Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” he said sincerely, “but that’s not it. I will tell you my past, but it’ll require whiskey and privacy. I don’t need a house listening in just yet. No…” He clenched his jaw for a moment, worried to take this leap. To officially put himself out there. “Natasha, I love you.”
The world almost seemed to stand still. Silence filled all the gaps. Now he was the one waiting for the verdict. The possible rejection, the reinforced distance. He could never unsay his feelings now. He could only get over them, and with her, he knew he never would.
More tears overflowed as her eyes pleaded with his. “Are you sure?”
He barked out an unexpected laugh, shattering the silence. “Yes, Natasha, I’m sure. I’ve been in love with you for a while now. Longer than I myself knew. All I had to do was get out of my own way to realize it, and then it hit me hard. Harder than anything ever has.”
“But I keep pushing you away.”
“I told you I would wait. And I will. You’re worth it. I allowed you your distance lately because you needed it. It killed me, darling. I hate having space between us. I missed talking to you, playing our games. I missed your searing touch and your soft smiles. But you can’t rush perfection, and so I didn’t try.”
More tears, laughter turning to sobs. She hugged herself. “I’m not worth it. I—”
“You’ve told me your darkness. I’ve witnessed it. What does it say about me that I don’t find it very dark at all? You get things done. How doesn’t matter.”
She wiped wetness from her cheeks, shaking her head, and took a shuddering breath, looking off to the side for a moment. When she looked back, her energy flurried around her before forming a bridge between them. “I love you. I realized it earlier today, but it has been building all this time. I ignored the feelings because of fear, but when you went missing from my life…I couldn’t stand it. I worried…” She shrugged. “I just worried. All I seem to do is worry.”
He pushed up from the chair to kneel in front of her. “I don’t want to share you, Natasha. Flirt, tease, touch an arm while stealing a wallet, whatever. I don’t care about that stuff. It is meaningless. Save me your intimacy. Give me all your kisses and the soft moans you make when I worship you. Trust me with your secrets. Let me guard your back. Be mine, little deathwatch angel. Only mine.”
She grabbed his hair and painfully dragged him toward her. He growled as he claimed her lips, sweet and decadent, like her. Like his favorite thing. He opened her mouth and swiped his tongue through. He took the hem of her shirt and dragged it over her head. He palmed a bare breast with one hand and slipped the other into the waist of her pajama bottoms. She wasn’t wearing any underwear.
He groaned, running his fingers along her wetness. She practically purred into his mouth as she spread her legs and leaned back to give him more access.
“Make love to me, Tristan,” she murmured against his lips. “Claim me. I’m yours.”
He pushed to standing, dragging her with him, kicking the chair as he swung her around. In front of his bed, he pushed down her pajama bottoms before quickly shedding his clothes. They could do foreplay on the second go-round. Right now, he wanted their love to sear their halves into one whole, one body, one heart, beating for each other.
He pushed her down against the mattress and filled her in a rush.
She moaned against his lips. The feeling of her, her smell, her touch, filled his whole world. The walls could fall down around them, and he still wouldn’t hurry this moment.
“I’ve only said I love you twice in my life,” he told her, moving slowly, savoring her arms and legs wrapped around him. “To you, Natasha. Only to you. I can’t believe karma has graced me with you. What have I done to deserve this slice of heaven?”
“Ignore all the red flags, that’s what you’ve done.” Her lips curved upward against his. “I’ve never let myself love like this. Ever. I never thought I would. I love platonically—people like Sabby and Jessie. But you… I love you in a way that makes my heart ache to look at you, Tristan. That makes it swell when I hear your voice deliver each delicious little threat.”
He chuckled, starting to move faster. “My threats will be a lot more colorful now, I think.”
“Then I hope you make good on them.”
“Oh, I intend to.”
Their kiss stole his breath, full of love and longing and hope.
“I want a future, Natasha.” He held her tightly. He plunged into her deeply. “I want you to be my future.”