Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99356 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99356 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
“Positive,” I said. And in that moment, I realized I was. I was sure I didn’t want to hold back anymore. I was sure that I would never be happy if I spent my whole life guarding my heart. Because what was the point of a precious treasure if I had no one to share it with? And that was maybe what I’d been missing. I had to realize my love and my trust was precious, but the point of having those things in the first place was to share. They weren’t feelings to hoard away and protect until I grew old and tired. It was risky, yes. It was scary, yes. But in so many ways, it felt like the whole point of being alive.
I might not be ready to tell Dean all those things yet, but I felt the certainty in my own chest solidify. He could keep thinking this was fake for now. But for me? The feelings were real. I was tired of pretending they weren’t.
Dean slid himself into me with passionate care. He was watching me so carefully that I realized he was looking for any signs of anxiety.
It was sexy and sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time. I’d never felt so taken care of. So protected.
He bent to kiss me softly once on the lips, hips starting to move in a slow, agonizingly pleasant rhythm.
I kissed him back, wrapping my hands around the back of his neck to kiss him deeper before sliding them down the broad muscular shape of his back. His weight on me felt good. It felt safe.
I hooked one leg around him, urging him deeper into me and faster.
As if he’d been waiting for permission, Dean picked up his pace, pounding into me until our skin slapped loudly in the quiet room.
I bent my knees, spreading my legs wider as I drank up the delicious feeling of his friction inside me–the wonderful fullness and knowledge that our minds were both fully fixated on the same act and the same space. It was a kind of closeness I don’t know that I’d ever felt with another person, but I felt it now, and I could see how addicting it could become.
Time and space seemed to fill with static until I was just a bundle of sensation and instinct. Somewhere distantly, I could hear myself moaning and feel my hands digging into his sweaty skin. I could feel the pumping of his thick cock into me, stretching my walls and my entrance like no man ever had.
I lost all sense of time until I felt Dean tense and his breathing grow ragged. My eyes rolled back as my orgasm tore through me like white heat, radiating from my core to my fingertips and toes.
“Oh my God,” I breathed as Dean rolled off me.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “If every dinner together with wine is going to end up like this, I can’t promise I won’t invite you out to eat again.”
“I think I was the one who suggested the dinner, actually.”
Dean quirked an eyebrow. “Are you saying this was all part of your plan?”
“I gave up trying to have a plan when it comes to you.”
He smiled, but got a distant look in his eyes.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“I was thinking about that dream of yours. Leaving the city behind to come live in a place like this. And I thought it’d be a shame if that dream ended with you alone.”
My heart started to pound. What was he saying?
“So,” he continued. “I think you should get back on the horse when this is all over. Give dating another try.”
Oh. He was telling me to live my dream with some other guy. I felt gutted, but I smiled like nothing was wrong. “I’ll think about it, I guess.” Freaking Dean Slater, the man who always said the perfect thing, was on a rare streak of strike outs tonight. It felt like his mind was a radio that just couldn’t quite pick up the tune mine was on. It made me feel alone. Silly. Hopeless.
“Good. I want you to be happy, Pearl.”
He kissed my forehead, and I felt like punching him in the stomach and screaming. You want me to be happy? Maybe realize it’s you I want. Maybe don’t try to pass me off to some other guy now that you got what you wanted from me.
I almost spoke my mind, but I didn’t because Dean had been clear about his intentions. He never claimed the sex was supposed to lead to something. I hadn’t helped dispel that idea, either. So what right did I have to get mad that he wasn’t falling for me like I was falling for him?
“I’m really tired,” I said. “I should get some rest.”
“Okay. By the way, there’s apparently going to be some kind of town basketball tournament tomorrow. Zack told me about it. He said we’re all invited to participate, but warned me that it gets pretty intense. I was planning to go watch. It would probably look odd if you weren’t with me. Are you up for it?”