Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
He’s asking without words if I’m okay, and there’s no simple answer for that. After this, I’ll probably never be okay again. So if it’s already too late, if I’ve already opened Pandora’s box, why stop now? Why not tug him down and kiss him like I already love him? Why not let him slide into me again, deeper now with the new angle?
A curse rings from my lips—a pulse of pleasure—and I almost catch a hint of a smile from him. Even though there are conflicting emotions at play, I know he’s here, wanting this as much as I do.
I love the feel of his hips pinning me down, holding me at his mercy. What starts out slow and tantalizing builds steadily. He peels up and off me, sitting up so he has room to touch me between my thighs. Every bit of me is on display, his. His blue eyes are glazed with desire as he watches what he does to me. With every thrust, his speed picks up and the tension builds.
My hand reaches out to clasp his wrist. It’s like I’m panicked by the threat of my orgasm building so quickly. And yet, I’m chasing after it with everything I have, but Nate doesn’t let me hold him back. He rubs his thumb across me until I pinch my eyes closed, arch up off the couch, and release a soundless gasp. I feel it everywhere.
Eventually, reluctantly, I blink my eyes open. Nate comes into focus, looking so confident posed over me with his haughty expression and hidden secrets. His brow furrows as our eyes meet and hold steady, as he maintains a maddening pace, pumping in and out of me. I love getting to watch him now that I’m sated and more clearheaded. I love seeing him lose the last tethers of control. His eyes darken. His breaths hitch. His lips part and he pitches forward with a fierce groan. He falls across me with so much weight it’s like he’s burying me. My arms go around his neck and I hold him down, keeping my eyes closed as a way to stave off everything that’s about to come. Our scent surrounds us, his citrus soap and my shampoo.
It’s in this haze that I realize I gave him something I can’t take back, not even if I ask for it, not even if he were willing to give it to me. It feels like a broken promise, a secret I’ll have to take to my grave.
It’s so long before he moves, but then there’s an obvious change that comes over him as he sits up and separates himself from me.
“Go and shower,” he tells me. “Then we can talk.”
Already, he can’t look me in the eyes.
CHAPTER 24
NATE
When I come downstairs after my shower, I find Summer pacing in the kitchen in her cherry red pajamas, her damp hair curling as it dries. Her cheeks are flushed and her lips are still swollen. In her hand, there’s a glass of—I narrow my eyes to inspect it closer—scotch.
So she found my liquor while I was showering. I hope that’s her first glass. I wasn’t up there that long and if she’s about to down her second, nothing good will come from the conversation we’re about to have.
She freezes when she hears me coming; the creak of the final stair gave me away, and now her green eyes meet mine and I’m shocked to see she’s not upset. I wiped her tears away before, on the couch, but now she has showered and looks fresh and beautiful.
I walk into the kitchen because I can’t walk into the living room. I can’t even look at my couch. I might have to dump it outside when she leaves. It’ll never not remind me of what we just did together.
“I think I have it figured out,” she tells me as I walk over to get a glass of water. “Your big bad secret. Why you’re holding me at arm’s length…”
I arch a brow, curious to hear how close she might be to the truth. I’m not exactly an open book, but Summer is smart and gossip might have spread around InkWell more than I realized.
“You’ve killed someone.”
I bark out a laugh as I reach for two cups, one for me and one for her. “What?”
“Yeah, you’re a cold-blooded killer. That’s your secret. You bury the bodies out behind the shed.”
She points outside for emphasis.
“How much of that have you had?” I ask, nodding toward her glass. Suddenly, the water can wait. I want what she’s having.
“Not enough, I assure you. I don’t actually like it all that much, but I thought I might need something stronger than wine.”
“Are you already regretting it then?”
Her cheeks go rosy. “What we just did?” She clears her throat and her gaze slips over my shoulder. She looks at the couch for only a second before she quickly looks down. Her hair falls like a curtain in front of her face. “No. I don’t regret it. Do you?”