Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Madden used her wrist to tug her closer, until Eve stood in front of him, then released it in favor of running a knuckle up the inside of her thigh, gratified when goose bumps popped up on her arms, her belly hollowing briefly. “Because there’s a good chance we’re going to consummate this marriage this morning?”
She released a rocky breath. “Yes.” Her tongue emerged to wet her lips. “I thought I’d have some warning before you came back. This isn’t exactly wedding night worthy.”
“Is it not?” He shifted on the couch to frame her hips in his hands, squinting one eye as if evaluating the outfit. “Short, tight. Doesn’t require a bra. Easy to take off. I’m having a hard time finding the downside, love.”
“It’s not . . . special occasion wear.”
“You are the special occasion, Eve.” He leaned in and kissed her stomach. “We’ll move this at your pace. I’m just as happy to sit here and talk.”
“No, you’re not,” she scoffed breathily.
“What?” He pretended to be wounded. “I love a good conversation.”
“Stop telling lies. I used to wonder if you’d taken a vow of silence.”
“That’s only because I was listening to every single word coming out of your mouth.” Madden took advantage of Eve’s stunned reaction, snagging her wrist again and pulling her down onto his lap sideways, grinding his molars together when her ass landed on his groin, so full and tight. “For now, we talk,” he said, reclining into the cushions, bringing her with him, his eyelids drooping when she slowly laid her head on his shoulder. “How were the kids this week? All better?”
“Yes, although Landon has a lingering cough, so he’s needed his inhaler a lot. You should see the paperwork I had to fill out so the school nurse can give him his inhaler. You’d think we were signing a treaty with France.”
Madden chuckled. “But it helps him?”
“Yes. So much. Lark wants one now too. She thinks it’s cool.” Eve lifted her left hand and he held his breath as she hesitated, before finally tracing the crew neck collar of his shirt. God have mercy. He’d sit like this for the rest of his life, a willing victim of her touch, the taut cheeks of her ass firm on his cock. “Rookie mistake, by the way, giving them different color teddy bears.” She gestured at the bears he’d brought in. “One of them will become the ultimate bear for no reason and they will go to war over who possesses it.”
“Ah Jesus.” Her laugh vibrated through him. “You’d never know I had two younger siblings, would you?”
Her mirth faded. “You’ve never really talked about them,” she said, after a moment. “What are their names?”
The living room turned momentarily fuzzy around him. “Paul and Sinead. I haven’t said their names out loud in a long time.”
Eve must have noticed the involuntary tensing of his muscles, because she lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. “Do you speak to them?”
“Not much anymore,” Madden said. “In the beginning, I tried to keep in contact with them and my mother, but once I sensed it was easier for them to go without speaking to me, I more or less left the ball in their court. The calls thinned out after that.”
“How could it be easier not to speak to you?”
Her incredulity was like a balm to his wounds. “I think . . . or at least I hope the home was a better place to be after I left. That hope is the reason I never went back.” His gaze skimmed over her hair. “One of the reasons, anyway.”
The fingertips that had been tracing his collar moved down to the center of his chest now and paused there, as if feeling for the sudden racing of his heart. “Was your home such an unhappy place growing up, Mad?”
Everything inside him wanted to change the subject. Or lay her down on the couch and distract her with sex. But there was something about holding Eve this way—protectively, securely—that made Madden feel in control. No matter what he said, no matter what horrible images his brain conjured up, Eve would be there, safe. He was keeping her such.
“My siblings and I have a different father. My mother . . . she was pregnant with me when they married, right. My da didn’t come to find out until after the wedding that I was another man’s child. It changed him, or so I’m told. Apparently, he used to be a kind man, though I don’t know if I believe that. Something my aunt told me made me wonder if his temperament ran in the family. But at least it was directed at me, not my siblings.”
“He wasn’t kind to you,” she said, quietly, her chest rising and falling.