Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
"There's only one thing we can do to make sure that doesn't happen again."
By the time I recover from my shock, it's too late. His head has disappeared under my gown, and at the first stroke of his tongue, I fall back against the stone balustrade, my fingers gripping his head through the thick velvet fabric of my gown.
Ronan laps at me lazily at first, as if we have all the time in the world, as if we're not at a formal event with hundreds of people just beyond the door. His hands grip my thighs, spreading me wider as his tongue delves deeper.
His tongue circles my clit before flicking rapidly against it, sending jolts of electricity up my spine. When he slides two fingers inside me, curling them to hit that perfect spot, I have to stuff my fist against my mouth to muffle my moans.
Orgasm comes in a flash, washing over me with blinding intensity. My body convulses, inner walls clenching around his fingers as waves of pleasure crash through me.
Ronan emerges from beneath my skirt, and he carefully takes his time as he fixes my hair and adjusts my gown. He straightens when he's done, his mouth gently covering mine, and a shudder rocks my body as I taste myself in his kiss.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
I want to say it so, so bad.
But I can't.
Because I'm terrified when I do...
Ronan won't say them back.
IT'S MY CHECKUP THE next day, this time with my fiancé and "unofficial" doctor, who has also texted me about being late.
Meeting with the founding members running over. Oliver insists on discussing security protocols for the wedding. Will try to wrap up ASAP. Wait for me.
I can only shake my head. It's just so surreal, knowing that everyone in Hartland is a billionaire.
The desk of Ronan's secretary is empty when I get to his office. Thinking that she's likely out for lunch, I decide to let myself in at his consultation room, only for my steps to come to an awkward halt when I realize someone is already inside.
Oh.
It's like finding myself staring at my doppelgänger, albeit a slightly older and more cynical version. But most surprisingly of all, she's made herself comfortable in Ronan's chair, and the more I look at her, the more I find it harder to breathe.
The other woman finally looks up, and I see the same surprise in her gaze when she realizes how identical we look.
Her gaze narrows, and her voice is sharp as she asks, "Who are you?"
A memory flutters into my mind, and I remember that one time when Ronan and I were on the bus, and it was as if I had become invisible...because he was seeing someone else.
Pain squeezes my heart, and I hear myself say, "I'm Doctor Slater's patient." It's not a lie, but it's all I suddenly feel I have the right to say...and I don't understand it. Why is my heart suddenly hurting so, so bad?
"Please take a seat," she tells me, and I find myself doing as she says because it's just easier...than to let myself think.
She studies me with a look that's equal parts curiosity and calculation. "His secretary still hasn't come back, has she?"
I shake my head, fighting the rising sense of dread.
"She's been with Ronan since eternity," she says with a curl of her lip. "She should've retired a long time ago, honestly. She can't possibly be a huge help to Ronan at her age."
I feel bad about the way she's talking about Terry, but I feel even worse when I think about how this woman's relationship with Ronan goes far beyond anything I have with him.
Thoughts I should have no business of entertaining start poisoning my mind, and I desperately shove them away. "Are you a relative of Dr. Slater's?" The words come out stilted, and it shames me to hear myself ask this. Ronan doesn't deserve this. I shouldn't be acting like—-
"We were high school sweethearts."
—-he's cheating on me.
"I...s-see."
"Are you alright?" the other woman asks. "You look rather pale all of a sudden."
I want to say 'I'm fine' but I can't.
I feel dizzy and nauseous.
I rise to my feet, but the world only starts to spin faster and faster.
No. No. No.
"I think I need to—"
The words die on my lips as darkness closes in.
Chapter Eleven
DON'T WAIT UNTIL IT'S too late, and you've already lost everything.
Konstantin's warning echoed in Ronan's mind like a death knell as he paced the sterile hospital corridor. He paused at the window of Acacia's room, watching her chest rise and fall in sleep, tubes and wires connecting her to machines that beeped a steady rhythm. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, the urge to go to her, to touch her, to explain everything nearly overwhelming him.