Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 61942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
He watched me come, giving me quicker strokes to make me finish on a high. He breathed hard as he struggled, but he was determined to please me before himself. He watched the production as he rocked into me harder, waiting for the tears to slide down my cheeks before he finished himself. “I love you.”
There was no talking for the rest of the evening. We rested beside each other, his hand on my stomach, and then we started up again. I was on top, straddling him as he leaned against the headboard, and then he took me from behind, his hand fisting my hair like a lasso. We were back in time, fucking in a hotel room, living in the moment because there was no future.
Except we did have a future. A long one.
I fell asleep beside him, and when I opened my eyes, he wasn’t there.
It was dark outside.
When I felt the sheets, they were cold.
I felt a jolt of fear, like he’d walked out of my life for good, but then I told myself that was nonsense. Half asleep, I was still partially in the land of dreams. I got out of bed and found that his boots were still on the rug.
I went to search for him, and when I heard a noise coming from the baby’s room, I knew that was where he’d gone. I rounded the corner and looked inside, seeing him putting the crib together. It was nearly done, and he finished a couple of the remaining screws before he tested it by shaking it, making sure nothing came loose.
I leaned against the doorframe and watched him, arms across my chest, seeing him in a whole new light.
He stared at the crib for a while before he looked at the other things I’d bought. The changing table was still in the box. There were diapers, a couple of toys, a breast pump, things I’d ordered online.
“Thank you.”
He slowly turned around to look at me. It wasn’t clear whether he’d known I was there or not. His dark eyes looked at me, seeing me standing there in nothing but a shirt and panties. “Do cribs come in black?”
I grinned because I knew he was serious.
He smiled back.
“What if it’s a girl?”
“Girls like black.” He set down the tools then came to me in the hallway. “Black goes better with my apartment anyway.”
“Your apartment?” I asked.
“I assumed that’s where we would live.”
I stared at him for a while before I walked into the living room. This was a beautiful place, but it’d been far too big for me, making me feel lonelier than I would have in a smaller place. “I hadn’t thought about it.” I hadn’t thought about anything except fucking since he’d walked in the door.
“Think about it now.”
“It seems a bit much. I mean, do we need a butler and staff?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want our child to be spoiled.”
“That’s why we teach them how to be rich. Believe it or not, it’s not for everyone.”
This was so weird. Bartholomew and I were having a discussion about raising kids. Well, a disagreement about raising kids. “I like this apartment.”
He took a quick scan of it. “It’s small.”
“Small?” It was at least three thousand square feet.
“Kids run around, don’t they?”
“Yes, but they don’t train for marathons in the house.”
A subtle smile moved on to his lips. “We don’t have to decide this now.”
“Well…you think it’s smart to continue to live there? Shouldn’t you start over somewhere else?” Anyone who wanted him dead would know exactly where he slept at night. Where we all slept at night.
He considered the question in silence. “Once I step down, I have no power, and once I have no power, I become useless. Why attack a useless man?”
“I don’t know… Revenge?”
His eyes were locked on mine, studying my face. “I find it unlikely someone would harbor a grudge that long, that they would wait for me to retire before provoking me. We’ll continue to have security around us, regardless.”
“Like, forever?”
“Yes. Forever.”
“Then you are concerned.”
“Cautious is the word you’re looking for. Anyone who has substantial assets has a private security team. You can be a nobody, but if you have money, you’re always a target.”
“Well…I want a life of peace and quiet.”
“It will be peaceful. It will be quiet. I’ll worry about these things so you don’t have to.”
Now that I was going to be a mother, I would probably worry every day for the rest of my life. “Are you set on living in Paris?”
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “I’m set on being with you—wherever we are.”
“Then maybe we should start a new life somewhere else.”
He considered the suggestion in silence. “Where would you like to go?”
“I don’t know…Florence?”
His face remained hard.
“I’ve always loved it there. My sister is there. I think it’d be a nice place to start a life.”