Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 109976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry, I don’t have any feminine stuff here; we’ll get you what you like tomorrow.” I drew her into me and kissed the top of her bent head and turned to leave after showing her the robe I’d thrown over the vanity chair. “I’ll wait for you outside. Just wear that for now until we get you something else to wear.”
“How long am I staying here?” I looked back over my shoulder at her not saying a word for the longest time before finally giving her an answer.
“You’re not going back. Ever.” I closed the door behind me before she could give a response. I wasn’t surprised when she reopened it a mere few seconds later and came rushing out after me.
“What do you mean? I can’t stay here.” I looked down at her slender form dwarfed in my too large robe before looking into her eyes again. “Yes, you can.” I knew she was saying one thing with her lips but her eyes told the real story.
Even though there was a hint of fear there it was nothing compared to the hope that shone like a beacon. Maybe I’m moving too fast, maybe she needs time to get her thoughts together after the day she’d had. But I don’t have it in me to take her back to his home, to sleep in his bed. Hell no!
“I’ll take you back some time later this week. But just so you know I’m only taking you there to grab whatever important documents you left behind. You can leave the clothes and anything else his money bought you behind. I’ll replace them as soon as possible.”
“Gavin…” It’s the first time she’d called my name and I made a note to myself to watch out for that shit. I’m pretty sure in the future she’d get away with a lot if she says my name in just that way. But not today.
“Come here!” I waited for her to come to me, holding my breath until she took the first step. Little did she know that that’s all I needed. I just needed her to take that first step without fear or hesitation and I’ll do the rest.
She came and stood in front of me in the robe that hung off her shoulders with her head down as usual. I gripped her shoulders lightly and made her look at me. “Look at me when I’m talking to you.” I waited for her to comply.
I studied her eyes, looking for any sign of distress, ready to call in whoever was needed. But all I saw there was tiredness, with that same tinge of fear which is understandable I guess.
I rubbed my thumb softly along her cheek and she subconsciously leaned into my hand. “Marcus told me that you saw it happen, do you want to talk about it?” I kept my voice low and nonthreatening all the while searching her eyes for the truth.
She seemed to lose her breath a little and sucked in air and I pulled her in a little closer now holding her cheek in my palm. I waited for her to calm down and didn’t push. “Can we talk about it later? I just want to forget it for tonight. Can I?”
I gritted my teeth at the fresh sheen of tears that entered her eyes and pulled her into my arms offering her comfort the best way I could. “You can do whatever you want.” I held her head against my chest with her ear pressed over the wild beating of my heart.
We stood there with my arms wrapped around her as I waited for the tears that never came and I wasn’t sure if that was good or not. She sniffled and I leaned her head back to look at her but though her eyes were still bright with unshed tears none fell.
Now she looked up at me wordlessly and we stared into each other’s eyes as if studying each other. “Do you know how long I’ve been in love with you?” She stumbled back a step and now the look in her eyes was one of fear mixed with excitement. The excitement I understood but I still didn’t get the fear.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her if she was afraid of me but I knew that wasn’t the case. I’d seen the way she looked at me down at the station before she remembered to put her barriers up, like I was her savior.
No way that fear’s because of me. I’m gonna find out though, just where that look was coming from and deal with it. But first we had to get some things straight so that there were no unnecessary misunderstandings between us.
“I asked you a question, did you know I was in love with you?” I warned myself not to push, reminded myself that she’d just been through some horrible shit and that even though I didn’t give two fucks about her asshole ex, and didn’t want her to either, the reality is that she’d been his wife.