Total pages in book: 204
Estimated words: 193115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 966(@200wpm)___ 772(@250wpm)___ 644(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 193115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 966(@200wpm)___ 772(@250wpm)___ 644(@300wpm)
I place my hands on hers on the edge of the worktop. Get my face close. Scan her eyes. My insides light up. This. This feeling.
Touch her and she’ll be yours again.
I growl and push my mouth to hers, and she starts to wriggle and wrestle against me, so I harden my kiss, my hands tightening over hers. She refuses to open up to me, stands her ground. It’s absurd. Her body is firing off spark after spark, her heart bashing against my chest. She can’t hide that. I lick her sealed lips, tasting her want. It’s embedded in her skin, and yet she still denies me, still refuses to open up. I ease my hold of one hand, and she grabs my arm. I don’t move an inch. An earthquake wouldn’t shift me. I take her hip and she jolts on a shallow cry. I growl, not giving up. I will never give up.
She turns her head away, leaving me breathing raggedly in her ear. I can smell her conflict. “Stubborn woman,” I whisper, moving my attention to her neck, giving every inch a kiss or a lick or a gentle bite. Come on, Ava. I’m tired of these games. I feel like I’ve been through hell and back to get us both to a place of acceptance, and I’ll be dead before I allow her to rob that contentment from us both. Dead.
I work my mouth up to her ear and bite down on her lobe, then feel her nails sink into my flesh through my jacket. She’s caving. She’s fighting to maintain this futile resistance. My cock sings its agreement, willing me on. I reach for her stomach and gently stroke from side to side.
“Please. Please, stop.”
“You stop, Ava,” I murmur, nuzzling her hot cheek. “Just stop.” I dip a finger past the waistband of her shorts and softly skim her tummy, my tongue wetting her neck. She goes lax against me, her body wracking, and I laugh lightly at her willfulness.
She wedges a hand in my chest and tries to force me away. I’m unmoving. And she is getting desperate because she knows I’m winning. The feelings are winning. The chemistry is winning. She’s outnumbered by a ton of raw passion.
I go in for the kill, push my fingers into her knickers, and gasp when I meet the fire there. Jesus.
She jolts violently. “Oh God.”
I move fast, smashing my mouth on hers, working her clit gently as I invade her mouth. And when I feel her tongue meet mine, I thank the heavens.
“Let my hand go,” she orders, and I groan, freeing her, moving my hold to her neck as she encases me in her arms, going at my mouth like a madwoman, holding me tighter than she’s ever held me before.
Peace overcomes me as I finger her slowly, relishing the consistent feeling of her throbbing around my touch. It doesn’t take me long to get her to climax. Her cry is broken, her body stiff, as she comes all over my hand on endless whimpers.
“Remember yet?” I ask quietly, and she sighs, forcing her eyes open. Our stares meet. It tells me everything I need. I drop a light kiss onto her lips and pick her up, placing her on the edge of the counter and crowding her. Because crowding her works. So fuck you, John. “Why do you keep running away from me?” I ask, needing to know, desperately needing to know, so I can fix it and ensure it never happens again.
She looks away and shrugs. A shrug? Come on, Ava. I take her chin and direct her face to mine. “Talk to me, baby.” Please. Tell me everything that’s on your mind. Let me help you figure this out.
“You’re distracting me,” she says on a long exhale. “I don’t want to get hurt.”
There it is. And, fuck, I am guaranteed to hurt her. But . . . “I’m a distraction?”
“Yes.”
“What am I distracting you from?” I ask quickly. She distracts me too, but whereas it’s a good thing for me, it’s mighty obvious Ava doesn’t think it’s a good thing for her.
“Being sensible,” she says, looking awkward. Her answer throws me. Being sensible would be to stop incessantly challenging this incredible thing we have and accept it. Why can’t she do that? It seems the second I don’t crowd her, she talks herself out of it.
“Ava, know one thing.” It’s the only thing she needs to know right now. “I’ll do anything to avoid hurting you.” Anything. I’m yet to figure out how I can make that happen, but my good intentions are there. It’s the very reason I’m holding on to my secrets. I don’t want to hurt her, and in the process hurt myself. I’m done with hurting myself. “Please don’t run away from me.” I kiss her gently, resorting to my ace card. “I’m going to distract you some more now. We need to make friends.” I pull her off the counter, and she wraps herself around me in that way she does. Like she doesn’t want to let go. And I know deep down she doesn’t, which makes the whole thing so frustrating. What did Sarah say to her that made her run from someone she loves?