Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
I slip my hand between us, reaching for his cock. Greedy for it.
I'm nearly to heaven when his rough hand grasps mine with steely resolve, steering me away.
"Karina," he whispers, a warning and a plea.
"I need you," I plead, not above begging to get what I want—what I need. It's been a week since the accident, and he's barely touched me. Every single time things start heating up between us, he suddenly finds somewhere else to be. The worst of my injuries are healing—the scratches and bruises fading. Even the concussion isn't really a problem now. But he refuses to relent. "I'm not going to shatter, Coda."
But he's immovable—refusing to give in even though I feel how hard he is for me.
"Karina, please." His thumb sweeps my bottom lip in a gesture meant to soothe, but it only makes me burn hotter. "I can't—I won't hurt you."
"Too late," I whisper, feeling vulnerable with him in a way I never have before now. "You look at me like I'm made of glass, Coda. But I'm not. I'm here—flesh, blood, and wanting you."
He tenses as if waging some internal war, but he doesn't talk to me, and he doesn't kiss me again, either. And for the first time, doubt creeps in.
Maybe it's not that he thinks I'm made of glass. Maybe it's simply that he doesn't want me. Maybe the problem isn't him. It's me.
I wrench myself from his arms, tears welling in my eyes. He reaches for me, but I evade, quickly putting distance between us.
"Just leave me alone," I whisper. My traitorous voice cracks, shouting my misery into the room.
"Karina, talk to me," he urges, his voice soft.
But I'm done talking. I'm done begging. I'm done asking him to want me enough when he clearly doesn't. Whether it's fear or something else—it's winning. He's letting it win.
I ignore him, staring out of the window at the city below.
His hands, rough and unyielding, wrap around me from behind, pulling me up against his chest. His arms are like an iron bars, anchoring me in place. His heart pounds against my spine. This isn't a tender embrace, an apology. He's pissed.
Good. That makes two of us.
"Let me go!" I demand, thrashing within his grasp. But he holds me tighter, his strength absolute and terrifying in its gentleness.
"Never, so you might as well stop fucking ignoring me." The rough growl of his voice vibrates through me as he spins me in his arms to face him.
I try to avert my face to hide my tears, but he sees them anyway.
"Jesus, Karina." The hardness in his voice crumbles away, leaving only naked horror. His hands shake as they come up to cup my face, thumbs brushing away the wet trails on my cheeks. "Please, don't cry," he pleads, his voice shaking as hard as his hands. "I can't stand it."
"Then stop treating me like I'll shatter!" My sob is half anger, half plea, all of it burning with need. "If you don't w-want me anymore, just say it. But don't keep treating me like I'm glass, Coda. It's not fair."
His gentle touch lingers on my skin, a painful contrast to the merciless way he's been guarding his own heart. His eyes lock on mine, dark and bottomless pools. He's listening—really listening this time. There's a reverence in his silence that stills my tremors.
"I need you more than I need air, angioletta." His confession sends shockwaves through me. "You think I don't want you? Every time I'm near you, my dick is hard. I want you so fucking desperately I can't control it."
"I…"
One quirked brow silences me. "But I love you too much to be selfish with you, cara. The thought of hurting you after everything you've already been through tears me apart. I can't lose you. The accident…" he trails off, discomposed in a way he's never been before, shaken to his core. "I could have lost you. It's fucking haunting me."
My heart races, pounding against my ribcage like a jackhammer. The intensity of his declaration is terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. This beautiful, complicated man is afraid, perhaps for the first time in his life. He loves me.
"Did you mean that?" The question slips out before I can call it back. I'm desperate for every piece of him, greedy with the need to belong to him in every way. I want his heart, every single piece of it. "Do you really love me, Coda?"
"Yes." There's no hesitation in his response. It's a vow, devoted and sure. The truth reflects in his eyes. He means it. "Ti amo. I love you, Karina. More than anything."
Tears spill over again, blurring my vision. "Then why are you shutting me out? It hurts, Coda. Every time you shut me down, it hurts me. Don't you understand? I feel the same thing you do. The same need, the same ache. I need you—I need your strength, your touch, your…everything."