Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
“Come on, baby,” Macy coos. “Let’s go get another apple treat upstairs. Are you ready for an apple treat?”
Thankfully, the pig only hesitates a moment at the base of the spiral staircase before letting Macy’s voice and the promise of a treat coax her up the steps. Once I’m sure they’re on their way, I turn back to the tree, approaching it carefully in case the impact has weakened the floorboards.
I check the area near the wall it crushed but am relieved to see most of the wall on the first floor is still standing. The structure seems to be holding up okay. Even better, the river is definitely lower downstairs than it was before. As I shine Macy’s flashlight from the mantle down into the room, I can see the high-water mark at the top of the upper kitchen cabinets, but now the muddy water only brushes their bottoms.
The current is still dangerous, but flood-wise, we’re headed in the right direction.
Turning, I gather the rest of our food and the flashlight into the only slightly damp orange backpack before putting out the fire and all but one of the candles. Then I grab the bag and make my way up the stairs with a candle in one hand, arriving at the top just as Macy is murmuring something beneath her breath and shutting the door to the walk-in closet in the corner.
She turns to see me setting the candle on the bureau and presses a finger to her lips. “She needed to rest in a cozy space. She always does when she’s stressed. Our first few days on the road, she wouldn’t come out from under the bed unless I had food or her favorite ball.” She glances over her shoulder at the closet. “Hopefully she can get some sleep.” She sighs and drags a hand through her hair. “I know I won’t be.”
“You can try if you want,” I say, curling my fingers over her shoulders and digging my fingertips lightly in the tight muscles there. “I’ll take first watch and wake you up if our situation changes.”
“No, I can’t ask you to do that.” Her lashes flutter and a soft moan emerges from the back of her throat as I home in on a particularly stubborn knot at the base of her neck.
“Sure, you can.”
“No, I can’t,” she insists, her hands coming to cover mine, stopping my efforts. She looks up, her eyes locking with mine in the soft candlelight. “Because I need to ask you to do something else.”
“What’s that?” I ask, mesmerized by the way her mouth parts and her tongue sweeps out to dampen her full bottom lip.
“If this is my last night, I don’t just want to die with you, Theo,” she whispers as she begins to back slowly toward the bed. “I want to live with you.”
“I want that more than anything,” I say, my breath rushing out as she stops by the bed and reaches up to open the button at the top of her pajamas. “But I don’t have any condoms.”
“I’m on birth control and I trust you to tell me if there’s anything else I should worry about.” She arches a brow as she continues to work on her buttons. “Is there anything else I should worry about?”
“Absolutely nothing,” I say, my cock thickening as the valley between her bare breasts begins to show between the parting fabric.
And I’m not going to worry, either.
About anything but showing her how deeply I’ve missed her.
Chapter Eight
MACY
His lips crash into mine and it’s like the first time all over again—electric and wild and the safest thing I’ve ever known—but even better.
Back when we were kids, I had no other kisses to compare ours to. Theo was my one and only. I didn’t know that not all kisses are sweet and passionately fearless. I didn’t know that some kisses play games or flat out lie or are about as electrically charged as a dead battery left out in the rain.
There was no doubt in my mind that what we had was beautiful, but I didn’t realize how rare a kiss like this truly was.
A kiss you can get lost in…
Found in…
“I’ve missed you so much,” I say, tears stinging into my eyes again as we fall back onto the bed, the comforting weight of his body on top of mine.
“Like air,” he murmurs against my lips in between kisses that make my head spin. His tongue dances with mine as his hands roam across my bare skin, smoothing over my belly and up to cup my breasts.
I arch into his touch, my breath rushing out as he rolls my nipple between his fingers. I knead my hands down the warm skin on his back, relishing the feel of all the powerful muscle beneath, and when he kisses his way down my throat, I waste no time making the most of my newly liberated lips.