Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
He wanted a very different relationship with me. Truthfully, I would’ve died to have one with him before the mixer. And the fact that we were robbed of that—because it very much feels like a robbery at this point—and it affected the next decade of our lives feels devastating.
I study his pools of blue and the stress in my body fades away.
“Doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.” He’s right. We can’t fix it. We can’t erase the stupid things we’ve done and said to each other over the years. But we can refuse to allow the trauma from our fathers and childish mistakes steal anything else from us. We can see each other for who we are now.
And, right now, there’s a very handsome man standing in front of me who just might be the only man in my life to ever do anything to protect me. He had my back in rooms I wasn’t in.
How wild is that?
I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t know where we go from here. But I do know the answer to his question.
“Where does that leave us?” I ask, grinning. “You better get over here and kiss me again.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Georgia
The air shifts, growing hotter by the moment.
Ripley’s long-sleeved shirt is suddenly too warm against my skin. The cabin is too small. The look in Ripley’s eyes is so scorching, so electric that I might combust from it alone.
Now that I’m free from having to hate him, I want him so badly it hurts.
“You want kissed, huh?” he asks, as a bolt of lightning illuminates the cabin. “I don’t know …”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
He acts like he’s weighing his options. “We’re just getting on the right track. After all these years, we might be able to be friends.”
“We might not, too. Choose carefully.”
The corner of his mouth tilts to the ceiling. “And, if I kiss you, that might screw it up.”
“And if you don’t, I might screw you up.”
He laughs, his face free of the usual stress lines that appear when he’s around me. If I ever thought he was handsome before, I was wrong because seeing him like this—like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders—is simply spectacular.
My thighs clench in a futile attempt to stop the aching between my legs.
“Well, I don’t want to be screwed up, do I?” he asks, stalking toward me.
“I hope not. You’ve come so far in such a short amount of time.”
The words are barely spoken before Ripley’s mouth finds mine.
His arm slips behind the small of my back, dragging me into his body. I throw my arms around his neck and palm the back of his head, pulling his face closer to mine, then I moan as I feel the hardness of his cock against my belly.
Wow.
The cabin spins as his tongue traces along my bottom lip. Shivers race down my spine as his free hand palms my ass. He parts my lips with his tongue before sweeping it across mine, sending shock waves through my entire body.
A decade’s worth of pent-up sexual tension hits a boiling point.
I need him.
Now.
“What do you want, Peaches?” He kisses across my jaw and down the side of my neck. “Tell me what you want.”
I tilt my head back and he places a kiss in the hollow of my throat.
“What do you think I want?” I ask, the sound raspy.
His chuckle vibrates against my cheek. “Knowing you? Probably carbs.”
“Asshole.” I laugh, pausing when he nips my bottom lip between his teeth. “Ah!”
He takes a step back, smiling mischievously.
I pant, my body pulsing from his touch … and craving more. Needing more. Dying for more.
“Are you stopping now?” I ask.
“Look, this has been one of the most unbelievable days of my life and I’m not about to ruin it by assuming I know what you want. You’re going to have to tell me.”
“What are my options?”
He licks his lips, grinning. “Option A: we get dressed and wait for the rain to stop.”
“Okay. Option B?”
“Option B is we get undressed and wait for the rain to stop.”
“Option B.”
“That’s an excellent choice. But that option has sub-options.”
I throw my hands up. “Can you just pick one that includes you inside me? That’s the one I want.”
He laughs, his eyes twinkling. “Ah, there you are. I wondered how long it would take.”
“Sadly, it took less time than it did for you to get me naked.” I grab the bottom of his shirt and rip it over my head, throwing it at him. “There. I did it for you.”
His gaze lazily drags down my body, taking in every inch not covered by my bra and panties.
“My God, Georgia. You are fucking stunning.”
My cheeks flush. “You’ve seen me in a bikini before. It’s not any different.”
His eyes find mine again. “It is different. I couldn’t touch you then.”