the rooftop bar that everyone's talking about."
"Elevation?" I raise an eyebrow, grinning at her enthusiasm. "Love, that place is booked solid for months."
She steps into me, pressing her body against mine, her arms winding around my neck. "You're Domhnall feckin' Callaghan," she says, attempting my accent and failing gloriously. "The most powerful, sexy, irresistible man in Dallas." She rises on her tiptoes, brushing her lips against mine. "Surely you can pull a few strings."
God, but she undoes me completely when she looks at me like that—like I'm her hero, her champion, like there's nothing in this world I couldn't accomplish if she asked it of me.
"For you," I murmur against her mouth, "I'll move heaven and earth."
She throws her head back and laughs as I drink in the sight of her.
When she finally looks back at me, a pleased flush spreads across her cheeks. "You're staring."
"Can't help it," I say, voice rough with desire. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
She bites her bottom lip. "You wanna watch a movie in bed?"
Fuck. She knows what it does to me when she bites her bottom lip like that.
I nod, not especially sure I'm capable of speaking.
Together, we quickly put away the leftovers, then head upstairs. She nestles against me as we put on some movie she's watched a hundred times before. I massage her shoulders again, and then down her thighs to her calves, desperate for any excuse to have my hands on her but not wanting her to think I'm trying to get her to switch to Mads. I want her.
She yawns, snuggling into the pillows as I rub my thumbs deep into the arches of her perfect little feet. "You're going to put me to sleep."
I smile gently and lay her foot down on the mattress, crawling up the bed so I can look down at her, the soft glow of the TV the only light in the room.
She smiles up at me—my miracle. My salvation. My everything.
"I love you," I say, the words inadequate for what I feel, for this bone-deep certainty that she is the axis around which my entire world turns. "More than me own life."
She lifts her arms lazily around my neck and pulls me down for a deep, perfect kiss.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," she murmurs as I drop beside her, her voice drowsy with satisfaction. "Just you and me, nothing else."
I press a kiss to the top of her head, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. "We can," I say simply. "This is what the rest of our lives looks like. You and me, together."