Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
I nod, my head bumping against his chin.
His body relaxes beneath mine as if my agreement lifted some great burden from his shoulders. "Thank you, little bunny," he whispers. "Thank you for trusting me."
"Something is different," Mila announces three days later, peering at me over the kitchen table. She and Roman got back from Santa Cruz last night. She's so happy she's glowing. When Roman left this morning, he couldn't seem to keep his hands off her. She seemed more than happy to let him kiss her breathless.
I know the feeling. Octavio has his hands on me at every available opportunity. He tries to be discreet when anyone is around, but as soon as we're back at his house, he's all over me. It's not always about sex though. Sometimes he strips me naked, cuddles me up on his lap, and just holds me. I love those times almost as much as I love when he's making love to me.
We talk a lot about my life with my mom and Nikolai, and about his life. When we talk about my mom or Nikolai, he's always extra sweet to me, like he wants to remind me that I'm safe now. Despite the news that Nikolai is willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money to get his hands on me, I'm…okay. I won't say I'm not worried because I am, but Octavio is worth fighting for and I'm not going to let Nikolai scare me into giving him up. No way.
"Um…" My tongue peeks out, swiping nervously along my bottom lip.
"Oh my gosh! You guys are sleeping together!"
As soon as the words leave her lips, Luke freezes, his green eyes going wide.
My cheeks burn. I drop my gaze to my plate, not sure what to say. Octavio and I haven't really talked about what we are together or whether we want to tell people. Everything is still new. I kind of like that it's something that's just ours right now. I'm not sure I'm ready to share it yet.
"I didn't mean to say that out loud," Mila whispers. Her voice shakes like she's trying not to cry. "I'm so, so sorry, Faith."
"It's okay." I reach out and squeeze her hand, unable to be mad at her. I haven't been around very many pregnant women, but she cries really easily. She's so sweet. I don't want her to cry. I take a deep breath, knowing they're going to figure it out sooner or later. I might not want to share it, but I don't want to lie about it now that it's out, either.
"Octavio and I are sleeping together. I mean…we've been sleeping in the bed together. But now we're…" I stutter awkwardly, trying to explain. "Um…It's not just sex. I, um…" I give up with a groan and lay my head on the table, my cheeks blazing with heat. "I'm going to shut up now."
"This is definitely not a conversation I need to hear," Luke mutters, trying hard to hide the way his lips twitch like he wants to laugh. He grabs his plate in one hand and his beer in the other before hurrying from the room, shaking his head the entire way.
"I really didn't mean to say that out loud," Mila apologizes again once he's out of earshot. "I promise I wouldn't call you guys out like that in front of anyone on purpose. I swear, our ladybug better love me best. I cry all the time. I can't have coffee. And now my brain doesn't work right. But I'm happy for you, Faith."
"It's not just sex," I repeat.
"Of course it's not," Mila says like the thought never crossed her mind.
"I think…" I grimace and shake my head. "No, I know I love him."
Her green eyes light up, happiness washing through her expression. "I know you do. And it's obvious he feels the same way about you. I've never seen him so happy. It's like he's finally found something he's been missing. He's less…" She scrunches up her nose, thinking. "I want to say grouchy, but that's not right. He's never been grouchy or mean, just kind of stuck in his ways. He likes everything to make sense. I think that's why he's so good at his job. He's really good at moving pieces around until they fit just right."
I smile because she's not wrong about him. He's very precise and methodical, very neat. Mysteries frustrate him. That's part of why he made me so anxious when I first met him. I didn't want to share my shame, didn't want anyone to know, but he saw it anyway, and I knew he wouldn't let me get away without sharing everything with him. I just didn't realize that telling him my secrets would make them hurt less.
"But he always seemed like he knew something was missing and couldn't figure out what," Mila continues. "I think you were the thing he was missing. He's more at ease now. It makes me happy to see him happy."