Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
He said he doesn’t do gentle, but this is gentle. The calm after the storm.
The heat of his gaze, the sensation of his body beneath mine, the rhythm of our mingled breaths in the silent room—all of it combines to a singular overwhelming sense of ecstasy that leaves me teetering on the brink once again, just a heartbeat away from tumbling over.
“And again,” Vinnie groans, his voice strained with effort and steeped in raw emotion.
“Again,” I echo, my voice a breathy whisper.
Vinnie grasps my hips tighter, and he moves me up and down on him forcefully. Soon I’m nearing the peak again. Our movements become disjointed and erratic, bodies straining for that explosive release once more. Our gasps and moans fill the room as we chase after it together.
Finally, we crest over the edge in unison. My climax, fierce and beautiful, rips through me, leaving me panting. Vinnie buries himself deep within me one last time before stilling, his body racked with tremors.
Heaving for breath, we collapse against each other, bodies slick with sweat. The intensity of the moment fades into a quiet satisfaction, a blissful peace that seeps into my very bones.
As I lie on top of him, my head resting on his chest rising and falling with his labored breaths, I feel something otherworldly.
I’m not in love.
I couldn’t be.
I hardly know this man. He hardly knows me. But it’s something. Something that could grow.
His hand is soft on my skin, his fingers tracing lazy circles on my scalp.
“Vinnie,” I begin, but the words catch in my throat, refusing to form. The silence stretches between us.
He tilts my chin up, his dark eyes boring into mine. The moonlight dances in their depths, revealing a vulnerability I didn’t see before. A softness that tugs at something deep within me.
“What is it?” he asks, his voice a low murmur.
I hesitate for a moment, searching his gaze. Can I tell him what I’m feeling? Can I put into words this strange connection that seems to bind us together?
“I feel …something,” I admit, my voice barely audible.
He meets my gaze but says nothing.
And I’m okay with that.
He doesn’t need to say anything.
What we just did said it all.
22
VINNIE
My body is sated, and my heart…
Raven said she feels something. I also feel something.
Something I have no business feeling.
But once I finally come down from my release, the emotion I dread swoops in.
Guilt.
Fucking guilt.
I took advantage of Raven, of her vulnerability.
She’s healing from leukemia, for God’s sake.
I close my eyes, feeling the weight of this transgression like lead in the pit of my stomach. My hands, still holding onto Raven’s frail body, feel heavier. Culpability gnaws at me, tearing at the edges of my consciousness.
Fucking guilt. It’s a monster that never sleeps, awakening at the most inconvenient of times.
Raven stirs beside me, her eyes fluttering open to meet mine. Rings of exhaustion are painted around them, but she manages to smile.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
I want to scream, tell her I’m far from okay. Admit my guilt and beg for her forgiveness. But how can I burden her with this? How can I add to the turmoil she must already be feeling?
Instead, I force a nod. “Of course I’m okay. That was amazing.”
“I agree.” Her smile is a dazzling one.
Again, the guilt threatens to eat me away from the inside out.
I have to kill a man, and I just made love to the most beautiful, sweet, and vulnerable woman in the world.
I give her a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I need to get going. I have an early meeting.”
Not exactly a lie. I have to check in with my grandfather every morning. It’s a pain in the ass, but it’s the life I chose to return to.
She wraps her arms around me. “You don’t have to go.”
God, if only…
If only I could stay, embedded in the peace and solace I find in her body.
But I can’t.
This thing between us never should have happened. What I’m feeling for this woman—this woman I barely know—isn’t right.
I’m lost. Completely lost.
I look at this beautiful woman. This beautiful woman with her dark peach fuzz, her barely visible eyelashes and eyebrows. And yes, while she certainly is beautiful, lust for her alone is not what drew me to her.
Not too many people lust after women who have lost all their hair due to cancer treatments.
I kiss her again, this time on the lips, but I resist the urge to slide my tongue between hers. “I’m sorry. But I do have to go.”
She moves away from me, ready to slide off the bed, but I stop her. “Don’t get up. I can see myself out.”
She yawns, stretching her arms above her as she sits on the edge of the bed. “But I do. I need to go back to my mom and dad’s house. They’ll worry otherwise. They may have already called Falcon and Savannah to see where I am.”