Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
I shook my head, tracing my thumb over her cheek. She was a natural beauty. I wasn’t sure if she wore makeup, but it definitely wasn’t the kind you’d notice. She was fiery and shy, innocent and wanton. She drove me crazy.
Father was sure she’d run away the moment she got the chance. I knew she would wait until she found Imogen. I never bothered chasing a woman, but I worried Aislinn might be the one to change that.
I straightened and slowly pulled out of her. My cock was tinged pink again. I paused, trying to decide if I had forgotten the condom on purpose. I wasn’t sure. I wanted children. But I wanted them to grow up in a good home. Fucking each other like horny teenagers didn’t mean we were equipped as parents.
I ran a hand through my hair. It was too soon for us, but maybe too soon was all we’d ever get. I shook my head, annoyed at my sappy thoughts. I stepped back and considered to let Aislinn sleep on the counter with her legs parted. It would make her absolutely mortified and furious once she woke.
I opted not to aggravate her and slid my arms under her legs and back, lifting her from the counter. She curled into me as I carried her into the bedroom. It was the first time she’d be in my bed. I put her down in the center and regarded her. I really loathed the idea that she’d try to run from me.
I returned to the kitchen. I wasn’t tired in the slightest. Over the years, my body had grown accustomed to a bare minimum of sleep. I was starving, though. The stew was still bubbling lightly on the stove. I lifted the glass lid and took a deep breath. My eyes slid shut, and I was transported back in time to my grandmother’s kitchen. The stew she’d prepared for me and my brothers had smelled like this. I opened my eyes, grabbed a spoon from the drawer, and dipped it into the stew. I brought it to my lips, prepared for disappointment. I had yet to taste a stew as good as my grandmother’s. The stews served in the pubs in New York were a disgrace. I still ate them because even a bad stew reminded me of home.
The moment I tasted Aislinn’s stew, my lips pulled into a nostalgic smile. I took another spoonful, not even bothering to open my eyes. I burned my tongue, but that hardly mattered.
A noise made my eyes fly open and my hand dart to the gun in my pocket.
Aislinn raised her palms. She was dressed in one of my T-shirts.
“You should sleep,” I rumbled, annoyed that she was watching me.
“And you shouldn’t eat a good stew straight from the pot. It should be savored while sitting down with a piece of bread.”
“It’s not a good stew.”
Aislinn flushed, hurt flickering across her face. I was surprised. I’d taunted and teased her a lot since we’d first met, but she never displayed any real hurt about any of my comments.
“It’s like Ireland on a spoon. It’s fucking amazing.”
She bit her lower lip, her cheeks turning red. She came toward me, bare feet, and a growing smile on her face. “The American is shining through.”
My brows furrowed.
“Fucking amazing,” she repeated with a small laugh and lightly nudged me with her hip. “Move over and sit down. I’ll fill a bowl for you.”
I backed away and sank down on a bar stool as I watched Aislinn ladle soup into a bowl. Then she bent down and took out the bread. She sliced off a big chunk and set it and the bowl down in front of me. I dug in, and every taste seemed to bring me a little closer to home.
“First, I savored you on the counter and now your soup. It can’t get any better than that,” I said with dirty laugh.
“Are you trying to get me pregnant?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t give me that look. You didn’t use a condom. I’m not stupid. You’re a cautious man. You wouldn’t forget using a condom. Children are a liability in your world, and you’d think twice before creating them.”
I leaned back, my belly warm with Aislinn’s soup. Maybe she was right. I never forgot a condom, not even in my horniest teenage days. “You’re my wife. Making babies is what marriage is for, right? Ask your uncle if you don’t believe me.”
Her hands balled into fists at her side. She shook her head and released a low breath. “People usually know each other before they marry. That way they can tell if they should have kids or not. We don’t know each other. But we need to know each other before we even consider having a child!”