Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
I’ve caught him off guard, but he’s…pleased. Very pleased, his jaw flexing once, twice. “Good.” He kisses my hairline. “Thank you for telling me that.”
Heat is sweeping me. This languid feeling that could only come from being nearly elevated off the ground with a six-foot-three Army special forces soldier memorizing my every breath. “I’m not going to have sex with you the day we meet, though,” I whisper, so the people around us don’t hear me. “I’m not the type to rush into things.”
“Not going to lie, I’m obsessed with being able to fuck you, July. I need it. Like yesterday.” His open mouth slides up and down my jawline. “But I don’t need to be inside you to come.”
“I noticed.”
He laughs, husky and warm into my neck and I laugh, too.
It’s the greatest intimacy I’ve ever shared with another human.
Foreplay and humor at the same time. It’s an instant hit with my entire body. Mind.
Heart.
“If I make you feel capable and confident and hot now, July,” he rasps, twisting a fist in the hem of my skirt. “Just wait until I start worshipping your pussy on my knees.”
“Yes,” I whisper, without thinking.
“Yes, what?” he says, pouncing on my consent. “Yes, you’ll let me lick it?”
This is getting overwhelming.
I’m growing drenched.
On the train. With this man I just met and this is so far out of my comfort zone, it isn’t even funny. I need to get a hold of the situation. I need it to make sense until I can categorize what I’m feeling for Theo. “I…think so, y—”
He cups a hand over my mouth. “On second thought, don’t answer that. I’m getting close to making a mess again.” He bares his teeth against my ear. “Jesus Christ, woman, the effect you have on me should be illegal.”
“Public indecency?” I half gasp, half laugh. “Pretty sure it is illegal.”
“Lock me up.” He half-grins. “As long as you’re locked in with me.”
Scary. So scary the way my heart elevates into my mouth. Set parameters. Make it make sense. Come back down to earth. Like, what if I’m being love bombed and I’m too experienced to recognize it? What if I’m being completely naïve and the growing bond and deepening physical connection I feel for this man is a bad thing?
“Um…”
“Hmm.”
“What I was going to say is…I have this presentation on Friday and maybe, I don’t know, maybe you could help me? You’re so good at getting your point across and this-this confidence you have in me is a little contagious. And I sort of need that?”
He takes hold of both sides of my face and looks me in the eye. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do, July.”
“Just be you…around me,” I say, meaning it. “And in exchange, I’ll…”
His eyebrows knit together. “You’ll what?”
I lower my voice and speak directly against his ear. “Well. You can only get…relief. With me. Right?” My face is on fire, but I keep going, knowing he won’t judge my idea. And honestly, I want this so badly, my desire gives me the final push I need to speak up. I enjoy being the only woman Theo’s body responds to. I enjoy being his wonder drug. I’ve never been that important to anyone. I like how his praise makes me feel. Powerful. Unique. Alive. “I’ll help you get that relief. When you need it.” I pull back to find his eyes have gone molten. “Any time you need it.”
He's suddenly breathing like he’s run a thousand city blocks. “Starting tonight?”
I take the leap. “Starting tonight.”
CHAPTER
FIVE
Theo
I don’t know what I did right in this life to deserve a shot with July, but I’m too worked up to think about the whys and wherefores too hard. We’re standing in front of her apartment door, her fingers trembling slightly as she turns her keys in the lock. My hands are on her hips, tracing her curves with my palms, because I can’t stop touching her.
It’s nothing short of compulsion.
And I’m going to be honest with myself, I shouldn’t be following this nervous virgin into her home. She isn’t ready to fuck me. But my need to fuck her is out of control. I’ve flown straight past the point of desperate. When I told her I can get off without being inside of her, I meant it. Hell, I’ve proven that. There’s a war drum beating inside of me, though, the tempo increasing steadily, calling me to engage my enemy.
That enemy is hunger.
Hunger that has been suppressed way too long.
Until her.
Now, I stand just inside the door, watching her flit around, picking up discarded coffee mugs, tidying her already pristine apartment. It’s all blues and silvers and plush rugs, big, comfortable-looking pillows and stacks of books on antique shelves. It’s a magical place that suits the magical girl who made my blood start flowing again. It’s sweet. It’s a sanctuary. And all I want to do is drag her to the ground and hike up her skirt.