Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
He gazes at me with such vulnerability, such passion that I wish I could capture this moment and remember it forever. The moment he declared his heart. The moment when I’m ready to do the same. I sneak a hit of him. Fire, leather, orchids. My favorites. But soap too. He just showered.
Even his hair is damp.
I eat up all these details, recording them so they become my photo albums and I never forget how I feel right here, right now. “Yes. I miss you. I want you. I need you,” I say, then I swallow, taking a fortifying breath before I say three more words. “And—”
But before I can speak, he says, “I love you.”
“You beat me to it,” I say, laughing, my whole body singing, my mind dancing.
“As a man should,” he says, then he sets me down and holds my face like he’s about to come in for a kiss, but he pauses.
Sweeps his gaze up and down me. Then finally brushes his lips to mine. I sigh happily against his mouth.
It feels like both a kiss and a declaration.
We’re choosing this. Choosing us. I know this in a bone-deep way. When he breaks the kiss, I take his hand and lead him out of the stairwell and down the hall, stopping at my open door.
“Want to see my place?”
“I bet it smells really good.”
“Like a dream that became real,” I say, unable to stop smiling.
His expression softens, his eyes gleaming as he cups my cheek. But before he hauls me in for another kiss, he lets go and gets to work.
“You brought the gardens to me,” I say as I pick up a vase and a box.
“And I always will.”
Another declaration, and it fills my whole soul.
A few minutes later, the flowers are in my tiny kitchen and we are too.
He takes my hands, threads his fingers through mine. “I want to be with you. In case that wasn’t clear,” he says, his green eyes sharp, intense.
“You can tell me again,” I say.
But his smile disappears. His expression is serious. “I missed you terribly. I fell in love with you in Paris, and I did a terrible job telling you. I wasn’t bold enough. Wasn’t clear enough. I don’t want to stop telling you now. I just love you, Jules, and all the reasons to resist this don’t matter anymore. I let them go. I’d do anything for you. Even if I lose your father’s friendship, I’ll take that chance,” he says, his tone somber, underscoring his meaning. “If you’ll have this guy who’s a little bit older, who has a kid, who’s divorced.”
He says it like those things would hold me back.
“I’m all in,” I say, voice feathery as I fight off happy tears. “I’ve been holding back for too long. Keeping my own secrets for too long. I haven’t been living. Then, you came into my life and I’m not afraid to be myself anymore. I’m not afraid to live every day of my life. And to love…deeply. I want that with you.” My eyes well with the emotions rising up in me.
Finn swipes a thumb along my eyelid, wiping away the start of a tear.
But it’s not a tear of sadness. I don’t feel sad anymore.
“Good. Let’s love deeply together.”
That’s our vow. One that says we’re worth the obstacles. That this love is worth the challenges. He’s here for me. And I’ll be there for him.
“There’s so much to talk about. So much to figure out. But right now, I want to show you how very, very good I will be to you,” he says in that bedroom rasp that makes me want to drop my panties.
Well, they are pretty soaked.
That’s just the way he likes it. Ten minutes later, his face is between my thighs, and he’s lapping me up, driving me wild, and making me grab the sheets on my bed.
Good thing I closed the window, or all of Chelsea would hear me scream his name as I writhe and thrash.
I’m panting, moaning, gasping as I pull him up and grab at his shirt. “Now. Get in me now.”
“Beg for it,” he says carelessly.
And I do.
I slide off the bed, get down on my knees, and gaze up at him, feeling like his.
He runs a hand over my hair, like he cherishes me. “Do it.”
He’s still dressed, and I clutch his hips tight as I say, “Please fuck me. I’m begging you. I want to feel your cock deep inside me. I want you to fuck me hard and good, like I’m the only one.”
“You are.” His gaze is feral, and in a heartbeat, he tugs me up. I make quick work of his clothes, stripping him eagerly, savoring having my hands on him once again.
He falls to the bed and pulls me on top of him. “Ride my cock. Ride me till you come again. Use me to get off. And I won’t stop till you’re drenched in orgasms.”