Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Chapter Seven
Gemma
"Red."
"What?" I lift my gaze to Bronx, my mind clouded with lust and excitement. My heart races a million miles a minute as he helps situate me in the center of his seriously comfortable bed.
"Red," he repeats. "It's your safeword, Gemma. If you need me to stop at any time for any reason, you say red. When you say it, everything stops immediately. Understood?"
"Yes," I whisper, licking my lips. "W-what if I don't want it to stop?"
He smiles at me. "Then don't use your safeword."
"No, I mean, what if I don't want everything to stop, but I don't like something?"
"You tell me you don't like it, and that part ends. You're in control here, Gemma."
"What if I just need a minute? Is there a word for that?"
"Yes. It's 'slow down, Bronx'," he says.
I scowl up at him, not finding him very funny.
"If you want a special word to tell me to slow the fuck down, I can give you one," he says, still smiling like he thinks I'm being cute or something. "But you can tell me to slow down, beautiful. You don't need a word to tell me that you need a minute or that I'm going too fast for you. We're not going to dive into this full speed ahead, all right? We're going to go slow. My job is to take care of you. Trust that your safety and your pleasure are my number one priority."
"A-are they?"
"Always," he growls, his eyes locked on mine.
I swallow audibly. He means it. Like really means. I'm not sure why that catches me off guard considering that he's been completely focused on my pleasure and safety since we met, but for some reason, it still manages to surprise me.
I keep trying to convince myself that he can't possibly feel the same connection I do. I think I'm scared to admit that what's happening between us is every bit as real as I know it is. And yet…it is. I'm falling in love with Bronx. And I think he's falling for me too. But if I say it out loud, if I acknowledge it, part of me is terrified that it'll slip through my fingers and I'll lose the best thing that's ever happened to me.
I just found him. For the first time in my life, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I don't feel unheard with him, like my voice doesn't matter. I don't feel like I'm fighting to be seen. He sees me, every single piece of me. And he accepts them just as they are. He accepts me.
I'm safe with him in ways I've never been safe before. I never knew how freeing that would feel. With him, my feet haven't touched the ground.
He's everything I never knew I was supposed to ask for and more. What if I say it out loud and mess it all up? What if he disappears like a wisp of smoke? I'll never recover from that. Now that I know what it's like to be in his arms, I don't think I'll survive spending the rest of my life without them around me.
"Stop thinking, Dilemma." He kneels on the bed beside me, dragging his palm up my leg. "The only thing you need to think about right now is how good you feel. Nothing exists outside of this bed. It's just you and me, beautiful."
"Okay," I whisper, more than willing to follow this order.
A smile tugs at the corner of his lips. "Oh, so now you decide to follow the rules, huh?"
"I like this rule."
He chuckles, leaning down to brush a kiss across my lips. I sigh, melting into the bed. My worries vanish as he licks into my mouth, his hand creeping higher. His pinky rests against the apex of my thigh, millimeters from my center. He leaves it right there, driving me crazy as he kisses me again and again.
The anticipation builds to a fever pitch inside me, making me sob against his lips. I need him to touch me so freaking bad it's ridiculous. Naturally, he doesn't cooperate. He simply kisses me as if we have all night.
When I think I'm going to explode in want, he breaks from my lips, kissing a lazy trail down my throat. I groan, tipping my head back to give him more room. Somehow, he's already discovered every sensitive place on my body. He seeks out each one, licking and biting until I'm sobbing again.
He still doesn't move his hand.
He avoids my breasts, following the deep V of the dress I bought on a whim, never expecting that I'd actually wear it. I'm glad I did since it got the reaction from him that it did.
"So sweet," he breathes against my skin.
If I'm sweet, he's sin. His tongue dips into my belly button. His teeth sink into my belly. I arch toward his mouth, groaning his name.