Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 673(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
“That’s . . . all that just because I believe in you?”
“All that because you believe in me. Because it shows you trust me. And it feels so fucking good. You make me feel like I can do anything.”
In her mind, he pretty much could.
Which meant that she trusted him.
It also means you could be hurt.
She tried to ignore that thought. It seemed that she’d spent most of her life trying to avoid being hurt. And the way she’d done that was by shutting everyone out.
But was she happy?
The short answer was no, she wasn’t happy at all.
“Now, I’m going to kiss you, baby. My precious, beautiful girl.”
As soon as he finished talking, his mouth was against hers. And this was far different from her tentative, searching touch.
This was pure command. He explored her, but none of his touches were hesitant. He didn’t seem to be worried about scaring her in this moment.
And strangely, she wasn’t feeling uncertain or shy.
Perhaps because he wasn’t allowing her to feel that way. Ethan was in complete control, which meant she could simply let go.
So when his tongue brushed the seam of her lips before he tugged at her lower lip with his teeth, she gave in to her need and opened her mouth.
His tongue slid into her mouth.
And it wasn’t gross or weird.
It was different.
But different good. Different hot. A whimper of need escaped her, shocking her. And she found herself rocking against him, as though searching for some friction against her pussy.
Her clit.
Dear Lord.
All of this just from a kiss. She felt like all it would take was a few touches and he’d have her coming.
His tongue teased her, drove her insane. His hand was heavy on the back of her head, but it didn’t make her feel small or smothered.
No.
For the first time in her life, she actually felt a tiny bit sexy.
Like a normal person with normal desires.
And while he’d tried to tell her that normal was relative . . . she’d always seen herself as defective and strange.
However, right now, she felt cherished and sexy. She now knew that she could get turned on while touching someone, kissing them.
Not just someone, though.
Him. Ethan.
He drew back, staring down at her. “Damn, baby. Even better than I expected.”
“Really?” she asked, feeling herself blush.
“A thousand times more amazing. But I have to stop before I’m tempted to do more than you’re ready for.”
Strangely, she wanted to ask for more. However, he was likely right. Slowing things down might be a good idea.
“I want to pamper you tonight. Starting with a bath.”
“A bath?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll let you get undressed and dressed on your own. You can even wash yourself. And get yourself in and out of the bath. This time.”
Wow.
That meant he wanted to do those things another time?
A part of her was nervous.
The other part could not wait.
29
The bath didn’t feel right.
Oh, it was at the perfect temperature. And filled with bubbles. She loved bubbles.
But nothing felt right.
This bath should be relaxing her.
However, everything just felt off.
The house seemed too quiet and every time she attempted to relax, today would come back at her.
The screeching noise and jolt as the car hit them. Being pressed against the belt. She might have said she hadn’t been worried because she knew Ethan would keep her safe, but somehow all that fear was now catching up to her.
And it was stealing her breath.
She rubbed at her chest. There was a heaviness there.
Get out of the bath.
Find Ethan.
She stood in the tub, but the room tilted slightly, and she fell back down with a cry. A sudden knocking on the door made her scream.
Placing her hand on her chest, she stared at the bathroom door in fear.
“Cate? Baby, it’s me. What’s wrong? Why did you cry out?”
Tell him you’re fine.
“I’m coming in,” he called out before she could reply.
The door burst open and he rushed in.
Under normal circumstances, that might upset her. It might have her checking that she was covered, pulling bubbles over herself.
However, the rush of relief she felt pushed away all of her concerns.
Then she became aware that his gaze was running all over the room. His breath was coming in harsh pants.
“What’s wrong?” Had there been a threat? “Is it Rhodes?” Fear flooded her.
“What? Baby, no. It’s you.”
“What?”
“I heard you cry out and then you didn’t answer me.” He moved toward her, kneeling on the floor next to the bath. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I . . . I . . .” He made her feel so flummoxed. And she was finding it difficult to keep her emotions and thoughts in check around him.
He cupped her face. “Deep breath in, now let it out. That’s a girl. Now another.”
She kept breathing.
“I’m sorry if I scared you just now.” He lowered his voice and he looked less frantic.