Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 558(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 558(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Conventions.
Right. And Uncle King… I can fly Uncle King wherever he wants to go when he needs a time-out. But I’ll go with him because no one should be in so many time-outs… it means he’s being too naughty.
Sounds like a good plan, Gio.
It is, Uncle Vaughn… because I’m smart like Daddy.
“James, open your eyes.”
I did as I was told because it was Aleks speaking and I would always do what Aleks asked. I pulled in a breath as I opened my eyes and saw him leaning over me. At some point, he’d turned on the light on the nightstand next to me, which meant he’d leaned across me to do it and I hadn’t even noticed.
God, why was I suddenly sleeping through so much?
“Sorry,” I muttered. “Guess we shouldn’t have slept in the same bed. You need your sleep.”
Aleks had his left arm bent at the elbow so he could rest his cheek on his hand. His right hand was on my face. My body reacted to the sensation of his lithe body pressed up against mine beneath the blanket.
“I sleep better with you,” he said. “I like how big and warm you are and how you wrap yourself around me when you sleep… like you’re afraid to let me go.”
His bluntness had me looking at him in surprise. I could see that there was a hint of color in his cheeks. It was then that I realized my right arm was indeed beneath his body. We hadn’t fallen asleep like that because I hadn’t wanted to crowd him.
Aleks’s fingers played with my beard as he held my gaze. His thumb skimmed my mouth and I couldn’t help but press a kiss against it. I knew I needed to put a stop to whatever was happening between us because it would only hurt all the more when I had to let him go once all this shit was settled, but when Luca had asked tonight if we needed one room or two, I’d blurted one before even giving Aleks a chance to answer. Con had bought Aleks some clothes, including a T-shirt and shorts he could wear as pajamas. While Aleks had been in the middle of changing in the attached bathroom, I’d offered to talk to Luca about sleeping in the room across the hall so Aleks could have some space.
Then he’d come out of the bathroom and I’d nearly swallowed my tongue.
Not only because of how great he looked in the shorts, especially since they were snug along his slim thighs and shapely ass, but because he’d chosen to wear my T-shirt instead of the new one Con had gotten him. He’d been nervous and hadn’t been able to stop rubbing one of his arms with the opposite hand, but as he’d gone around to the other side of the bed, he’d murmured that we could share the bed.
We hadn’t talked after that and there’d been a gap between us when I’d turned off the light, but apparently my body hadn’t been satisfied with the lack of contact.
“I don’t usually dream,” I said as I tried to get control of my lust. The last thing Aleks needed was to know what the proximity was doing to me.
“We’re the same,” Aleks said as he continued to touch me. “Our minds have been hiding from the past but the memories don’t want to be forgotten.”
I nodded because that was exactly it.
“Sometimes I wish I could forget...”
“Me too,” I admitted as I used my free hand to brush the hair that was dipping down on his forehead just a bit.
Aleks seemed to hesitate for a moment before he added, “But not you… I wouldn’t want to forget you.”
I felt my throat threaten to close up and all I managed to do was shake my head. I hoped he understood what I was trying to say. I had no idea why this one man had the power to leave me speechless with the simplest of words, but I was tired of trying to fight it or pretend he didn’t completely own me. He’d done something from the moment I’d first seen him and there was no going back.
Aleks smiled as he took in my nonverbal response.
Yeah, he knows, I thought to myself.
“You said I never had to ask to touch you,” Aleks murmured as his eyes fell to my mouth for a moment. “Does that mean… anywhere?”
“Yes, it fudging does,” I managed to say.
He smiled wide as his finger continued to stroke back and forth over my lower lip. Then he leaned down and tentatively brushed his mouth over mine.
I kissed him back but let him set the pace. Much like our first kiss, it took a little while to find that perfect rhythm, but he was a quick study.
He also had this thing with touching my face as he kissed me. Like he wanted to make sure I didn’t try to pull my mouth away.