Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
This man is special to me, and I know that will cause me problems down the road. For now, I'll just let myself enjoy everything he has to offer.
He doesn't urge me back onto the bed. The man presses his lips gently to mine and lets me take the lead, only opening his mouth to mine when I swipe my tongue over his lips.
We groan at the same time, each of us swallowing down the other's pleasure.
He presses against me, but he doesn't force me to take a step back. When I make that decision for both of us, he stays locked in place, our kissing breaking apart.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"We're supposed to be heading to the kitchen for turkey sandwiches."
"You'd rather have a turkey sandwich than me?" I ask, trying to be playful when I know his answer has the ability to really hurt my feelings.
"Never doubt that I want you, Brielle," he says. "But I'm also not going to make love to you a couple of minutes after a fight. I can't trust that you're doing it for the right reasons and not because you want my forgiveness."
"Ouch," I mutter. "Thanks for the brutal honesty."
"I'm not going to lie to you," he says, stepping forward and taking my hand in his. "There will be plenty of time for every thought you have running through that pretty head of yours, I promise."
I bite my lower lip when he presses a sweet kiss on my cheek.
"So, what you're saying is you don't really want me right now," I say, trying to sound like a tease, but still feeling the sting of his rejection.
He pulls me to his chest, and a slight roll of his hips tells me everything I need to hear.
"Never doubt how much I want you."
"Okay," I whisper, trying to shove down the need that surges inside of me when he presses his erection to me.
"Come on. I'm hungry."
"Are you really going out there hard?"
"So long as you either walk beside me or behind me I'll be fine."
"And if I walk in front of you?"
"Let's not even risk it," he says, a playful smile on his face.
I plant my feet on the floor, letting our hands fall apart when he walks toward the door.
"You were in a mood when you came in here. Tell me why."
He's frowning when he turns back around to face me.
"The meeting we had wasn't the greatest. We got old news, but it was... rough."
"You don't have to pretend around me," I tell him, leaning forward and pressing my lips to his cheek. "This goes both ways, you know."
His arm comes around my waist as he pulls me to him once again, only this time, he squeezes me like I'm valuable to him rather than just a toy he wants to play with for a while.
The kitchen is busy when we enter, a mix of people making breakfast foods and some, like us, who have some more savory options in mind.
I try not to look in Beth's direction even though we're sharing space. I don't try and confront her or force her to talk to me, and she seems at least accepting that we might be sharing space.
Beck stays right at my side, carrying on a conversation with me as if we're the only two people in the room. I know he's doing it so I feel more comfortable, but I'm also saddened with the way things have turned out where Beth is concerned.
Then again, maybe she has the right idea of rejecting me. The people around me get hurt, and I know that places every person in this room in danger.
I want to cry when I see Gigi's little girl run from the room with a donut held high over her head. Her dad chases after her. I'd be terrified for the devious little girl if he didn't have a huge smile on his face. The man clearly loves his daughter, and I can say I didn't know that was possible until I came here. In my world, daddies want to hurt their little girls, but the men here would lay down their lives for other men's children, not just their own.
I hate that I might be the catalyst that forces them to make that choice.
Chapter 23
Newton
It has been days since Beth refused to speak with Brielle, but I can tell it's still bothering her. She's here, but there's this distance in her eyes that just won't go away.
She hasn't been back in the closet, but I've seen her eye it more than once, and each time I catch her looking in that direction I feel like a failure. My experiences aren't her experiences, but I thought that maybe being bonded in traumatic childhoods, we formed some sort of connection. Right now I can't help but feel like she's biding her time until she can get away from here.