Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
“Gunnar, I don’t… I don’t want you to leave me alone.” Her voice was a mere thread of sound. Had I not been so close to her and staring at her lips, I probably wouldn’t have known what she said.
“No one said I was goin’ anywhere, Pippa. Truth is, I feel better when I can at least see you. I’d prefer to be within arm’s reach.” We stared at each other for a very long time. There was so much to say but I’m not sure either of us knew where to start. I liked the fact she wanted me close. “Whether or not you agree to my claim, I won’t leave you unless you tell me to go. Even then, you might not see me and I won’t interfere with your life, but I’ll always be watching over you.” When she opened her mouth to say something, I plowed on. “Not because of anything Knuckles wanted me to do. Because you’re it for me.”
The relief in Pippa’s eyes was immediate, and she actually sagged against me. “Good.” She patted my chest. “That’s good. Glad we got that straight.”
I tightened my arms around her, tucking her head under my chin. “Yeah, honey. I’m glad we got that straight too.”
Pippa trembled slightly in my arms, whether from exhaustion or emotion I wasn’t sure. I held her close, savoring the warmth of her body against mine. After a few moments, I reluctantly pulled back.
“As much as I’d like to stay like this, you need to get dressed and eat something,” I said gently. “Then we can work on your hair and get you into bed for some real rest.”
She nodded, looking a bit dazed. “You’re right. I’m just… I don’t want to let go yet.”
“I know, honey. I don’t either. But you need to get dressed.” Then something occurred to me. “Are you steady enough to dress? Do you need me to… I don’t know… help?”
She smiled again, rubbing her hand up and down the left side of my chest. Over my heart. “I think I can manage myself. Thank you for offering, though.”
I sighed, feeling something I hadn’t experienced in a very, very long time. I was content. I’d saved this woman. Gotten her out of danger and brought her to the place that had once been my home. She was looking to me for comfort and security. Pippa wasn’t mine yet, but it wouldn’t take long for her to be all in with me. Hell, maybe she was already. I didn’t know enough about women to know. But even now, she still clung to me.
I leaned in and brushed one more soft kiss to her lips. Stopping myself from going further was harder than I’d thought. Now that I’d experienced kissing Pippa, I wanted to do it more.
Pippa nestled closer to me, her body relaxing against mine. I could feel her exhaustion in the way she leaned heavily into my embrace. As much as I wanted to keep holding her, I knew she needed rest more than anything.
“Get dressed, honey. Then we’ll get some food into you.”
Pippa took a deep breath and nodded again. Her eyes were pleasantly glazed as I lifted my head from hers. “OK, I can do that.”
Reluctantly, I pulled away from her. Her lower lip trembled and she whimpered softly, but nodded her head. I left her there but leaving her alone went against everything inside me. I needed to comfort her. To help her. To be there for her in case she needed me for anything. But she needed privacy. Not a strange man looking at her naked body, lusting after her.
Once outside the bathroom, I leaned against the door as I shut it. The door between us felt like prison walls and I hated it on principle. Sure, I could open it and go to her, but she needed to know I’d do anything for her, even if it was hard. At least, that’s what I hoped she took away from this, because if that’s not what I was giving her, I had no idea why I was denying us both what we wanted.
I took a breath. No. This was what my dad would do. It’s what my brothers would do.
Instead of vacillating on whether or not I was doing the right thing, I looked at my phone and pulled up the number Knuckles had given me. Mama had confirmed that, if she’d been raped, it wasn’t recent and there were no physical signs. She wasn’t pregnant. The STD testing was still pending. I saw some bruising on her torso and one side of her face was discolored, but considering where she was and what they’d wanted her for, she was Goddamned lucky.
I sent off a text. I’d actually spoken to Knuckles when I’d called the last time, so even though he was still in prison, I knew he had a simple burner phone smuggled into his cell. Which didn’t really surprise me. Knuckles was nothing if not resourceful.