Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“Meh, mornings are for the birds. If you sleep ’til noon, you skip all the drama.”
“It’s not because you regret anything that happened last night?”
She turns in my arms. “What do you mean?”
“Everything. I knew you’d been drinking. I’m just making sure I didn’t take advantage of you while you were in a state that you wouldn’t remember or possibly regret in the morning.”
A blush fills her cheeks. “I mean, if you’re asking if I remember everything we talked about and what was said, the answer is yes. But no, no regrets.” I release the breath I’ve been holding all night. “Besides that, I don’t remember anything else exciting happening. Nothing worth remembering—shit, no! Don’t tickle me.”
“Tell me what else happened last night, Minds.” I clutch her hips, digging my fingers into her soft skin.
“You wouldn’t stop talking, and I fell asleep—shit! Okay! We had crazy, hot sex, and I orgasmed a billion times! Please, stop tickling me.” Her giggles tamper off as I relax, satisfied with her answer.
Tenderly, I wet my lips and kiss along her shoulder.
“Tate?” she says in a whisper.
“Yeah?” I roll her so she’s on top of me. She raises up and straddles me. Her gaze is somber, and it starts to freak me out. She’s no longer smiling, and I worry there’s something wrong. Her eyes fall to where her hands rest on my chest. I know she can feel my heart thrashing against her palms. “What is it, Minds?” Fuck, I need to know what she’s thinking.
She finally speaks, and my heart stops altogether. “I love you too. I know I already let the cat out of the bag, but I wanted you to hear it again. In a better setting.” Her words hit their mark deep inside my chest.
I reach up and brush a loose strand of hair off her face. “I was an ass for not taking the gift you offered me the first time.”
“You were. No one’s arguing that. But I just wanted you to know even after…everything, that never went away. I wanted it, too. I was so angry. But my heart is stupid and wants stupid things. So, lucky for you, I love you.”
I sit up, cupping her cheeks, and hold her gaze hostage so she can see how deep my love for her runs. Then I take her lips in a hard kiss. It’s passionate and all-consuming. I want to spread her legs, shove myself deep inside her, and fuck her until she understands how I feel. “I’m never letting you go again.”
I make sweet love to her. Then I give her what she wants and fuck her until she’s panting and screaming my name. I hold her and kiss her and whisper praises of love and worship because now that I have her back, I won’t ever take the gift of having her in my life for granted.
***
It’s late afternoon when I stir awake. Surprised I slept, I open my eyes and catch Mindy perched on her side, staring at me. “Enjoying the view?”
“You betcha.”
“Then why do you look so conflicted?”
She shrugs. The way her eyes roam over me, I know there’s something on her mind. “Out with it, babe.” I sit up and push her onto her back.
She smiles weakly and says, “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
She hesitates, then rushes out, “Was it hard for you to kill Vince—or Paul?”
“No.”
“You don’t feel guilt for taking his life?”
“Not a single second. I’d do it over and over for what he did to you.”
She ponders my answer, and it opens up a swarm of questions of my own. “My turn,” I say.
“Uh-oh.”
I drop my head, pressing a soft kiss to her mouth. “Do you want to talk about what happened? I read the report. Listened to your statement over a million fucking times. It made me wish I hadn’t killed him so I could have tortured him in ways that would be way more painful. Being shot was doing him a favor.”
Her palm cradles my cheek. “He didn’t hurt me. I mean, I was really scared. But he didn’t hurt me, hurt me. My turn. Fay said it was because of you they found me.”
I close my eyes and rest my forehead against hers. I hate having to relive those moments. “I’ve seen some dark shit in my life. I won’t lie. Iraq did a number on me. It did everyone. But this…it was so much different. Over there, you’re trained to become desensitized. If you’re not numb, you’re dead. We had men go missing. Brothers explode right in front of me. And still…nothing compared to the pain of knowing he had you. That we couldn’t find you, and he stayed one step ahead of us.” She brushes her fingers through my hair. “I saw firsthand what he was capable of.”