Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 55860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
I keep my body on a leash, determined not to overwhelm her or rush her in any way. It can be enough that she is safe for tonight. If she wants to go to her dad’s house, I’ll drive her myself. I’m just thankful she’s unharmed and safe. I’ll give anything, I’ll even let her go if it makes her happy.
It feels like I’m taking the first full breath since I got that picture on my phone this afternoon. I take off my jacket and tie, my shoes. Every muscle in my body was tense, ready for combat. The sense of release is incredible, the knowledge that Vinny Carbini can’t hurt her or anyone else ever again. It feels like my mission is complete for today.
Serena steps out of the bathroom on bare feet. My eyes travel from her toes all the way up her long legs to the hem of my dress shirt skimming her smooth thighs. I make a throttled sound as my body hardens in response. Her hair is wet and tousled, her eyes bright. Her lips curve into a smile just for me. I wait on the couch even though I want to leap to my feet, cover the distance in two long strides and claim her. Patience, I tell myself severely.
She doesn’t keep me waiting. Serena is beside me, one bare leg tucked beneath her, on the couch. She turns to face me. The scent of my shampoo mixes with the familiar smell of her skin. Serena’s closeness is too much for me. It’s all I can do to marshal my thoughts and keep my hands to myself while I wait for her cue.
“I love you. I know it’s weird to say just out of the blue like this, but I never said it to you before. I should have, a hundred times. Ironically, I was too afraid then. Today, the worst happened, or what could’ve been the worst, and there you were, kicking in the door to save the day.”
“I knocked,” I correct her.
“I’m giving you credit anyway,” she says with a smile, “You saved me, even though I walked away from you and from this—this is everything, Jack. I can’t tell you what it did to me to hear your voice on the phone the other day. I wanted to beg, Jack—I love you that much. More than that. More than anything.”
“You don’t need to say another word,” I tell her. My chest is so full. She loves me, she’s said it out loud. I wrap my fingers around her calf, possessive. She shifts at my touch. I couldn’t resist her if I tried. I see her cheeks flush, the glimpse of her collarbone at the open collar of my shirt.
“We have to talk, Jack,” she insists.
“I’ll listen to anything you have to say,” I tell her mischievously, “in about an hour… maybe two.”
I think she’s going to protest again, but she surprises me. Her fingers open the buttons of my shirt. She trails one fingertip down, from the base of my throat all the way to my belt buckle. My entire body jerks in response to her seductive touch, the fiery trail blazed by her fingerprint down the length of my sternum. I catch my breath, lean forward, seal my mouth over hers.
I delve my tongue in deep, and her pliant body arches into me. The hand on her calf glides up her smooth, familiar skin. I revel in every inch of her flesh. Her strong thighs feel different in my hands now, meatier somehow, and her hips were narrower when I held her last it seems. I must not remember as perfectly as I thought I had. Because here she is, perfect beneath my touch, and I would not change a thing about her. Tormenting us both, I slowly unbutton the shirt she borrowed. Every time I reveal a sliver of her pale skin, I dip my head to kiss her. The hollow of her throat, just below her questioning look. Here eyes are fevered and bright, her face flushed, lips swollen from my kisses. She sits back on her knees and lifts her chin.
Serena unbuttons the shirt herself, opens it so that I can look my fill, greedy eyes traveling from her collarbone, between her breasts. I part the white cotton fabric to bare her lush breasts. They look and feel more ample, her nipples big and juicy, a pretty flush on her skin. I kiss each one, savoring the salt taste of her warm flesh, the responsive tightening of her nipples when I lick one. I fumble with the next button, but Serena catches my wrist to stop me.
I lift my head from where I was busy laving her nipple with my tongue and trail my eyes from her breasts down to the curve of her belly. The rounded swell of her abdomen which is very different from the slight curve of her flat stomach that I knew so well. I narrow my eyes, letting it sink in.