Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Decision made, I sighed, sliding my arms around Deacon’s neck. “You hurt me, Deacon. So very badly.” I held his gaze a couple seconds longer. “Don’t do it again.”
He nodded. “Never again. I swear you won’t regret giving me another chance.”
“I better not. It happens again, you’ll have to deal with Lemon.”
“Fully aware. Also the whole of Iron Tzars and likely Grim Road too.”
“Just so long as there are no misunderstandings.”
Deacon threaded his hands through my hair and held me still for his kiss again. I’d only ever kissed one other man besides Deacon and I hadn’t even kissed Deacon for the last year and a half. Not sure it mattered though. I doubted if I’d ever be immune to Deacon’s touch. At least, I never wanted to be. As one of his hands moved along my side to my hip, I relaxed beneath him, letting him touch me at will. I arched up so my breasts rubbed against his chest.
And just like that, I thought I might die if I couldn’t have him right this second. I cried out against his lips and Deacon swallowed my scream. He urged my leg higher on his hip so he could rock against me, rubbing his cock between my legs over my pussy. My body jerked in reaction and Deacon gripped my ass through my thin, cotton shorts, squeezing and kneading almost reflexively.
Then he let out a deep sigh, pulling back to bury his face in my neck. “Christ, Apple. What the fuck am I gonna do with you?”
“What do you want to do with me?” I gazed up at him, my eyes wide.
“I want to eat you up,” he growled.
Chapter Seven
Deacon
Christ. I was so fucked. I definitely shouldn’t have said I wanted to eat her up, but it was the truth. Every fiber of my being hummed with the need to have Apple, to claim her as mine in every way that mattered. It wasn’t just physical, though God knew that part was overwhelming. It was deeper, carved into the very marrow of my bones.
“I mean it,” I continued, my voice hoarse with raw emotion. “I want all of you, Apple. Every single piece. This time, I absolutely will not give you up. No matter what.”
Every damn cell in my body screamed for her. The way she looked up at me, those big blue eyes made me feel like some kind of hero instead of the mess I really was. But God, she’d believed in me once, believed in us, and that made all the difference. I knew I had a long way to go before she trusted me again. I deserved her anger.
“We need to talk about this, Deacon.” Her voice was rough with emotion. “Really talk. About everything. I’m not referring to your reasons for leaving. I’m talking about you leaving at all.” She pushed me away just enough to see my face clearly but allowing me to still cover her delectable body with my own.
I loved our size difference. Always had. When I’d first found out how young she was, I’d had reservations about making her mine, but the longer I was around her, the more I learned how truly gentle and good she was, the more I craved her. If anything, the age and experience disparity sent a thrill through me. I wanted to be the man to corrupt little Apple, though, I had the feeling she’d give me a run for my money if she ever went all in with me.
“Yeah, baby. I know. I know,” I grunted before leaning down to kiss her again. I couldn’t help it. Any distance between us once I’d started this was completely unacceptable. “Let me take care of you, Apple. I swear I’ll never leave you again.”
She looked at me. I could see the indecision in her eyes. I also could tell she didn’t believe me.
“Don’t promise me things you can’t deliver on, Deacon.” She reached up and brushed my cheek with her cool palm. “I want you, but I don’t expect a happily-ever-after.”
“Tough. I’m never leaving you again, so you’re stuck with me.”
She didn’t look convinced as she continued to pet my cheek as if for her own comfort. I knew I absorbed her touch like a hungry sponge.
The silence between us stretched, loaded with a million unspoken thoughts and raw emotions. I watched as Apple’s eyes flickered with a painful kind of hope, tinged by the shadows of past disappointments. It was clear she was fighting a war within herself, trying to decide whether to guard her heart or surrender to what we both felt pulsating between us like a living thing.
As much as I wanted to believe my own words, to make them solid and real, doubts gnawed at me. Not doubts about Apple or if she was the woman I wanted. I knew unequivocally Apple was the woman I needed in my life. She was the bright spot in my life that made all the ugly bearable. Being without her for more than a year after seeing her nearly every day had me feeling stretched. Thin. Like my sanity was on the very edge. Apple soothed me in ways I had never appreciated. Before.