Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
I groan at the feel of her nipples digging into my skin beneath the cotton shirt. “We’ll get to that. Soon,” I promise, dipping my head and running my nose along hers.
Her eyes darken, growing hazy with a desire that matches mine. But it has to wait.
“I have to admit, I kept waiting for you to get bored,” I admit. “I thought you’d resent having to work for a living and decide to go back home.” I clear my throat. “I knew Preston was an issue, as were your parents’ demands. But I didn’t want to have my hopes up and my heart broken. Turns out, I underestimated you.” I hate to admit I didn’t trust her.
“I know.”
“What?” How could she have caught onto my feelings? I kept them well-hidden or so I thought.
She laughs for a second, but her expression quickly sobers. “I knew something was bothering you, but I wasn’t sure if you thought I was overstaying my welcome, or you were worried about…me leaving.” She shrugs. “Based on the things you said when we first met, I knew you didn’t trust easily.”
“Which things?” I ask warily. I confessed to a few hang-ups about us, but not all.
“Oh, me being too young, our experiences being worlds apart…” She waves a dismissive hand through the air.
“You being a virgin,” I go on to add, giving her the rest of what I held back. “And the fact that you’d probably want marriage and kids one day, whereas I swore off both.”
The color drains from her face. “You don’t want marriage or a family?”
“I didn’t.” I keep my hand on her jaw, my thumb brushing her soft skin. “Then I met you. Pretty soon I wanted everything. But you do have a lot of life to live before we dive into a family.”
“And we should still take time to get to learn more and enjoy each other, but I need to know you’re in this just like I am,” she says, staring into my eyes, her expression hopeful.
My heart squeezes tight in my chest. “If being in this means I love you, and I’m not going anywhere, then yeah, I’m in this.”
“You love me?” The hesitation in her voice pulls at me and I press my lips over hers, taking my time to show her my feelings without using words.
I’d rather taste her. Her tongue slides against mine, and her fingers thread through my hair, hanging on to me tight. The kiss goes on, and I never want to let her go.
But I force myself to break our connection.
Drawing a deep breath, I inhale the strawberry scent I do not want to live without and meet her gaze. “Yeah, princess. I love you.”
Tears fill her eyes. “I love you, too.”
“Then why are you crying?” I brush away the moisture on her face.
“Because other than my grandmother and sister, no one’s ever said that to me before. And knowing you feel the same way? That’s everything.”
No, she is everything.
“You deserve to be loved. And I’m going to spend every day proving that to you. Because this isn’t just a one summer thing. You and me? We’re in this for the long term and that includes marriage and kids…”
“And a dog?”
I laugh. “A dog, a cat, a house…anything you want,” I say, and then I go about sealing the deal with our mouths and our bodies. Because she is mine. And if I have my way, it will be for a lifetime.