Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
“I’m ready to try,” I whisper.
For a beat, the world seems to stand still. Alex looks at me, his eyes searching mine, and then his hand comes up to cover mine on his chest, his touch warm and grounding. The tension between us shifts, becoming something deeper, something more. His expression softens into something I can’t quite describe, but I feel it—deep down.
“We’ll take this one step at a time,” he says, his voice low, filled with that steady certainty that’s always made me feel safe. “But we’ll take it together.”
Together.
The weight of that word settles around us, heavy with meaning. This is no longer just about surviving the chaos, no longer just about fighting off the danger. This is about us. About the bond we’ve built, the trust we’re still learning how to give each other. I nod, unable to find the words for everything I’m feeling, but knowing that this is the start of something new.
We stand there for a moment longer, the silence between us no longer filled with tension but with something warm, something real. Then, slowly, his hand trails down to my waist, pulling me just a little closer. It’s not rushed. It’s not desperate. It’s a promise.
For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel the urge to pull away.
As we walk through the circus grounds later, the energy is different. The chaos has settled, and there’s a calm in the air that wasn’t there before. The performers are tending to their tasks, the animals resting in their enclosures, and the atmosphere feels lighter. The immediate danger is gone, and for the first time, the circus feels like the home it’s always been. But it’s more than that.
I glance over at Alex walking beside me, his hand brushing mine as we move together through the tented pathways. There’s a peace in my chest that I haven’t felt in years. The fear that’s always gnawed at me is still there, but it’s quieter now, more distant. I’ve taken that leap. I’ve let him in. And even though the future is still uncertain, it doesn’t feel as terrifying as it once did.
The circus is rebuilding. We’re rebuilding. And as I look ahead, walking through the place I’ve called home for so long, I realize something. The circus was always a symbol of survival for me. A place to hide, to stay safe. But now, with Alex by my side, it feels like something more. It feels like a place where I can finally start living. Where I can finally be free.
The future stretches out ahead of us, uncertain and bright, but for the first time, I’m not scared. Not anymore.
When we reach my caravan, he leans in, close enough that I can smell his warm, masculine scent. A vixen awakens inside me with just that one note of Alex in the air. I suck in a soft breath, willing my brain to put one foot in front of the other and get me anywhere but here. "I'm good at reading people, Sophia," he trails off, his finger tracing up the crook of my inner elbow as we lean against the doorway. "The good ones, the bad ones. When they lie, when they're scared, when they're happy, when they're frustrated." His nose brushes along the shell of my ear as he finishes, "When they're turned on."
"You sound like a talented man." I shift against him, my body always so drawn to his. His broad shoulders filling up the space, his thick voice strumming every single one of my nerves and leaving me in a constant heightened state of awareness around him.
It's exhausting, being so turned on for Alex all the time.
"Let me show you." Before I can reply, his hands are at my waist, guiding me through the door and into the small kitchen in my caravan. He spins me onto the counter, seating me, ass first, on the counter and slipping his hips between my thighs.
My breathing hitches, my breasts suddenly tingling with the desire for him to touch me. The peaks of nipples painful and visibly cutting through my top.
I clamp down on my lips, crossing my arms awkwardly before he catches my wrists and yanks them away.
"Don't ever hide from me."
I gasp as his fingers dance under my waistband, the pads of his fingertips resting above the curve of my ass as he pulls me closer to him. He growls when our bodies connect, the length of his thickness pressing against my hot core. I groan as he slowly rocks into me, his other hand slipping under my shirt and up to my bra.
My hands clutch at his biceps, my lips open and gasping for air as he kneads me. His teeth cut into his bottom lip as he drives me closer to the edge.