Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“What?”
“That’s hot.”
“What’s hot?”
“The way you just downed that bottle of water.”
“Really?” I ask.
“So hot, Popeye.”
I shake my head. “Come here.” I take a seat on the couch and pull her onto my lap. Just where I want her. “What are we watching?”
“Nothing looks good.” She tosses the remote to the couch, and it bounces on the cushion beside us.
“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
“I signed.”
My heart drops to my toes, but I manage to nod. I give myself time to process the news. “Where are you going?”
“Michigan. The city is looking for images of the great lakes. Something about tourism.” She shrugs. “I’ve never been to Michigan, but I hear it’s beautiful.”
“When do you leave?” The question feels like sandpaper on my tongue.
“The second week of March.”
“That’s a week sooner.” Sooner than I expected is what I want to say.
“Yeah, Palmer said it was fine.”
“So, I have you for four more weeks.”
“Four more weeks,” she confirms.
I hold her tighter because all I really want to do is beg her to stay. My heart tells me that if I ask her to stay, she will. That all she needs is for me to say the words. I want her heart to stay wild, but I want her to do that here with me.
When her body starts to shake, I feel my own emotions threatening to break free. I’m holding my heart in my hands. How am I supposed to let her just walk away? Her hands grip my shirt as sobs rack her body. All I can do is hold her. I can’t form words. My throat is thick with heartbreak.
Don’t go.
“I love you.” My voice is a haggard whisper. “I love you,” I repeat, over and over again. I can’t tell her enough. I need her to understand that those three words are more than just love. They represent my soul that’s now linked with hers for eternity.
“One day, Scar, one day you’re going to come back to me.” My voice doesn’t sound like my own.
“Archer….” She snuggles closer, curling up into a ball on my lap. She sits completely still for several minutes. Hell, it could be hours. Time is passing by too fast.
Four weeks.
When she finally lifts her head, her pretty green eyes are swollen and bloodshot from her tears. She raises her hands to my cheeks and studies me. I don’t know what she’s looking for, but she must find it. She nods. “I need you, Archer.”
“You have me. All of me.”
“Make love to me.”
That’s the first time she’s ever called it that. Making love. I’ve thought of it a million times, but we’ve never referred to it as such. Tonight, we will. I’m going to take my time and show this woman what “I love you” means. I’m going to worship her.
Standing with her in my arms, I carry her down the hall to my room. I don’t worry about the lights, and I locked the door when she came in earlier. I don’t worry about anything but the beauty in my arms. I place her on the bed and reach over, turning on the bedside lamp. I kneel before her and reach for her leggings. “Lift for me.” She does as I ask, and in one tug, I have her leggings and her panties over her hips, down her legs, and tossed across the room. “Arms up.” My voice is soft, and she complies, lifting her arms in the air. Her sweater lands somewhere behind me. I can’t pull my eyes from her to find out. I don’t care.
All I care about is Scarlett and showing her what she means to me. Climbing to my feet, I reach behind her and unclasp her bra, tossing it too. I reach for the hem of my shirt, but her hands over mine stop me. She stands and points to the bed. I take her spot and wordlessly lift my arms in the air. She tugs off my shirt before dropping to her knees and working at the waistband of my lounge pants.
I lift my hips and help her get them off, which leaves us both fully naked. Scarlett drops to her knees, but I shake my head. “Not tonight.”
“I want to.” She licks her lips.
Just thinking about her luscious mouth wrapped around my cock has me hard as steel. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s not how I want to come. I need to be inside you tonight.”
She studies me, not saying a word. Reaching down, I place my hands under her arms and lift her onto my lap. I hug her to me.
Skin to skin.
“So soft,” I murmur as I press my lips to her shoulder. When I lift my head, her eyes are brimming with tears. Sliding my hand beneath her gorgeous red locks, I cup the back of her neck and guide her lips to mine. I take my time exploring her mouth. Her tongue slides against mine in a practiced move as if she’s only ever kissed me.