Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
She wasn’t sure she could answer even if she wanted to. Her throat burned raw from swallowing the river. Her lips were numb. But her brain? Fully functional. Maybe because awareness hit her harder than the airbag had earlier. She was naked with freaking Christian Osprey.
She might actually die. From exposure…or embarrassment. She gave a half-hearted attempt to move away, forcing her eyelids to open and see the slate rock side of the shower. Had he placed that there himself? The pain began to ebb. More awareness tingled through her. A lot more.
Her shoulders only reached his chest, which was hard and shockingly hot even though most of the spray was blasting her. Her butt rested against his thighs. She closed her eyes again as she realized what was nudging her lower back.
Was he hard?
The night flashed through her head. The river, her desperation, the hope when he arrived on the other side of the glass. When he broke it and tugged her free.
He’d saved her.
She turned, surprised he let her, and rubbed both of her still chilled hands up the hard planes of his chest. A low hum wandered through her. She glanced at the osprey’s talon over his shoulder and leaned over to kiss it.
He jolted. Slightly, but enough that she noticed. “Amka.”
“Yeah,” she mumbled, sliding her hands up to his shoulders and digging in. Her legs still trembled, but she forced herself up on her toes to wander her mouth across his sharp and whiskered jawline. A slight pain ticked through her lips, and she didn’t care. “Thank you for saving me.”
He instantly grasped her shoulders and set her away from him.
She looked up, surprised, and then stopped breathing.
His eyes had gone a deep hue, both colors, and his nostrils had flared. “No.”
“Yes.” She was tired of half living. Tired of being scared. Life could end in a second, and right now, she had a fully aroused and hotter than Hades male in the shower with her. One she not only wanted but definitely liked. She scratched her nails down his torso and nearly moaned. God. So much muscle and strength.
He grasped her wrists, pulling her free.
Irritation clocked through her, and she jerked her head back, staring at him. “You want me.” It wasn’t like he was hiding his rather impressive, okay, very impressive, erection.
“Not like this.” His tone sounded final but the red filling his handsome cheeks showed a guy fighting himself. “Not because you’re grateful.”
“Oh.” She half laughed, feeling suddenly warmer. Much. “I’m not that grateful, Christian.” He still held her wrists, so she stepped into him, skin to skin. “I’m tired of fighting us. This. Whatever it is.”
His hold loosened.
Encouraged, she stayed right where she was. “I’m glad we’re both alive. What if we weren’t? What if the river had won?”
“I wouldn’t have let the river win. Nothing hurts you, Amka.”
Those words. She was a modern woman who owned her own business. She didn’t take orders from anybody. But those words and that tone. They shot a need through her that should’ve shocked her. Should’ve warned her.
It was too late for shock or warning.
A slight shudder ran through him. She swallowed and leaned in to bite beneath his pec. “Stop fighting yourself.” Giving in, she licked up to his neck, tasting salt and fresh water. His hold on her wrists tightened, and the small bite made her gasp.
He released her, moving suddenly and tangling his fingers in her wet hair, dragging her head back. “You don’t know me.”
Another warning? “I do.” She tried to tug free and didn’t move. Why that shot need through her faster than adrenaline had ever flowed, she’d never figure out. “I know you, Christian,” she whispered. “You try to stay distant, and sometimes you do, but if one of your brothers needs you, you’re there. If I need you, you’re there. If someone in the town needs you, you’re there.”
“Not all of me.”
Now those words did catch her. She stopped and looked up at his brutally carved face. “I know,” she whispered. And she did. She saw when he’d had enough and needed to be free. To be out in the wild, where sometimes he belonged. “I like you the way you are.” She’d never know where those words came from, but she meant them.
He blinked. Just once. Then he moved, his fist tightening in her hair, his other hand going to her hip and lifting her. Her butt hit the smooth rock wall and he stepped into her, his forehead lowering to hers. His eyes blazed pure fire. “You sure?”
She couldn’t breathe. Somehow, she was ready for him. Right now. “Yes.”
His mouth dropped to hers, hard and fast, while he began pushing inside her. Slow. Measured. Taking his time and letting her soften around him in increments. How was she ready for him that fast?