Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
And then he was inside her. She forced herself to breathe. She was too full. He was too big. She clutched him, letting her nails sink into his skin because she knew he liked to have her mark on him, too.
“You feel so good. I hope you like this because I can’t believe how good this is.” His jaw was tight, his face a mask of pure desire.
He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She tilted her pelvis up, taking him deeper.
Then he pulled back, his cock stroking her in a way she’d never felt before. Kenzie cried out, her whole body in tune with his, every nerve ending lighting with pleasure.
She felt their connection like she could feel the pleasure coming from his own body. He fucked her with ruthless precision, his hands on her hips, holding her still while he took and gave and connected them.
It seemed endless, this place she found with him. Endless and over far too soon since her body was already primed for pleasure. The orgasm felt cataclysmic.
Ben’s hands clenched around her as he came, filling her with warmth and life, and he was smiling as he fell down on the bed beside her.
He chuckled and helped her move up on the bed. “Give me a second and I’ll get you under those covers.”
“I love you so much.” The words were out of her mouth before she could think to call them back.
Ben went still, and she felt him tense.
Well, she’d known he probably wasn’t ready.
His cell phone buzzed in the now-awkward silence, and Ben rolled off the bed like it was an oven that would burn him. He went to the bathroom, and she heard the sink turn on. The cell kept buzzing.
Kenzie knew her perfect night was over.
* * * *
She’d said she loved him.
Ben left the bathroom after cleaning up. He walked over and picked up his cell, looking at the phone in his hand like it was a life jacket someone had thrown to him. Because those three words from her hit him like a bomb exploding.
His body buzzed with the pleasure she’d given him. Everything. She’d given him everything, including three words he wasn’t sure he could say back.
He wasn’t sure he was capable of loving anyone. He wasn’t sure it was safe for him to love anyone. Anyone he loved, Manny would come after, and it could put Kenzie and her twin in serious danger.
He cared about her. More than anything in the world. But love. He didn’t like the word.
“Are you going to answer that?” All the sweet passion was out of Kenzie’s tone. Her face had gone a careful blank, and she was reaching for her robe.
He’d absolutely seen her like this before. When she was unsure, she could put up a hell of a front.
No. He shouldn’t answer. He should talk this out with her. He slid his phone back on the side table. “Kenzie, I care about you.”
Her lips turned up, and if he didn’t know better, he would think she was fine. But her eyes lacked the sparkle they always had when she looked at him.
He’d never realized how good it felt when she looked at him like he was the sun in the sky.
“Good. I care about you, too,” she replied, her voice carefully controlled. “I’m going to head to the locker room and get dressed.”
“I thought we were meeting Kala and Cooper for drinks.”
“I think I’m going to make it an early night.” She chuckled, though it was all performative. He knew the sound of her laughter, and this was tinged with bitterness. “I think sitting on anything that’s not a bag of something frozen would be a mistake.”
“Did I hurt you?” He thought he’d been careful. He’d insisted on preparation. Should he have taken longer?
When he tried to reach for her, she turned away. “I’m fine. I’m sore but fine. It’s been a long week. I think I’ll get some sleep.”
Fuck. He’d fucked it all up. His phone went quiet. All the intimacy of moments before now felt awkward, and he had to find a way to save this. “Kenzie, those words are kind of loaded for me.”
She pulled the robe around her body and gathered her corset and thong. “Of course they are. I’m sorry. I got carried away. I won’t say them again if they bother you.”
She wouldn’t. Kenzie was a giving woman, but he got the feeling she was one of those women who gave and gave and gave until she was done. She wouldn’t beg for his love. She’d shown him. She’d told him. It was up to him to accept it or not.
He grabbed his leathers, ignoring his cell for the moment. This was a conversation they needed to have. He wished they weren’t having it now. Wished he’d handled this in a way that left them cuddled up in bed. “Baby, I’m fucking this up. I need you to understand how much it means to me that you care about me. If you want to call it love, I’ll get used to the words. I’ll figure out a way to say them.”