Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I get it.” She stops me from continuing.
“She left town, and I never gave her another thought until I got a phone call and I was told she died and I had a daughter.”
She gasps. “You didn’t know?”
I shake my head. “I vowed to never have kids, never get married. It was never going to happen.”
“Until it did,” she adds with her voice low.
“Until now.” I put my hands on my knees and look over at her. “Until Lucy.”
“How did she die?” she asks.
“She had a brain aneurysm.” I take a deep breath in and then gush out, exhaling. “Lucy came home from school and found her.”
“Jesus,” she hisses out. “Jesus fucking Christ.” She shakes her head. “No wonder she’s so confused.”
“I can only imagine what she’s going through.”
“Unless you’ve walked in her shoes,” she says, and I swallow down the story about my past. No one, and I mean no one but me, knows that story, and that is how it’s going to be. NO one needs to know the story, especially not Lilah. I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if she looks at me with pity. “Then no one knows what she is going through.”
She nods at me, putting her hand beside her hip and pushing herself to a standing position. I climb to my feet and end up closer than I think I’ve ever been to her, at least in the dark. “Thank you for tonight,” I say. “You have no idea how much this means to me.” My head screams if only you really knew how much it meant, you would run away screaming.
She turns to face me. “I feel like”—she hesitates for just a second—“like you need a hug.” All the words stay lodged in my throat. All of them, the only thing working in my body is the blood rushing through me and my heart speeding up.
I watch her move and close the distance between us, her hands going around my shoulders, and she presses her chest to mine. My eyes close, and my hands move on their own to wrap around her waist. Instead of pushing her away from me, I squeeze her even closer to me. The relief of the night finally making me let go. I hug her with my eyes closed, and the feel of her in my arms is better than I could have ever dreamed of. She slowly lets me go, but my arms around her waist don’t let loose. She moves back a bit, her hands falling from around my shoulders to my pecs, my eyes open to see her staring at me. “Lilah,” I whisper, pleading with myself to let her go. Pleading with her to walk away from me.
“Emmett.” My name on her lips is more than I can take, especially after the last hours. One of my arms loosens from her waist, going to the side of her hip and then moving up so I can hold her face.
I can only say her name—“Lilah”—right before my head moves to the side, and she gasps right before my lips touch hers. Right before I realize I will now know what heaven feels like. My tongue comes out to lick her bottom lip before sliding into her mouth. Her tongue plays with mine, as if I’ve always kissed her. As if I was made to kiss her. My hand moves from her face into the back of her hair. I fist it and turn her head to the other side, deepening the kiss. Both of us moan as if we’ve been waiting for this moment for our whole lives. It’s a moment I know will go on my list of the best things that have ever happened to me. That list has one thing on it so far and that is Lucy. And now Lilah and this kiss.
Chapter Fourteen
LILAH
“Lilah.” I’ve heard him say my name before in every single tone that one could say one’s name. Indifferent, angry, annoyed, but never, and I mean never, like this. Soft but tight, and more importantly, needy, like he needed to say my name to continue breathing. My eyes fixate on his, wishing I had more light than just the moonlight, in order to see how his eyes are. So I could memorize them, just like I have all the other ones. I’ve grown so used to his glare that every single time I’ve seen him over the past couple of days, I would secretly stare at him to get another one of his looks memorized. He moves his head to the side, and my brain finally catches up to what is going to happen right now, making me gasp as his hand on my cheek slips into my hair.
I am not sure if it happens in slow motion or if my mind is just making sure it never forgets this moment. My pulse speeds up, every single nerve in my body tingles, the back of my neck gets hot, and my stomach flutters as if there is a family of butterflies inside me. My hands get clammy when I feel his tongue come out and lick my bottom lip. At this moment right here, I know what euphoria feels like, or at least this is what I think it is. In his arms, his hands on me. His head moves to the side, and I can’t help the gasp that escapes my lips the second before his lips touch mine. My eyes flutter closed for just a second, but I force them open to make sure this is real and not another one of my daydreams. His tongue comes out to lick my bottom lip before sliding into my mouth. This time, I can’t stop my eyes from closing, and my tongue eagerly comes out to play with his. If his hand wasn’t wrapped around my waist, I would fall, my knees almost buckling.