Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
I lean down and gently kiss her on the forehead. “Never,” I tell her. “You’ve built an empire single-handedly.”
“I don’t know if that’s the best metaphor,” she murmurs.
It takes me a moment to realize what she’s getting at. Empire—Empire’s Fall. Is she saying this relationship could destroy her streaming career? She’s not wrong.
“So, where are we going?” she asks.
I kiss her again. “It’s a surprise.”
She smiles shakily, making me wonder if I’ve massively misjudged this. She seems overstimulated, like she wants calm and peace. Not grand gestures.
When we arrive at the dock, I brush the hair from her face and look into her eyes. “I need to level with you, baby. I’ve got something planned. It’s romantic—or as close as a goblin like me can get. But if you’re not in the mood—”
“What?” She sits up, shaking her head quickly. “No, I mean yes. I am in the mood. What gave you that idea?” She laughs awkwardly. “Let’s do it. Your plan. Let’s try.”
Try. Like this is going to be an effort.
I sense something else is going on, something in that gorgeous, complicated heart of hers.
CHAPTER 19
DAKOTA
We stand at the boat’s railing, the engine humming behind us as we skip across the water. With the sun setting and bouncing over the waves, and Jack’s warm arms wrapped around me, his body pressing against my back, I should be ecstatic.
But here I am, thirty years old, over a decade removed from any of Dad’s controlling ways. And it still hits me sometimes. Mom’s married to a great guy now, the best stepdad I could ask for. But before that, there was my birth dad, Mr. Do What You’re Told. He’d bark orders at me and Mom as if he were a military commander. And then, if he went too far, there was always a grand gesture.
I am not my mother.
But I can’t shake the feeling. I don’t want to ruin this with my baggage. Noah frowns at me from my mind. A queen doesn’t bow to peasants, silly.
My mind is a jumbled mess. Everything is more complicated because, in terms of sheer physical need, there’s no complication at all. Every second, my body burns hotter and hotter for him. My core tingles as if begging for a touch.
My heart pounds, but my head is telling me to just enjoy this, relax, let whatever’s going to happen, happen.
“Any ideas?” he says, sounding boyish and excited. He kisses the nape of my neck.
I turn my head, giving him more access. He groans and presses his mouth firmly against me, biting a little. I move away before he can leave a mark I’ll have to cover up on stream.
“Not a clue,” I admit.
“Really?” he murmurs.
“Jack, I don’t…”
Then I see it. Glistening on the shoreline. Hints of green glisten on a rock formation in the distance. We’ve done a loop around the city, and now we’re at the edges of a stretch of wide-open land… which we can access via a cove. A cove with emerald-green rocks, with what looks like a table and chair in the middle, a metal bucket, and the neck of a champagne bottle sticking out.
My first instinct is to smile as happy tears fill my eyes. I stare in wonder at what he’s done. For us. For me. It makes me feel so special. I wish I could simply exist in this moment.
Instead, a bitter instinct grips me. I see my mother, a desperate smile on her face, flashing a silver bracelet at me as if that makes up for everything father did. “He’s not all bad, is he?” And it’s not the same, right? Jack hasn’t tried to control me, to hurt me, anything like that. Hiding on the floor isn’t the same as what Dad did to Mom.
But I can see what happens next so clearly. We’ll land on the shore. The champagne will flow with the jokes, the chemistry, and the closeness that feels so easy. He might even have a clamshell bed set up in a nearby cave, just like in the game.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, wiping the tears from my face. I think there are some sad ones mixed in with the happy ones.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“We have to go back.
“Dakota…”
I spin to face him. “I’m telling you to take me back right now.”
For a terrifying moment, I think he’s going to argue. He tilts his head at me. Hurt and confused. I know how a so-called nice guy would react now. The resentment would burst out. The accusations. I arranged all this, and now you’re acting like a stupid spoiled brat.
“We’re leaving right this second,” he says instead, touching my hand. “I’ll tell the captain.” He climbs up the nearby ladder. I hear a murmured conversation. Then he begins to climb down.
I stand at the edge, watching as the magical cove grows smaller and smaller.