Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
I grin at him. “Since I love you, huh?”
“Yep. And because you’re mine.”
“I can’t wait for you to tell me you love me.” He does. I know he does, and I’m okay with waiting until he’s ready to say it.
“Sorry I’m so fucked up.”
“I don’t want you to be any way other than how you are. I like you.”
“Love me,” he corrects, and I think maybe Rory needs to hear it again, even if he doesn’t realize it.
“I love you.”
He beams in his wild, almost manic way, then scoots his chair closer to mine. He begins looking for a piece he needs. “Tell me something good about Kat. I don’t want to hate my mother-in-law.”
“Oh, she’s your mother-in-law, but you’re not sure you love me?” I tease.
“I don’t make the rules. It’s an interesting place inside my head.”
Yes, it is, and I want to learn it all, want to study it, get my PhD in everything Rory Fitzpatrick. Reaching out, I brush my black-painted nails against his temple. “I like it in there.”
“Good.” When I lower my hand, he playfully tries to bite my finger, and I laugh. “Now tell me.”
Something good about my mom…okay… “She never let anyone touch me. There were times people wanted to, offered her money and shit, but she never took it, and those men never came around again.”
“Jesus.”
“She’s not all bad. Sometimes she’s like a kid in an adult’s body. She’s a lot, she’s irresponsible, selfish, makes a lot of mistakes, but there have been times when I couldn’t protect myself, and she always protected me. She protected some of the other women too—taking a beating in their place, interfering if one of the rougher clients wanted one of the softer women.” I shrug. “She’s my mom.”
Rory gives me a slow nod of understanding. “She makes good breakfast,” he says, and God, it makes me love him even more.
“When I was young, she used to let me have ice cream for breakfast…and she bought me this little keyboard so I could play, even though we didn’t have the money for it.”
“This one time, me, Cillian, and Tiernan almost got arrested for setting this house on fire. We were, like, eleven. It was before Moira died—that’s Cil’s mom—so anyway…”
He tells me stories, one after the other. I share some of my own, nothing like his with his family, but I do have more bits and pieces of myself I can share. I want Rory to know as much about me as I plan to learn about him.
We work on the model and just…talk, in this way I’ve never done with anyone. As the hours pass, I get sleepier and sleepier, but Rory doesn’t seem to be getting tired at all. Eventually, I curl up on the armchair, not working on the plane anymore, but watching him.
It’s not until my eyes flutter open that I realize I fell asleep. The room is bright, the partly cloudy sky showing through the open curtains, letting me know it’s morning…and Rory’s just sitting there, in the uncomfortable desk chair, completed plane in hand, watching me. Everything about him is intense, a walking red flag that most people would run away from but that I would do anything to hold on to.
“Shit. I’m sorry I fell asleep.”
“It’s okay. I just finished a little while ago.” He looks at me and grins. I’ve never in my life been happier that I bought someone a gift.
“And then you decided to watch me?”
“I always watch you. You just don’t always know it.”
Goose bumps travel up my arms, and I welcome the sensation, welcome any feeling Rory gives me.
“You bought me a model plane,” he says again, bemused.
“I wanted to do something nice for you. I couldn’t afford the panties, but since we don’t have to worry about rent now, things are better. I’ll buy you one every day if you want.”
“I mean, I wouldn’t complain.” He smirks, making my heart try to break through my chest and into his. My whole fucking world is wrapped up in him now, like I don’t know how I ever existed before him. Like every good thing in my life is tied to him and I just want the ropes tighter and tighter so we’ll never be apart.
It might not be the healthiest way to feel, but I don’t care. I want to burn in this obsession I feel for him, dance in the sweet ruin we’ve left behind, because here, in this world we’ve created, we’re better because of each other.
“I want you to fuck me,” Rory says.
“I always want to fuck you.”
“Go lie in the bed. I’ll be right back.”
Rory closes the bathroom door behind him, and I hear water running—I assume he’s freshening up. Maybe I should have too, but that’s not what he asked me to do. I strip out of my clothes, my dick already hard and throbbing with need. He’s in there for a while, long enough that my dick flags some, but when the door opens, I’m slowly stroking myself back to life again.