Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I stepped back slightly, making sure he could see my eyes as I responded. “Yes. If you get traded to Florida, California, or even New Zealand, I’m going with you.”
He smiled. “New Zealand?”
“That’s right.”
He kissed me, his lips brushing over mine gently, like he was afraid of hurting me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his, eliciting a groan.
“Lucy…” he said, his breath warm on my lips. “Your soft, sweet body is mine now. All mine. I will never want to leave the bed.”
I hummed with amusement. “An intriguing idea, but you’d get sick of banging me if you did it around the clock.”
His grin was devilish. “Not for a very long time, my love.”
I couldn’t get enough of his tender, affectionate side. There was another side I wanted more right now, though. Tugging at the sides of his shirt, I worked it up until he got the hint and pulled it up and over his head.
This time, my gaze didn’t see the defined cuts of muscle in the same way. I saw the ink overlaying each ripple and my heart broke for the young man who had fought for his own survival. Life hadn’t been fair to him, but he wasn’t bitter.
Trailing my fingertips over his chest, I paused on a jagged, faded scar.
“Just a little stab wound,” he said, not even needing to look to see where my hand was.
My eyes clouded with tears. “I wish I could have loved you then.”
He took my hand and kissed my fingers. “I was not the same person then. I had to walk through the fire to get here.”
“Never apologize for who you are or what you’ve done.” My voice broke as tears flowed down my cheeks. “You are a fierce survivor and protector. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.”
His eyes shone as he cupped my face in his hands. “You are my angel, Lucy. I would walk through the fire a thousand times to get to you.”
My hands went to his sweats, which I pushed down as our mouths crashed together. We both kicked off our shoes and somehow, he managed to get my clothes off with hardly a break from kissing me.
I’d never been with a man who brought the frenzied desire out of me that Kon did. As he carried me to his bedroom, I burned for him.
He put me on his bed and wasted no time putting on a condom. Foreplay was good, but not this time. This time, we both needed our connection immediately.
I cried out as he buried himself deep inside me, his lips hovering over mine.
“I will never let you down, my Lucy,” he said softly. “I will take care of you forever.”
I stroked a hand over his hair. “I know. And I’ll take care of you, too.”
He didn’t waste time going slow. Every stroke was deep and hard, a primal sealing of our promises to each other. I clung to him, my body wrapped around his as we both climbed closer to release.
When he hooked his arm around my leg and pushed it up toward my chest, he found a spot that brought me to the edge almost immediately.
“Oh my god, I’m going”
I couldn’t finish the sentence with words. Instead, it was a deep, desperate cry of satisfaction as I splintered into a thousand pieces. He was close behind me, groaning as he climaxed and then resting his forehead on mine.
“That was…” I closed my eyes and took a few breaths, still not able to wrap my mind around it. “Incredible doesn’t really do it justice.”
He moved to my side, taking my hand and kissing my fingers as he said something in Russian.
“What did you say?” I asked him.
“That you are my light.”
I snuggled against him, feeling perfectly content for the first time in my life. There was nothing I wanted or needed that I didn’t have. The fears I’d had about losing him were gone. Kon and I had just pledged ourselves to one another with our bodies in a way words couldn’t.
I didn’t know what the future held, but whatever it was—joy or pain, highs or lows—I knew we’d face it together.
EPILOGUE
Kon
Two months later
“I don’t understand,” I told Lucy as we walked up to Nash’s house carrying what felt like a hundred packages. “I thought baby showers were for women?”
“That’s old school,” she replied, opening the front door and calling out to Sariah.
“Hi!” Nash’s now fiancée stepped out from the kitchen with a grin. “You’ve got the envelopes?”
“Of course.” Lucy wiggled her purse, indicating she had whatever Sariah was talking about.
“I’m so excited,” Sariah said. “I can’t wait to find out what they’re having.”
“Do you know?” I asked, putting down the packages I’d been carrying.
Sariah frowned. “You really didn’t tell him?”
“Are you crazy?” Lucy laughed. “The way these guys talk on road trips? None of them can be trusted to keep a secret this big!”