Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Warmth covered me whole, a blanket of comfort that soaked me through.
Any of the fear I’d felt last night had been eradicated by the presence of Otto who I was currently plastered against.
His enormous body wrapped around mine as he slept.
Protectively.
Possessively.
And there was no question within me that lying in their strength was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Sometime during the night, we’d kicked off the covers. Apparently being in this bed with him had ignited a fire, and now I burned at a thousand degrees.
My skin flaming in every spot we touched.
A hazy, filmy light filled his room. Through it, I gazed across at his handsome face where he rested his cheek on the pillow. A face that stirred a riot inside me. The longer pieces of his cropped hair were a mess, and his stubble had grown thick.
His eyes were closed, and the sharp curve of his jaw had softened with his sleep. Plush lips barely parted as he breathed.
His scent swamped me.
Patchouli and warm apple pie.
His aura was the only thing I could breathe.
I wanted to sink into it.
Inhale and imbibe.
Disappear.
No question, even thinking about it was dangerous. But I didn’t know how to stop myself when I would likely never have another chance.
I gave into the compulsion and allowed my eyes to caress over his bare flesh.
A tremble flash-fired through my body. Desire burning through me in a quivering of need. I hadn’t seen him without a shirt in quite a few years. Whenever we went to the lake, he rarely played in the water, which was a complete injustice because, oh my God, this man was beautiful.
My gaze roamed over his thick, muscled arms and the swirling art that River had tattooed on him.
Otto’s ink was a mix of dark and light. Skulls and crosses and spirits that crawled up his flesh.
Though flowers were woven in between, as if hope had braided itself into his grief.
My fingers itched with the need to trace the designs. Memorize each one. Commit him to memory in a way he’d never allowed me.
I lost my breath when I shifted and the top of my thigh grazed his front. I froze as a firestorm of heat swept through my entire being.
My stomach tight and my heart battering.
Was that his…cock? And was he…hard?
I gulped around the jagged rocks that had suddenly lodged in my throat.
Crap, what was I supposed to do?
A dark, deep sound rolled through Otto’s chest, and he started to press himself harder against the top of my thigh where one of my legs was pinned between both of his.
Definitely his cock.
I didn’t know if I should hold really still and let him go about his business because interrupting him seemed like an injustice itself, or if it would be more considerate to wake him up from whatever dream he was having the way he’d done with me last night.
Only that fire blazed into a complete inferno when he rumbled in a gruff, sleep laced voice…
“Raven.”
I swore, he moaned it, and I felt the reverberation of it all the way down to my toes. The spot between my thighs became heavy and achy.
I had the intense urge to shift and wrap my legs around him so he could rub his hard length against my throbbing center.
Only his eyes popped open.
Those deep endless pools of blue stared back.
For one, perfect second, our connection screamed between us. That invisible thing that I’d sworn had been there all along.
Fierce, desperate desire.
Agonizing want.
A longing that went so deep there would be no way to crawl out from under it.
Our breaths harsh and our hearts thundering.
I felt it like a life-beat pounding against the walls.
Did he?
Did he feel it?
Or was he immune?
He couldn’t be. This was too—
Whatever it was demolished the next second. That second when recognition at what was happening slammed him.
Shocked horror took to his features, and he reeled away.
He tried to cover his reaction with that mischievous, easy grin. As if all of this was normal.
Still, he reached out and took me by both arms to separate us.
“Sorry about that, darlin’. Dangers of sleeping with a man in his bed. Can’t be helped.”
I wanted to tell him there might be a way I could help him. That I really wanted to. Just go right ahead and confess that I wanted to experience everything with him.
But I knew what would happen.
He’d reject me. Like he’d done then. And I’d feel small and ignorant and vulnerable all over again.
So rather than suffering all of that again, I forced a coy tease. “Don’t worry. I barely felt it.”
His grin turned into a playful scowl as he peeled himself farther back. “Barely felt it, huh?”
“That’s right. I’m not sure what all those women are falling over themselves about.”
Amusement played across his face as he chuckled low. Maybe he really was immune.