Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
His jaw ticked. “I came to apologize.”
He wasn’t walking away anymore, so I took a confident step toward him. “So, apologize then.”
“I didn’t have… I didn’t go home with that woman. From the club.”
“I know.”
Rhodes blanched. “You know?”
Nodding, I moved forward again, this time invading his space to the point of nearly touching him. “I knew you wouldn’t do that to me. I knew you were hurting, and you just wouldn’t tell me why. That’s what you don’t get, Rhodes. You may not want to let me in, but I’m still going to be here, pushing, and prodding, and picking at every single lock until you finally do.”
“I don’t deserve that, Bug.” He swallowed, but my heart thumped hard against my rib cage at the mention of my nickname. “Do you not see me? Do you not see the kind of person I am?”
And I knew in that moment that I should have let him go. Every nerve was at attention, as if I were in the presence of a ghost. Maybe it was the ghosts in his eyes, the ones of his past, or maybe it was the ghost of a future I knew we couldn’t have. I should have run. But I reached for him, instead.
“That’s just it,” I breathed, grabbing his tense arm in my shaking grasp. I slid my index finger to his wrist and pressed hard. “I do see you. I see your heart, Rhodes.” I swallowed. “I feel it.”
Rhodes winced as if my words had permanently scarred him, then his hands were in my hair and he was kissing me. “I tried to stay away from you,” he murmured against my lips before claiming them again.
“I know.”
“I can’t.”
I shook in his grasp, his kisses stirring up every emotion I had held inside for so long.
“I know.”
His lips were fervent, his body pressed against mine like if he didn’t feel me everywhere then I wasn’t real at all. Pulling back, Rhodes ran his thumb over my bottom lip, his neon eyes blazing in the darkness as he searched my own. He was looking for an answer to a question maybe I hadn’t even heard, and I hoped with every ounce of blood in my heart that he would find it.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” I whispered.
Rhodes lifted his backpack from his bike and pulled out his spare helmet, handing it to me as a response. In a way, that helmet said more than he ever could have with words. He had wanted me to leave with him. He’d planned on it.
“Your house or mine?”
Rhodes was quiet when we pulled into my drive. I had him park his bike around back just in case one of the neighbors decided to be nosey, and then I led him inside.
“Do you want something to drink or anything?” I asked nervously, dropping my heels by the door. My feet were dirty from chasing him, but I embraced it.
“I’m okay.”
I nodded, smoothing my skirt with my damp hands. “I can make us some food, if you want.”
Rhodes smirked, and his fierce eyes smoldered with it. “I ate earlier.”
“Oh. Okay.” I chewed my lip and he stepped a little closer.
“Are you nervous, Bug?”
I laughed, and it was a higher pitched noise than I’d ever experienced from my own mouth. I couldn’t even try to deny it after that, so I cringed. “Yes. And I don’t know why.”
That was a lie. I did know why. Rhodes was alone with me in my house and I wanted him to touch me. I wanted all of him. I just didn’t know if he would be willing to let me have him.
Rhodes chuckled, reaching out and pulling me into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and tried to calm my breathing. Slowly, he lifted my chin and pressed his lips to mine.
He kissed me slow at first, but I pulled at his shirt, demanding more intensity. Groaning, Rhodes delivered, snaking his tongue into my mouth and gently tugging on my curls. I opened my mouth with a moan and he kissed down my neck, sucking at my collarbone before moving to pull my ear lobe into his mouth. “Take me to your room.”
My mouth collided with his again as we stumbled up the stairs, stripping off clothing as we went. Rhodes’ hands were hard on my hips as he slammed my back against the railing, breaking our kiss just long enough to make quick work of his shirt. His lips found mine again in a frenzy and he lifted me, my ankles hooking behind his waist as he took me a few more stairs. My back hit the wall next and I dropped my legs so he could pull his jeans to the floor as I unclasped my bra. We were all hands and breaths and lips, clothes landing on each step. By the time we fell into my sheets, I was completely nude and Rhodes wore nothing but his boxer briefs. Straddling him, I pushed off his chest and ran my fingers over his abdomen.