Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Leaving the apartment, we walk down the street. It’s quiet this late at night. We’re nowhere near the center of the city. Loki sniffs cautiously, walking far closer to me than he usually would.
“So,” she says, her voice laced with irony. “Did you have a fun date night?”
I laugh and squeeze her hand again. “I can honestly say it’s been the most eventful date of my life. Not that I’ve got much experience.”
She laughs again. It sounds slightly forced, but only a little. “You can’t talk about lack of experience. That’s my deal.”
“I didn’t date,” I tell her, “before I met you. I didn’t even really date Margot, and after her, I focused on my work.”
She hugs closer to me when two men walk toward us, both of them with their hoods pulled up. I’m in no mood for bullshit tonight, so I stare at both of them, letting them see I’m willing to do bad things if they force me. They cross the street.
“I keep waiting for the bullets to start flying again,” she whispers.
Welcome to my world, I almost say, but I don’t want to be weak and bitter.
“Is that what it’s like for you?” she asks, reading my mind in her uncanny way.
“Pretty much,” I say. “I like to think of it as being ready.”
“It’s exhausting,” she whispers.
“I won’t argue there, but you don’t have to be ready, Samantha. I’ll do that for both of us. You can relax. I won’t let anything happen to you. I won’t let anybody hurt you. I’m going to protect you.”
Forever. Why can’t I just say it? Do I really think she’s going to run from me now? Tonight? No, maybe not, but she could bide her time, then decide this has all been too much. With forever stacked on top of the craziness, she may say she needs time, distance, and space. I can’t give her any of that. I need her close to me, where I can watch over her. Where I can know, every single day, I’m ready to beat the shit out of any man who touches my woman.
Once Loki has done his business, we head back to the apartment.
“We’ll sleep together tonight,” I say.
Samantha stares at me wide-eyed. “Uh, tonight?”
“No…” I say no, but my dick is pulsing hard, my balls swelling. Despite everything—or maybe because of events fueling the urgency—my body is roaring at me to claim her now. “I mean, literally sleep together. There are only two bedrooms, and I’m not letting you out of my sight. But if you don’t want to sleep in the same be—”
“Are you kidding?” she snaps. “I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want you to be alone, either.”
I take her hand and lead her into the bedroom. Loki follows us, looking around the room, then whines and leaves. I glance at Samantha and then follow him. Loki curls up outside the door in the hallway, looking toward the entrance as though watching for threats.
“Is he okay?” Samantha pokes her head around the threshold.
“This is how he sleeps at home,” I tell her. “Watching the door. I think it comforts him.” Leaning down, I stroke my hand gently over his ears. “Good boy, Loki. You’re a very good boy. Back to your old self already, huh?”
He licks my hand and looks up at me. People say dogs don’t have human emotions. Intellectually, I know they’re right, but I see pride in his dark eyes as he looks up at me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Samantha
I lie with my back to him, cuddling as close to him as possible. We’ve been like this for an hour now, but sleep seems so far away. When he said we would sleep together, I thought he meant sex at first. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it tonight.
That’s what I thought, at least, but now I can feel the heat of his body. I can feel his manhood pushing against my back. He’s been hard almost this entire time. Sometimes, I’ll hear the quality of his breathing change, as though he’s trying to calm himself down. Then he’ll get a little softer, but soon he’ll groan and push against me, his cock getting stiff.
I shift against him, wriggling in the bed so his manhood pushes against my ass instead. Nerves try to coil around me, stop me from moving against him.
He groans gruffly. “What are you doing, baby? Because it doesn’t feel like sleeping.”
Despite everything, I’m able to laugh. It shouldn’t be impossible. Every time I’ve laughed tonight, I’ve thought the same thing. How the heck are we doing this? How the heck are we enjoying life right now?
“Maybe something about being in bed with my boyfriend makes it difficult to sleep,” I say.
He wraps his arm around me tighter, pressing our bodies together. He shifts against me, his cock grinding like he wants to slip through my clothes and find my core. I remember wanting it so badly last time, but my body refused to cooperate.