Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Her expression softens, some of the anxiety bleeding away. And then her bottom lip quivers. "I wish you didn't remember any of it, Easton," she says, placing her palm against my chest just inches from where the bullet hit me. "I'd carry it for you if I could."
I stare at her, shaken in a way I've never been. Because I don't have to ask to know she means it. She'd carry those memories for me without hesitation if she could, just so I don't have them rattling around in my brain, haunting my mind.
Jesus. I've never met anyone like her. She may have walls higher than a Roman city around her heart, but little by little, she's letting me in. Her defenses are crumbling. And beneath them, she's so fucking soft and sweet.
"I'd never let you carry it, Molly." I brush my lips against hers, trying like hell not to lose myself in her sweetness even though that's exactly what I want to do. Every damn time I kiss her, I want to drown myself in her…just fucking forget to come up for air until she's invading every pore, every cell. I'm fucking wild about her—heart beating out of my chest, can't think about anything else, crazy for her. "I'm supposed to lighten your load, not add to it, princess. That's all I want to do…make your life easier."
"Maybe we're supposed to make life easier for each other," she whispers against my lips, sliding her arms around me. She nestles up against my chest, melting against me without resistance. There's something in her tone…a wistfulness that has my breath hitching. Is that what she dreams about? What she aches to find? Not to be taken care of, but to have a partner in all things? Shit. I can give her that. I'll be the best goddamn partner she's ever had.
I kiss her again, unable to help myself when she's in my arms, her lips right fucking there. She presses closer, crushing her tits to my chest. My tongue slips into her mouth, tangling with hers. Within seconds, all I'm thinking about is how goddamn badly I ache for her. For four and a half weeks, I've ached like a motherfucker. Now, she's in my space, in my arms. How the hell am I supposed to keep going slow?
"I want to lose myself in you, princess," I groan, spearing my hand into her hair to angle her head. My tongue touches hers again, my restraint quickly unraveling every damn time she whimpers or shifts against me.
She bites my lip in response, dragging her teeth over the sensitive flesh. A growl rumbles up from my chest as I palm her perfect ass, pulling her flush against me. The heat between us is electric, sparking and sizzling with every touch, every shared breath.
She arches into me, her nails digging deliciously into my shoulders through my shirt. I groan against her lips, the slight sting only making my cock throb. My other hand slides up her side, my thumb grazing the swell of her breast. Even through the fabric of her shirt, I feel the heat of her skin, the way her nipple hardens under my touch.
"Easton," she gasps, breaking the kiss to suck in a ragged breath. Her blue eyes are dark, need blazing in the depths.
"Come to bed with me, princess," I rumble, willing to do desperate, dirty shit to get her in my bed with me. I'll agree to whatever rules she wants me to play by if it means I get to hold her, kiss her…touch her in my bed. I'll go as slow as she wants me to go. But I want her in my bed. Want to show her how fucking good it's going to be between us.
A pretty blush stains her cheeks, disappearing under the collar of her shirt. "That's what I was trying to tell you earlier," she whispers.
"What, princess?" I lick the seam of her lips, unable to help myself.
"I've never spent the night with a man before," she says, her voice whisper soft. "I'm nervous about it."
Jesus.
I stare at her, not speaking, as all the blood in my body surges straight to my cock, making it impossible to think. I want to yank her into my arms and roar mine like some goddamn unruly beast. That's exactly how I feel right now…beastly. Unruly. Ready to fuck her through the floor.
But I fight through the instinct, trying like hell to think.
Think, goddammit. Think.
"Are you telling me that you're a virgin, baby?" I ask, my voice little more than a low rumble of sound.
"Yes." She bites her lip. "Um, I wasn't hanging onto it because I believe in waiting for marriage or anything like that. I just don't date."
"As in ever?"
"Ever."
"Never ever?"
"You're giving me a complex."
"Shit." I grimace, trying to get my shit together. She just knocked my world out of orbit. It's taking a minute to level out again. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to give you a complex. There's not a goddam thing wrong with you. I'm just…" I scrub a hand down my face. "I feel like a kid in a candy store right now."