Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 50706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
“Don’t,” I pant. “Don’t apologize. I don’t want to talk about that.”
“But I still am. I’m sorry. Sorry for all those douchebags, sorry for every single person who didn’t treat you right, and sorry for leaving you all alone for so long to fend for yourself.”
“It’s not your fault.” And there it is. It’s the truth.
Whatever anger and bitterness I might have held towards Raiden evaporates. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t his fault that he had some serious talent and was so smart that he got insanely rich and made a name for himself. It’s not his fault he takes over companies and tries to make them better than they were, including giving people opportunities they never had before. It’s not his fault the women he dated used him like I was used. Some people are just rotten, stinking poopy pants. It’s not entirely his fault that he never contacted me again after our parents got a divorce because I never reached out to him either. It’s not his fault that my nipples are puckered so hard, they’ve probably slashed through my dress.
Erm, maybe that one is his fault. In a good way.
“Please,” I whisper. “Take me into whatever bedroom is back there…”
Raiden’s eyes turn about as dark and stormy as the clouds gathering over the lodge. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m…armffff…” Raiden’s lips crash over mine. His hands capture my waist, and he lifts me effortlessly against him. I try to wrap my legs around his waist, but I’m wearing a freaking maxi dress, and there’s a lot of extra fabric, and as I’m not overly athletic, I kind of miss. If Raiden weren’t so athletic, I’d for sure be on my ass. Instead, he catches me with a laugh and sweeps me into his arms, princess style.
He carries me through the cabin while I latch onto his neck and tug his mouth back to mine. I don’t want to be without his mouth. His perfect lips are like oxygen. I think I’ll die without them. We manage to only knock into two things, thanks to Raiden’s ridiculously amazing coordination. He’s technically carrying me completely blind while kissing me so fiercely that I think his tongue might actually become fused to mine.
I don’t complain when my feet scrape against the couch, and when my elbow bangs the doorway, I do let out a little whimper, but when Raiden tries to pull away, I thread my fingers through his hair and body slam our lips back together. I know lips don’t have bodies, but they can still get body-slammed.
Just like the rest of me does when Raiden tries to set me down on the bed. I’m two seconds too late in realizing what he’s doing, and I don’t unlatch my arms from around his neck, so he loses his balance and falls on top of me so hard that the mattress and the bed’s metal foundation below it give out a massive groan. All I let out is a hiss of breath as I’m practically winded by Raiden’s bulky, muscly, and delicious weight on top of me.
I might be compressed a foot into the mattress, and the old thing might be folding in on either side of us, but I’m not complaining.
“Shit, sorry.” Raiden tries to untangle himself from me, but I don’t let go of his neck, and I don’t stop kissing him.
“Take your clothes off,” I command against his lips.
“Which ones?”
“All of them.”
“The t-shirt first?”
“I don’t care. Just as long as they all go.”
Raiden stills. I still, too, because I think this is the moment where he regains the common sense he’s lost over the past few weeks and tells me I’m not his type, which is harsh, in a lot of ways. I feel really, really bad for thinking it because it’s not fair to me, and it’s not fair to Raiden either.
“We’re really doing this then?”
“Yes.” The awe in his tone makes me feel dizzy. Or maybe that’s the lack of oxygen since Raiden is heavy, and I can’t expand my lungs properly with him squashing me. I’m not complaining, though. Sometimes, it’s nice to be squashed.
“I don’t have a condom.”
That brings me up short, and I squirm beneath Raiden so I can look up at him. “I’m on the pill. I’ve been on it for years, and I trust it. I never miss one. I also haven’t been with anyone in over six months, and I get tested—”
“Me too,” Raiden says. “Yes, I trust you. Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” It’s true. I do. I do because I once loved you in a completely different way—not as a brother, but as my best friend. Maybe that should make this weird, but it doesn’t. If anything, it makes it better.
Suddenly, Raiden’s whole body goes rigid, and confusion sweeps over me. I’m worried I said or did the wrong thing. My lady cave is also worried I said and did the wrong thing because she’s afraid she’s not going to see any action. I get this sudden and clichéd mental image of a cave that’s unused for so long, bats fly out of it, and I nearly whimper in frustration for both me and my box.