Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
I came with my body sheltering hers and her lifeblood flowing through me.
It was what I’d been made for, I realized as she delicately licked the blood from my arm. For that moment and all the ones that came after. I’d done a lot of things in my life that I was proud of and a lot of things that I wasn’t. I’d probably killed more than I’d saved. I’d made wrong decisions and right decisions, I’d said terrible things and I’d said kind ones. I’d led an entire life before I’d ever met her.
But all of that had just been preparation for the real reason I was there.
I’d been put on the earth to love and protect Lucy Franklin.
Chapter 15
Lucy
Iwoke up in the middle of the night, wrapped in Ambrose’s arms. I’d pushed in so close to him that his chest pressed fully against my back. I’d cocked one knee so that my stitches wouldn’t touch anything, and his legs surrounded my other leg, his hips aligned with mine. My cheek rested on one of his biceps, and his other arm was wrapped around my waist, his hand pressed against my chest.
I was still freezing.
Curling my hands up by my chin, I lay there listening to his soft breaths.
When I’d realized that I was Ambrose’s mate, I’d been so dubious of the entire thing. Even after I’d watched my brother fall in love with Zeke so quickly, I hadn’t understood. I’d assumed Charlie had fallen so fast because that was just who he was. Romantic. Always seeing the best in people.
I wasn’t like that. I hadn’t been waiting for my Prince Charming to whisk me away. I’d had the life that I’d built, and I had Charlie, and that’s all I’d needed. Did I like dating? Sure, sometimes. But I hadn’t felt like I was missing anything when I was single. I hadn’t been searching for someone to make a life with.
Then Ambrose showed up with his perfect face.
He was everything I’d never realized I needed.
He protected me. I’d proven how capable I was at protecting myself, but that didn’t matter. He wanted to care for me, from washing me in the shower to making sure I ate, to letting Charlie lie in bed with us for hours watching stupid movies that no one but my brother liked.
It was something I’d never had before. Someone anticipating my needs and providing them before I’d even realized that they were missing.
He looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the universe. The smartest. The kindest. There hadn’t been a moment since we met that I didn’t feel the full weight of that. It was constant. Unwavering.
I really had won the lottery when I was least expecting it. I couldn’t imagine ever going back to what I’d had before, carrying the weight of everything alone. Just the thought of it made my nose sting with tears.
“I love you,” I whispered into the darkness, pulling his arm closer against my chest.
“I love you too, baby,” he whispered in my ear, scaring the crap out of me.
“When the hell did you wake up?” I asked, turning my head to look at him.
“You’ve been moving around for the last fifteen minutes,” he replied, his voice hoarse from sleep. “You okay? Does your leg hurt?”
“No. I’m freezing,” I said with a huff, dropping my head back down.
So much for trying out the words before I said them for real.
“You shouldn’t have thrown the comforter on the floor.”
“It was a mess,” he replied tiredly. “All those little crumbs would’ve driven me crazy if they fell in the sheets.”
He moved to get up, but I clutched his arm to my chest as his words reminded me of the textured top of Zeke’s quilt, running my finger over the embroidery.
“Get up,” I ordered, flinging his arm away from me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in alarm as I crawled to the edge of the bed.
“Up!” I grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head. “Get dressed.”
“Lucy, what the hell is wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I assured him as I pulled on the lime sweatpants he’d been wearing earlier. “Hurry.”
“You’re worrying me,” he said as he strode to the dresser. “Why am I getting dressed?”
“We need to go to Charlie’s room.”
“It’s the middle of the night,” he said flatly as he got dressed. “Can’t this wait—”
“No,” I said stubbornly, standing in the doorway. “Come on.”
I had to give it to Ambrose. He was a good sport about it. He followed me across the house without a word as I rushed to my brother’s room. I wanted to make sure that I was remembering right before I said what I was thinking. If I was wrong, then I’d look a little crazy, but he wouldn’t be disappointed. If I was right, he’d be glad that I hadn’t waited.