Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Andrew snapped his mouth shut and when I pulled him toward the barn, he followed, though not happily. Once I had him safely ensconced in the warm barn, he opened his mouth, presumably to let his fury fly, but I beat it to him and kissed him hard. He fought me for a couple of seconds but then he was moaning and doing battle with my tongue for ownership of the kiss. I had his hands pinned above his head but when I released his wrists and twined our fingers together, he returned the grip.
It was all I could do to remember why I’d started all of this.
“Your name is Andrew, not Mouse. You never told me your actual nickname during our chats but you told me you got it from an elementary school bully and even though you hated it, you never told your parents and they eventually started calling you that too when they heard others doing the same. You didn’t want to hurt their feelings, so you never said anything, and now the only one who calls you by your real name is your younger sister.”
I sucked in a breath but didn’t let Andrew interrupt. “So I am not calling you that fucking nickname unless we’re in the presence of others and I won’t use you’re real name unless it’s just us or until you give me permission to use it in public. The same goes with my name. I used Miles during our chats because it’s my middle name but from this moment on I never want to hear you call me anything but Hudson. Because that’s who we are now. Andrew and Hudson. Mouse and Mr. Warner only exist until we’re ready to tell the world who we really are.”
I kissed him again because I knew he wanted to interrupt me. It was getting harder and harder to keep the kisses tame. I was breathless by the time I tore my mouth from his. “I told you things in our chats no other living soul knows about me. And you saw my screen name. Finally Ready. I chose that for a reason. I’m tired of living a lie. My parents spent their whole lives pretending they loved each other even as they fucked other people. They pretended to be charitable, tolerant, kind-hearted community leaders but the shit they said behind closed doors… I never want to be like that, Andrew. I never want to be that jaded and angry and so fucking unhappy. But I can feel it happening. As every year goes by and one woman after another tries to finagle her way into becoming Mrs. H. M. Warner, I’m fucking terrified that I’m going to give in and live that lie.”
I loosened my grip on Andrew because I knew I was rattling on like an idiot. But to my surprise, it was his fingers that refused to let mine go.
“You’re afraid of spiders,” Andrew said with a soft smile. “You love to go fishing but you never use live bait because you hate the idea of torturing any creature. You had a twin brother, but he died when he was only a few days old. You only found out about it after your parents died and you found both his birth and death certificates. You don’t know where his remains are so you had a headstone made for him and placed it somewhere only you know about so you can go and talk to him whenever you want.”
The relief that crashed through me felt like it was going to take me to my knees. “Will you come into the house with me?” I dared to ask. “Just to talk. We can go pick up your sister…”
Andrew settled his hands on my neck. “Jennie’s sleeping over at a friend’s house,” he said.
When he stepped into my embrace, I gladly wrapped my arms around him. “Hudson,” he breathed against my neck. “Let’s go inside.”
CHAPTER SIX
ANDREW
My nerves grew with every step as we approached the house. Part of me wanted to back out but for the wrong reasons. I wasn’t scared anymore that Hudson had been playing some cruel trick on me. The man who’d held me in the car, who’d breathed my real name with such reverence, who’d claimed me as his, was the man I’d fallen in love with over a computer screen.
No, I wanted to back out because I was scared of what he would think when he learned the truth… when he saw proof of it.
“Hey,” Hudson said softly as he pulled me against him right there in the driveway. “Nothing you tell me… or show me… will change how I feel about you.”
Damn, the man had some damn good mind-reading abilities.
I managed a nod and then followed him silently into the huge ranch house. I barely took notice of the luxurious furniture, and I tried really hard not to try and figure out how many of my own so-called-home would fit in his kitchen alone.