Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“Fucking asshole,” he spat out. “It could be.”
“He could have grabbed me at any time,” she whispered. “Hurt me.”
“Not going to let anyone hurt you, Gem. Not anyone.”
“I thought I’d buried my demons so deep that they’d never come out.”
“They always find a way of getting out, Gem. And I’m glad that they are, because that shit will eat you up from the inside out unless you let it out. Trust me, I know.”
“You have your own stuff to deal with, I’m so sorry to load you with mine.”
“Like I told you. I want yours.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I fucking love you.”
“What?” she asked in a hoarse voice.
“Went crazy when I learned you’d been taken. I absolutely lost it. And I knew then if I didn’t get you back that my life was fucking over. It would go back to shades of gray. And I don’t know if I could have gone back to that. Pulled myself out of the gutter once and I knew I couldn’t do it again.”
“But if something did happen to me—”
“Wouldn’t survive, baby. Simple as that.”
“That’s a lot of pressure on me to live,” she muttered.
To his shock after everything that had just happened, he found himself laughing. “Yep. Guess you’re going to have to do everything I tell you to do to keep you safe.”
“Fuck. You sure you couldn’t love me a bit less?”
Now, he really didn’t want to laugh. “No. I could not love you less. There’s no way for me not to love you. I’m not a flowery guy, Gem. You’re not going to get lots of romantic words from me. But I will always take care of you. You’ll never have to take the trash out, or shovel snow, or worry about maintenance, or paying the bills, or grocery shopping and cooking.”
“Yeah, that’s a lot of pressure.”
“Problem?” He growled, well aware that she hadn’t told him that she loved him yet.
“There might have been, if I didn’t love you too.”
Thank fuck.
“Made me wait for that, Gem. That doesn’t make me happy. Gonna have to spank you for that later.”
She buried her face into his chest, taking in his gingerbread scent. “You do that.”
“If you can’t handle the spankings anymore, you’ll tell me.”
Opal stiffened. “Just because I had a moment doesn’t mean that I want to change the way I live my life. We live our life.”
“Just telling you that you can change your mind.”
“I haven’t changed. I’m still me. And I still have needs that most people won’t get with my past. But I know that you get it and you can give me what I have to have.”
“Yeah, I understand those needs, baby.”
“I love you, Renard. And I couldn’t ever imagine living without you.”
“Good thing you don’t have to.”
“I really could use that tissue, though,” she said, sniffing.
“Here. Blow.” He held his sleeve up to her nose.
“I am not blowing my nose on your shirt, Renard!”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s gross.”
“Do I love you?” he said, confusing her.
“Apparently.”
“No apparently about it. The answer is yes,” he informed her. “I love you and you can blow your damn nose on my shirt.”
“You love me so you love my snot?” she questioned.
“Yep. That’s exactly it.”
“That’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever heard.”
“Blow, baby.”
She muttered something to herself and shook her head. So he slid her forward so he could pull off his shirt and then he held it to her nose. “Blow.”
“Fucking crazy man.” But she blew her nose and for some ridiculous reason he was pleased.
As though he had done something to take care of her. He settled her back. “Glad I’m getting all of you now, baby.”
“Are you sure? You hate tears.”
“I was an idiot.”
“You . . . you what?”
“I was the world’s biggest fucking idiot for telling you that I hate tears . . . that I didn’t want you to cry. What I should have said is that when you cry, I want you to find me. Lean on me. Tell me what is going on so I can fucking fix it.”
“There’s no fixing me, though.”
“That’s because there’s nothing that needs fixing. There have been times where I don’t feel worthy of someone as amazing as you.”
She opened her mouth, likely to argue, but he placed a finger over her lips.
“But now I’ve decided, screw that. I’m keeping you.” He removed his fingers.
“You’re keeping me?” she repeated.
“Yep.”
“Good. Because I’m keeping you too. And that bit about you not being worthy is bullshit. You’re protective and kind under the gruffness. You’re smart and sexy and you cook like a dream. You’re worth everything good that comes your way.”
All he wanted was her.
“We should get you back into bed, though. You need to rest.”
She grasped hold of him. Tight. “I don’t want you to leave me.”
“Not going anywhere, Gem,” he told her gruffly. “Not going any-fucking-where.”