Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“Puppies,” she says, her voice lightening. “Farmers’ markets, especially if they have food. And I don’t just mean vegetables and fruit, but hot food that you can eat, like Mexican street corn, walking tacos and those fried things on sticks. Ocean views. Sleeping in.” Her voice lowers, becoming husky and sensual. “Sex.”
I smile, my heart warming at her honesty. I will give her all of that, though sex seems like the best place to start.
I roll her gently onto her back, leaning over her. “I don’t have puppies, farmers’ markets aren’t open yet, and we’re wide awake. Sex it is, then,” I whisper, my lips brushing against hers.
She smiles—a genuine smile that reaches her eyes and pulls me closer. I marvel at how our bodies fit together perfectly, her warmth enveloping me. Her nipples peak, and her eyes go half-lidded with desire. She wasn’t lying—her body responds like we were made for each other. She rolls her hips and lifts her face to kiss me. I kiss her softly, savoring every moment, every taste. I wonder if she remembers what I do—those stolen moments together before we were enemies. Back when we were just doing all we’d ever known.
Her hands roam over my shoulders, her touch sending shivers down my spine. When she bends to kiss my jaw, I press myself down on her.
She kisses down my neck, her breathing heavy with each kiss. She arches beneath me, her body responding to my touch. I take my time, wanting this moment to be sweet and perfect, just like her. My movements are slow and deliberate, sensations heightened by the intimacy of the moonlight on us. We’re only human, but the first cast of moonlight will turn us into wolves. I know this by now.
I hold my breath as I slide inside her. I exhale when I fill her. Connected. Fused. Finding solace in each other against the chaos of our lives. In this moment, nothing else matters. Just us, our shared breath, the quiet of two people who will become one. She shudders beneath me when I thrust, her hips meeting mine. I savor her moans. I build a rhythm that’s slow, wanting to take my time, but my need for her escalates. I thrust harder. She takes me.
I bend down and take her lips with mine as I come inside her. She cries into my mouth. I bite her lip and relish all of it—the taste of her, the way she shudders beneath me, the way my hot seed spills into her, pleasure ricocheting through every inch of me. I feel the echo of her ecstasy thrum through my veins.
I collapse beside her, my fingers trailing languidly through the silken waves of her hair. The warmth of her breath mingles with mine as I cradle the back of her head, guiding her to rest on my shoulder.
It's happening. I can feel it, gravity pulling me closer to her with each heartbeat.
I'm falling for her, just like my brothers did for their wives.
Hell, it’s not happening. I’m already there. I can’t imagine a world without Renata at the absolute center of my universe.
A small part of me wants to hold onto control, to hold onto everything I’ve painstakingly built. I have to stay in control.
Someone has to protect us.
CHAPTER TEN
Renata
I really shouldn't be falling in love with Ollie Romanov, or, more accurately…falling in love with him all over again.
But I guess, in a certain way, this is probably for the best. Deep down, I always knew it was inevitable.
We're going to be married, so we might as well like each other.
Still, I feel awkward and shy when I wake up next to him. It was different in the middle of the night when moonlight illuminated his features and mine. What happens at midnight doesn’t count at daybreak, right? Late night conversations, confidences—all of it looks different when put under the bright lights of the early morning. I'm not sure what else to do except move forward with our plans.
If I don’t want to fall in love, we have to stop having sex. Every time he’s near me, he finds more cracks in my defenses, slipping through without me even noticing. I can’t risk being vulnerable like that.
But how can I stop it? He’s going to be my husband.
Ollie’s sitting up in bed, staring at me with a look on his face I can’t quite decipher. I roll over onto my side as if somehow putting a few feet between us will actually save me. I'm no fool though—I know it won't.
"Good morning."
There's a swift knock at the door, followed by a deep, gruff voice. "I have what you ordered, sir."
Ollie sits up in bed, frowning, every single cell of his being on alert. I'm instantly on guard myself.
He leaps out of bed, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, and marches over to the door. "Stay there," he snaps at me.