Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“Dante, please.”
I stop moving. “How many?”
“No one,” she cries out. “There was no one but you.”
The truth is written in the vulnerable expression on her face. She can’t hide behind a mask when ecstasy has ripped it away and cut her open, leaving her exposed. The honesty is evident in the defeated sob that escapes her lips. She didn’t want me to know. She didn’t want to admit that even after everything I did to her, she’s still been true to me, that I’ve been the only one.
A growl of satisfaction tears from my chest. Not holding back any longer, I give her the reward she deserves. I give her what I would’ve given her even if she’d fucked every man between New York and Denver. I give her what only I have the right to give, letting go of her hip to slip a hand between our bodies.
She comes at the second swipe of my thumb over her clit, her throaty moan half relieved and half slain. I give her the promise of my protection and another baby as I empty inside her. I’m yet to get her an oral contraceptive. But the idea of giving Noah a brother or sister has grown on me. Tatiana loves kids. She’ll love the next one I put in her belly just as much as she loves our son.
Closing her eyes, she leans her head on my shoulder. I keep her trapped against me with her hands pinned at her back and my cock buried inside her as I brush a kiss over her neck. She shivers, but she doesn’t object, so I kiss her again before nipping the soft flesh where her neck meets her shoulder.
When I aim for the corner of her mouth, she pulls away. Her lashes lift, revealing the jade green of her eyes that’s so clear right now, I swear I can see right into her soul.
She bites her lip and looks away, not asking me to release her. She knows it won’t help, that I’ll only do so when I’m ready.
I’m reluctant to leave the heat of her body. At least in that regard she welcomes me. I pull out nevertheless. It’s been a long day for her too. Like Noah, she had to cope with a lot.
Giving her the choice, I set her free. She doesn’t invite me to join her in the shower. She can barely stand on her feet when she hops from the vanity and pulls her dress down to cover herself, but she walks away, leaving the bathroom to me.
Only my steel-like self-control prevents me from chasing after her. But I can’t force her hand, not in this. It’s my job to know what she needs, and what she needs is patience.
The bedroom door opens and closes. After a moment, the shower comes on in the next-door bathroom. I just came, but frustration surges hot and irritably through me. The release only eased the physical need. The part of me that wants everything remains unsatisfied.
I shower and dress in pajama bottoms before checking on Noah. He’s still soundly asleep, clutching his dinosaur in his arms.
On my way back to the room, I bump into Tatiana as she exits the guest bathroom. The moonlight that spills through the big windows falls over her pale skin and hair. She’s dressed in one of the full-sleeved silk nightdresses I bought for her that reaches her ankles. Even on her injured feet, she walks like a queen, coming across more like an apparition than human.
I stop short of her. “I hope for your sake you didn’t consider sleeping anywhere other than in my bed. Your ass won’t like the consequences.”
She looks at me for a moment, her sad eyes as tormented as ever, and then she walks past me and enters our room.
Good girl.
I follow and get into bed next to her, pulling her into my arms. She stiffens, but she doesn’t fight me. Although, even as she lets me hold her, I can sense her drifting away from me and escaping into her mind.
I kiss her shoulder. “Don’t shut me out, Tatiana. I won’t allow it. You’re only wasting your time.”
She freezes. Her tone is anything but warm. “Don’t.”
So I don’t. I don’t push it. I give her time. But the possessive part of me doesn’t like it. The part that won’t settle for anything less than everything grows darker and uglier. Because it recognizes another truth.
Her body has never been enough. I want to own her heart and soul. And as long as Tatiana rejects me, she’ll never truly be mine.
Chapter
Fifteen
Tatiana
* * *
After the stunt Dante pulled with the contract, I avoid him as much as possible. He asks Jazz to stay until the wedding, which is already happening next week, offering—or rather, ordering—her the position of bridesmaid.