Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
He had to make her believe. “It’s not the same. Not in any way. You barely talked to me in college. She would have done anything to get Kyle back. Anything. She would never once have thought to walk away because she was a narcissist. Can we agree on that one thing first? You are not a narcissist.”
“Lena thinks I might be, but she also thinks it’s a good trait for an operative since I’m obsessed with my job,” Kala explained.
Oh, he was going to have to deal with Lena. He would start with going to Big Tag and demanding they bring someone else in. “It’s a terrible trait, and you know that deep inside. You do your job for the betterment of your country and everyone around you. You do not do this job for you. If you were doing this job for you, it would have been easier to call your cousin and apply for a job as assassin. Because you like to stab people who deserve it. So we’re tossing all of that out. I don’t think Lena is the right therapist for you. So now we’re at the truth. Say it out loud. You walked away because something inside tells you that you’re not worthy of the love you’ve been given.”
Her eyes caught his, her jaw tightening and then releasing as though she’d made her decision. “I’m not worthy of the love I’ve been given. I don’t belong here. I don’t fit.”
It was out in the open, and now they could work on it. “Baby, you think you don’t fit because you’re the damn sun. You don’t fit into orbit because you’re the person we all orbit around. I know you think it’s Kenzie, but you are the hand that guides us, not Kenz. You are the strong voice of reason even when that voice is very sarcastic. It’s you, Kala. It’s always you.”
He stepped in close and kissed her, sure now that everything would be all right.
“I need you to hold me,” she said, her breath hitching.
He knew how hard it was for her to ask for affection, for anything really. He had her out of the bondage in a heartbeat and turned her around, pulling her back against his chest. He had to be careful with the clamps that still decorated her gorgeous body. He wrapped her up while she cried. Told her he loved her over and over. Promised it would all be all right.
Her head fell back, arms coming up to cup the back of his neck. “I love you, too. Even though you’re an asshole and my nipples have gone numb.”
He felt a smile spread across his face. “Well, my love, we’ll have to do something about that.”
Chapter Sixteen
It felt so good to cry, but now that she’d done it, there was another feeling she wanted to experience again. Love. The physical kind. He’d done everything she’d needed him to do. She believed him. She wouldn’t question him again, and she’d said the hard truth.
She could work on it. She could do anything if this man was with her.
You’re the damn sun.
The words had done something to her, opened some place inside her that had always been closed and locked away. If she was the sun, it was time to do some glowing.
After he got the damn clamps off her.
Cooper stood in front of her, the sweetest smile on his face. And his gloriously masculine body on display. He reached over and toyed with one of the jewels hanging off her nipples.
Kala yelped. Nope. Not as numb as she’d thought.
Cooper chuckled and dropped to his knees. “Do I get to tell our subs this story?”
Their subs. She’d always thought he would eventually leave and she would have to deal with them on her own, but it was kind of like they had a bunch of puppies they’d adopted and now she got to keep them. “I will murder you.”
She had a rep to keep up, after all.
He winked and leaned in, his eyes turning up to look at her. “Understood, baby.”
Then his hand came up and she gritted her teeth as he released the clamp and the blood surged back in. Pain bit through her but his mouth was on her, his tongue soothing the pain. Though she had to admit, the pain did something for her, too. It went straight to her pussy.
She might have some switch in her. The sight of Cooper on his knees in front of her got her motor going. She let her hands come up, stroking through his silky hair. He was so fucking gorgeous. Another snap of pain as he released the second clamp and then tongued and soothed her poor, irritated nipple.
How had she ever lived without this connection? She’d never viewed sex the way her sisters and friends did. She’d always known it would be sacred for her, and only with him. “Say it again.”