Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 137144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137144 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
He stared down at her for a long moment. “Lily St. Clary.”
“Um, yes?” she asked, looking confused.
Grasping hold of her, Harvey spun them both, so she had her back to the island and he was facing her. Then he placed his hands on the countertop on either side of her, leaning in. “Are you saying that you want to be with me?”
Something had changed. And recently.
Was it because he’d decided to hold back a bit in order not to make her fear him?
She’d obviously missed his touches and his kisses.
Interesting.
That hadn’t been the purpose of him drawing back, but it could be a very welcome side effect. He watched her closely for any fear. And while she seemed a bit nervous, she didn’t appear to be afraid.
Maybe he could push a bit further. He just had to be careful to recognize when she’d reached the limit of what she was comfortable with. Normally, he might push limits a bit, but he wasn’t sure that was wise with Lily.
Or perhaps it was just what she needed considering that they were now here. With her wanting him to touch her.
“Do you miss me touching you the way I was? Like this?” He wrapped one hand behind her neck. He kept his touch light, watching for any sign that she needed him to stop. But while her eyes grew wider, her breathing sped up, she didn’t move away. “My brave girl, aren’t you? I’m going to kiss you now, Lily. If you’re not ready, then you need to pull away.”
“Why would I want to do that when I’m standing here, waiting for you to kiss me?”
Well, fuck. He should stop messing around, then, shouldn’t he? But when he leaned in, she shied back.
“Wait!”
23
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
Had she changed her mind already? No, that didn’t make sense.
Maybe he should give her a safeword to help her feel more in control. Perhaps they could use the stop light system. He wasn’t a Dom. He wasn’t a member of any BDSM clubs. He didn’t like to play or scene. But he was a dominant guy. He liked being in control. And he enjoyed giving sexy spankings. And punishment ones.
Maybe he would enjoy some aspects of being a Dominant. He knew a bit about it from one of his cousins who was a Dom. He was often trying to convince Harvey to come to a club.
Which was how he knew about the stop light system.
“No, no! Don’t stop. I just wanted to check . . . you are going to kiss me properly, right?” she said demandingly. “None of this brushing your lips against mine and then hugging me lightly before tucking me into bed. I mean, that stuff is nice and all. But I want the passionate kisses. I want to feel it in my bones. I want to go weak at the knees.”
Wow. That was the most passionate and demanding he could ever recall her sounding. Some of that wall that had surrounded Lily was crumbling down and she was starting to show her true feelings.
And he couldn’t be more pleased.
He didn’t mind fire. He didn’t mind sass, as long as she was keeping herself safe. And Lord knew, he didn’t mind helping with that either.
The only reason he’d stopped was because he thought it was something she didn’t want.
“Oh, this kiss is going to have plenty of passion. Did I make a mistake pulling back, baby?” he asked.
Tears filled her eyes, and worry flooded him. What had he said? “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“You called me ‘baby’ again.”
“I’m sorry I stopped. I didn’t realize I had.”
“You did. Ever since I said I didn’t think I could be spanked. I just didn’t know whether I would like it or not, because I’ve never experienced it. Well, not in this context, obviously.”
He cupped the side of her face. “That was definitely me pushing too fast and too hard. I should have taken things slower.”
“But not as slow as you became,” she pointed out. “Not snail pace.”
He smiled down at her. “All right, so no snail pace and no cheetah pace. Somewhere in the middle?”
She sighed with what looked like relief. “Somewhere in the middle would be great.”
“Now, before I kiss you silly, is there anything that needs to be turned off or rescued? Have you got anything else in the oven?”
“God, no. Oh my God, I forgot about this disastrous dinner! I’m so sorry. I ruined it all. I just really wanted to create something nice for you.”
“Hey, it’s all right,” he soothed. “Nothing is ruined. There’s nothing broken that can’t be fixed.”
“I don’t think that roast can be fixed.”
“Screw the roast. There’s plenty more meat in the freezer. But right now, that’s not what I’m thinking about eating.”
Her eyes widened even further and she bit down on her lip. Grasping her around her waist, he lifted her onto the counter.