Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 123153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
She shrugs. “Really not in the mood.”
“Come with me. They don’t need us until later.”
Nyla
I hold my belly, laughing as we sit on the sofa in one of the back offices. Jace has my legs across his lap as he tells me stories about him and Gio while I’ve been away.
“You guys sound like you’ve been having so much fun without me,” I say through my laughter.
“Then you’re crazier than I thought. We’ve been miserable without you.”
I look into Jace’s eyes and really take a look at him. I wrinkle my brows. I think I owe this man an apology. This isn’t what he signed up for.
I drop my head and look into my lap. “Jace, I’m so sorry. It’s like you’re always in the middle of our shit. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I say softly.
He reaches to lift my chin, so I lock eyes with him again. His eyes are gray and filled with so much love and emotion. He brushes a finger over my bottom lip.
“I told you a long time ago. You have no idea all the things I’m willing to do for you. I started this knowing who you and Gio are. I gambled. I took the spin on this wheel of fortune—”
“But Gio and I have been so selfish. We don’t deserve you. We never should have invited you in. We weren’t ready.”
He drops his hand to my knee and runs it up my thigh to the apex of my legs. I bite my lip as I watch him lean into me. The moment his lips touch mine, peace washes over me. I feel worse for all this time he’s been waiting.
I part my lips and he dives in, deepening the kiss. He groans and flexes his fingers against my thigh. When he pulls away, I sit dazed.
I’ve missed the burn of his beard. My lips tingle as I try to remember where we were in our conversation.
“We weren’t ready, but I’ve always known what I wanted. There’s still time for us to get this right.”
I look up at the ceiling and fight back my emotions. I don’t know why I thought Gio was the only one I needed to avoid.
“Time… you guys throw that word around and don’t think of its true concept. You both have time I don’t have.”
“Then let’s stop wasting it.”
I close my eyes as Gio’s voice hits me like a ton of bricks. I’m actually winded. I’m not ready for this. I stand and go to leave. Gio corners me by the wall he’s propped up against before I can make it too far.
He crowds my space until my back is to the wall. I look up into his face and my stomach tightens. Gio is still a gorgeous man. Time has been kind to him and Jace as far as looks and aging goes.
I’m thrown by Gio’s show of affection as he lifts his hand and runs it down the side of my face. He leans in and ghosts his nose over my brow. I reach for his shirt and fist it in my hands.
“Someone could see us,” I choke out.
“And I wouldn’t give a fuck. You would know this if you would stop running from me,” he murmurs.
I look up at him with tears building in my eyes. I miss him so much. Not just Gio the man, I miss Gio, my friend. He cups my face and runs his finger across my lips. I can feel the possessiveness coming off him.
“Just when I planned to bring you home. You took off. Things are different, but I can’t show you that if you won’t listen.”
I shake my head. Instead of giving me space, he moves in closer. The scent of his cologne has engulfed me and has me weak in the knees.
“I won’t listen because I have no common sense when it comes to you. I can’t be second to everything else in your life again. It has to be this way. I can’t be forgotten again.”
He places his hands on my hips and ghosts his lips across mine, releasing a sexy groan, then takes in a deep inhale. “You come first. You always come first,” he rumbles as he searches my face with his intense hazel gaze.
“That’s a lie, Gio, and you know it’s a lie.”
“No, it’s not. That’s what you don’t seem to understand. It’s all for you.”
He leans in to my ear and brushes his lips against it. “Stop fighting me, baby. We can’t make our daughters if we’re fighting. I only want my children made in love,” he whispers.
When he pulls away, the first tear slips down my cheek. I look up at him with my brows furrowed and my lips parted from the gasp I released from hearing his words. He captures my lips with the most searing kiss I’ve ever had.