Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76172 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76172 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“I didn’t know how you wanted me to act. I didn’t know if you’d be embarrassed if I kissed you or touched you in front of the guys.”
I open my mouth but no sound comes out.
“Clearly I made the wrong move, but never doubt that I want you or that you’re mine. I’ll claim you in front of the entire club.”
“You’re not embarrassed to be with me?”
“Embarrassed?” He shakes his head. “I’m the luckiest fucker around, Devyn. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
I clear my throat. Apologies have never been easy for me. It’s always been hard for me to accept that I’ve made a mistake because it gives the other person, namely my parents, more reason to reject me.
“I let my emotions get the best of me,” I confess. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to be one of those people who just lets things fester when we could solve the issue with a conversation.”
His thumb gently swipes over my face, his eyes locked on my lips. “I don’t want that either.”
“I’m sorry,” I say again.
“Want me to take you out there and plant a kiss on your lips in front of everyone? Or do you want me to strip you naked and eat your pussy until you scream? Either way would let them know you’re mine.”
I blink up at him.
“Is that moving too fast?” he challenges.
I scoff. “I may be what you consider mature for my age, but don’t say stuff like that. The girl in me wants to swoon, and I’m sure I’d marry you tomorrow if you asked, and—”
I clamp my mouth closed, my hands coming up to cover my lips for good measure.
His grin is wide.
“I’m sorry. God, I didn’t mean that, I mean, maybe I did, but—shit.”
He chuckles, his hand reaching up and pulling my hand from my face.
“This,” he says, running his fingers over my heated cheeks. “This is so damn sexy to me.”
“My embarrassment?”
He nods. “The way your emotions play out on your skin. This pink is the same as when you come. It’s intoxicating. I want to see it all the time. But as much as I love the color, I don’t want you to ever be embarrassed around me. We can have hard conversations. You can tell me what you’re feeling. I don’t want you to worry that it’ll make me walk away from you. I’m not going anywhere.”
I let him lead me into his en suite, not arguing when he starts to strip me naked. My body is humming with anticipation, fully aware of his talents and eagerness to make my body sing for him.
“As long as we’re being mature,” he begins, lifting my hands and guiding my fingers to the clasp and zipper of his jeans.
I start to strip him as well, the coolness in the room licking at my overheated skin but incapable of cooling me down.
“I want you to know that I don’t think Vaughn would be okay with what’s happening between us.”
My hands freeze on the waistband of his jeans.
“I say that because he had a huge problem with one of our friends in high school who got caught sneaking around with another friend’s sister.”
I do not want to talk about nor think about my deceased brother right now, but Emmett is right. We need to be able to have these conversations.
“Maybe he had more of a problem with the immaturity of the sneaking around than the guy coming forward and telling the friend what his intentions were?” I challenge.
“Asking?” he says, but I shake my head.
“Permission is ridiculous. A sibling doesn’t have any right to dictate who a brother or sister can date. I’m not just saying that because of our situation and the stance you think Vaughn would take. What if they were soulmates, and the guy got in the way of that? It isn’t fair to anyone involved.”
“I think the guy didn’t want his sister getting hurt.”
“That’s not his call either. People need to be able to live their own lives, and mistakes in life are how we learn.”
“You’re eighteen,” he says, grabbing my hand before I can slip it down the front of his jeans.
“And you’re thirty, still in your prime.”
“Being with me means you will experience life less. I think Vaughn would have an opinion on that.”
“People experience life in order to make choices. There’s no harm in making the right choice right from the start.”
He swallows when I look up at him, his concern drawing his eyebrows together.
“You’re afraid I’ll end up thinking this was the wrong choice?”
His silence is his answer.
“I can’t predict the future, Emmett, but I don’t think I’m ever going to look back and think that I could’ve been happier without you. I think I’m here because this is exactly where I was supposed to be, but if you have doubts.”