Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
“Never again,” I promised, crushing my lips against his, my body flooding with heat and happiness and need.
The roaring crowd brought us right back to earth, and I buried my face in his shoulder.
“After the game,” he said, eyebrows raised. “Wait for me?”
I nodded as he gently set me back on solid ground. “Always,” I said.
He grinned that damn smirk of his, skating backward on the ice, his fists raised in victory as the crowd chanted his name over and over again.
And I couldn’t contain my smile or my laugh at the sight of my Reaper.
“Can I take ye home, now?” Connell asked as he came into the office Gage McPherson had so kindly let me wait inside—after handing me the check for the reserve that had brought me here in the first place.
Connell’s hair was still damp from his shower after the resounding win the Reapers’ had just delivered.
“Lock the door,” I said, slightly breathless.
Connell flashed me a half-smile, quickly locking the door behind him.
I hopped onto the desk, careful not to disturb anything behind me.
He cocked a brow as he stalked toward me. “Thought ye said you’d never be caught in public like this?”
I bit my bottom lip. “You’re worth the risk.”
His eyes shuttered at my words, his hands gentle as they snaked around my back as he stepped between my opened legs.
“You’re worth everything, Connell,” I said with more sincerity. “And I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have believed the article. I shouldn’t have cared what anyone else thought. You mean more to me than the prospect of anyone’s judgment.” I shook my head. “I won’t ever let anyone do that to us again. Open communication from here on out. I trust you. And I’m sorry for this broken piece of me that put us through this hell. I promise I’ll work on it. If you’ll have me.” I sighed. “Never again?” I repeated our earlier promise.
“Never again.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “I missed you.”
“I love you,” I breathed the words against his mouth, and he came unhinged. Unleashing himself on me in a flurry of lips and tongue and teeth. I gasped as he made quick work of dropping both our pants, shoving my lace to the side and sliding into me in one, smooth motion. His hands palmed my ass, leveraging my body on the desk as he pumped into me.
Each thrust a promise.
Each gasp from me an apology.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing myself as close to him as humanly possible. I claimed his mouth in the same way he claimed my body, working me up in a frenzy of thrusts and caresses. Drunk on the taste of him, I spiraled toward that sweet edge, begging him for more, more, more.
He obliged, his eyes on mine as drove into me like a man on a mission to brand himself on my soul. And damn me if he didn’t do just that. I clawed at his back, lightly biting his lip as pleasure coiled inside me.
Connell felt the shift, felt me plunging toward that explosive moment, and covered my mouth with his own, swallowing my would-be moans like his favorite drink.
I clenched around him, coming hard and fast as he took me deeper until his release quickly followed.
Our chests heaved as he held me, planting kisses along the column of my neck, the line of my jaw, and finally my lips.
I tangled my fingers in his hair, our eyes locking.
“Forgive me?” I asked, needing to hear him say the words. Needing him to absolve me of this flaw—of being blind and not giving him a chance to explain until I’d hurt us both.
He shook his head, and my heart lurched.
“Nothing to forgive, love,” he said, brushing his lips over mine. “My life…the public parts of it. I can’t promise they won’t come after us again. But I can promise you one thing.”
I swallowed hard, clinging to him with a held breath.
“I’ll love you forever.”
I smiled against his mouth. “Today,” I said, planting a kiss on his lips. “Tomorrow.” Another quick kiss. “And forever,” I promised him, and sealed the vow with a slow, deep kiss that made both of us forget how to speak at all.
Epilogue
Connell
Six Months Later
Late June was just as hot in South Carolina as I’d remembered it from last year.
“Thanks for coming to get me. Annabelle couldn’t get away from the office,” I told Logan as we pulled into my driveway.
“It’s no problem. Really. I’ve missed your ugly mug for the last few weeks. It was a good trip home?” His eyes flickered toward the house.
My hackles rose just like they did every time a Reaper tried to pull a prank on me. They had yet to pull it off because I was just that damn good at sniffing them out.