Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
As if that's even a possibility.
"I'm already there, princess," I murmur, brushing sweaty tendrils of hair away from her cheek. "So fucking deep, there is no getting out again."
"Kingston, are you…" She trails off, licking her lips. The way hope and fear war on her face is devastating in the best way, like her whole world hinges on me right now. "What are you saying?"
"That I'm in love with you. Wildly. Desperately." My lips curve into a grin. "So much so that I don't even give a shit that there is probably a throng of paparazzi outside right now, just waiting to see if you spent the night here."
Her eyes widen. "There are photographers out there?"
"Probably." I study her face. "If you want me to sneak you out of here, I'll do it, Evie. I'll come to you in secret after my game tonight, and we can pretend that what happened on the stage last night was just for show. We'll act like we're just friends who were having a good time, and nothing more. I'm willing to do whatever you need me to do to prove that the only thing I'm interested in is you. I don't give a shit about my brand, hitching myself to your star, or getting close to your dad. I didn't even know Kasen was your dad until after we met. I just want you, baby. I want the girl who learned to sing in church, and the woman who guards her heart so closely she was willing to step over me on live television. I want the one who lies about having a husband, stalks me even though she won't ever admit it, and who sings like a fucking angel. I want every messy, perfect piece of you."
She flips over beneath me, staring up at me in silence for so long, I think maybe she is going to ask that we keep this a secret. It'll kill me if she doesn't want the whole world to know she's mine, but I'm willing to give her that.
I know a little bit about what she's been through. I've been there myself. When I first joined the league, there were vultures everywhere, desperate to be seen with me just so they could claim their fifteen minutes.
I imagine it's been a whole helluva lot worse for her than it ever was for me. Athletes are a dime a dozen. A woman like Evie is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of star. She isn't good because her father is a superstar. She's fucking phenomenal all on her own.
"I want to go to your game."
I blink, certain I heard her wrong.
She touches my cheek, smiling. "I may be slow to trust, but I'm not an idiot, Kingston. I can see a good man when he's in front of me, putting his heart on the line. You're a good man," she whispers vehemently. "I don't care if people see us together. I don't care what they're going to say. If I did, I wouldn't have asked you to join me on stage last night."
"But you're nervous."
"Hell yes," she says with a little laugh. "My dad is a crazy person. He already wants to meet you. My mom is not going to be able to keep him in bed if I'm seen leaving here."
"Keep him in bed?" I arch a brow, confused.
"He was just released from the hospital not long ago. Appendicitis. He's supposed to be resting." She rolls her eyes, her expression soft. "Trust me, he'll be on the first flight out if I'm seen leaving here this morning."
"So…what if we beat him to the punch?" I suggest.
"How so?"
"We catch a flight in the morning. He can threaten me like your sister did from the comfort of his own bed." I stroke my hand down her cheek. "And I can tell him that I'll sign whatever goddamn prenup he wants me to sign so long as he agrees to let me marry his baby girl."
She gapes at me, her lips parting. "W-what?"
I grab her hand, hooking my pinky around her ring finger. "My ring is going to be right here, princess. I told you the day we met to save this finger for me. I meant it."
"You're a madman, you know that?"
"I wasn't this way until I met you."
She tries to fight a smile but doesn't quite manage it. "Everly threatened you?"
"Hell yes." I flip onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. "Remind me never to get on her bad side. She's fucking terrifying."
Evie buries her face in my shoulder, her laughter spilling out across the room.
I roll, pinning her beneath me again. "Fuck," I growl, already hard enough to pound nails again. "I love that sound. Do it again."
"What?"
"Laugh," I growl. "I want to feel you do it while I'm inside you."