Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
I kiss her passionately, her breathing going quicker, more urgent as she presses herself against me. I hold her as tightly as I can without hurting her.
“Me neither,” I groan. “I want to be with you. And I know you’re not ready to rush into anything.”
She laughs. “More than we already have?”
“But stay with me tonight,” I go on. “We’ll watch sitcoms and lie together and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist. I’ll try my best not to say I love you.”
“Don’t try that hard,” she says.
I smooth her hair from her face, kissing her again. “And let me help you. I don’t want you working yourself ragged. Let me make it so you can live a life, not just give pieces of yourself to others.”
She swallows, clearly nervous, but then she nods. “Yes,” she says, as if she’s surprising herself. “I think I’d like that.”
I kiss her again, then wrap my arm around her and lead her from the apartment.
I don’t know what the future will bring. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive my brother for what he did. I don’t know if Lia will ever say she loves me too.
But I know that life is lighter when she’s at my side.
EPILOGUE
LIA
Four Months Later
Idrive home, humming a tune under my breath. My body is pulsing from all the dirty texts my man and I have been sending each other all day. A smile touches my lips when I realize that home now means Maksim’s place. I’ve been spending more time there than at my apartment.
Mom is doing much, much better after the intensive therapy. She’s even got a part-time job, which means, with Maksim’s help, I’ve been able to reduce mine to something more manageable.
As I walk across the lobby, my phone vibrates again.
Maksim: I’m shaking right now just thinking of you. I’ve read your last text at least ten times.
A thrill runs through me as I read the message I sent.
Lia: I want you to take me the moment I walk through the door. I want you to carry me to bed. I’m already getting wet thinking about it.
My sex aches, my clothes feeling too close, too tight. I shiver when I think about his hard, firm body. His chest is even sexier with the scar, a reminder of what we had to overcome to get here.
I use my key to open the door, then Maksim is on me, his firm, protective bulk pushing me against the wall. I gasp and wrap my arms around him, my body lighting up immediately. All the texting adds to the pleasure, hours of withheld lust bursting out of us.
A squeal of delight escapes me when he lifts me off my feet, one arm cradling my back and the other hooked under my legs. I cling to the back of his neck, savoring his firm hold.
In the bedroom, he lays me down. I catch sight of a picture of him, me, and Mom at the zoo a couple of months ago. All the photos of Nikolai are gone. It’s sad, but I know that Maksim can’t forgive his brother for what he did to me.
My thoughts are brought hotly into the present when Maksim leans over me, eyes wild, pushing his hand down my pants, groaning, a hungry noise.
“Fuck, you’re soaked for me,” he growls. “Fucking drenched for me.”
I shift against him, nodding, moaning. “I’ve been wet all day,” I whimper. I love how wild it drives him.
He pulls my pants down as I wriggle out of my shirt, then stands over me for a moment. I’ll never get tired of the look of obsession on his face when he sees me naked, as if every time is the first.
“Don’t tease me,” I say, shifting my legs.
He slowly starts to undress, those intense eyes fixed on me.
When he’s naked, my body grows even hotter. He climbs between my legs, grips his thick cock, and guides his shaft to my entrance. I moan as he easily slips inside, my body responding immediately.
We move together like we were made for it, his massive cock stretching me out as my tunnel clings onto him. I love when he’s inside of me. I love when he looks down like every inch of my body is a gift, and he’s the luckiest man in the world because he gets to claim me.
I love how he supports me and holds me. I love how honest he’s been. I love how he’s always there for me.
When he presses his body against mine, my nipples ache from the pressure of his firm body. I wrap my arms tightly around him and hold him close. His cock moves in and out, the heat expanding, burning, an orgasm tickling at the edges.
“I—love—you,” I whimper, and I mean it. It’s the first time I’ve said it.