Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 67644 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67644 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Sunshine”—I touched my forehead to hers—“I want you to be my everything.” Autumn gasped and tears filled her eyes, causing me to panic. “Baby? What’s wrong? Did I say something to upset you? Please don’t cry.”
She shook her head and buried her face in my chest. “I’m just emotional,” she said, her voice muffled. “Nothing is wrong. What you said was perfect.” She sniffed and lifted her head, a watery smile on her pretty lips.
I clasped her chin gently and lifted her mouth to mine for a tender kiss. “Do you forgive me, then?” She ran the fingers of one hand through my hair and nodded. Her puffy lips were tempting as hell but when I leaned in for another taste, I ended up kissing the back of her hand. She’d covered her mouth as she released a huge yawn.
“Sorry,” she mumbled sleepily.
“Time for bed,” I announced with a look that made it plain that I wouldn’t put up with argument. Keeping her in my arms, I stood before stalking toward my bedroom. By the time we reached the bed, she was already asleep. Carefully, I kept her cradled against me as I reached down to turn down the duvet. Then I laid her down and removed her shoes. I was going to stop there, but I wanted her to be comfortable, so I also took off her jeans before covering her with the blanket.
I wasn’t tired, but I needed to hold her. So I stripped to my boxers, climbed in on the other side of the bed, and scooted to the center. I pulled her close and shifted her so her back was to my front. A contented sigh escaped my lips as I wrapped her up in my embrace and buried my face in her neck.
Part of me couldn’t believe she was there, in my arms. I’d dreamed of this every night and I was afraid that I would wake up any second. It was then that I realized I still didn’t know what had brought her back to me. It was tempting to wake her and demand answers, but she obviously needed rest and she looked so peaceful, I decided against waking her.
I would find out tomorrow and figure out how to fix whatever the problem was. She was finally back where she belonged, and I wasn’t ever letting go again.
10
Autumn
For the past two months, I’d gone from asleep to fully alert in the blink of an eye. It was just the way of things when I’d been in the Congo, between never feeling one hundred percent safe and the endless amount of work that needed to be done. Waking up in Vegas was the complete opposite—it was a gloriously gradual process. I savored the feel of the luxurious sheets beneath my body. If there was such a thing as a million thread count, then I was lying on them right now. But as amazing as the sheets were, they didn’t compare to the man who held me in his arms.
Drew.
Andrew Lennox.
Owner of the five-star, Lennox Hotel and Casino.
And the father of my unborn child, growing inside me...right beneath where his hand currently rested on my stomach.
I’d gotten quite a shock yesterday when I’d found out the secret he’d been hiding from me, but his explanation had quickly soothed my anger. Knowing this powerful, confident man had been worried he’d scare me off had more than eased my concern. It had made my heart race. And melt.
His arms tightened around me, and I shivered when he pressed a gentle kiss against my shoulder. “Have you changed your mind about forgiving me?”
“No.” I wiggled until he loosened his hold enough for me to turn in his arms and peer up at him. “Why?”
“Because you were thinking so hard, I could practically hear it.”
“Not bad thoughts.” I smiled up at him, and the worry drained from his eyes. “In a way, I’m actually glad you waited to tell me who you really were. You might be Andrew Lennox to other people, but you’ll always be Drew to me.”
“Sunshine.” It was just one word, but with how it was wrenched from his body I was left in no doubt of how much what I’d said meant to him.
“So, yeah, it was a shock. But I get why you did it. I really do.”
He claimed my mouth in a brutal kiss that left my lips swollen when he finally lifted his head. “I missed you so fucking much, baby.”
“I missed you, too.”
His hand slid down my spine to my ass, and he pressed me closer to his body as he ground his hard length into my core. “I need you. Right now. As much as I loved having you back in my arms, holding you all night was fucking torture.”
“I need you, too.”