Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
I’m then reminded that he was injured and had been in the hospital. Frantically, I sit up and push him down, running my eyes and hands over his body to ensure he is okay.
“Kels,” he says, sitting up as well. “I’m okay, baby. I heard your voicemail on my drive over to you, but you didn’t answer the phone. I called Dorothy, and she said you left upset.”
“I didn’t hear you call,” I mumble, searching for my phone. It must be in the living room. “I was so scared. I thought…”
“I know,” he says, cupping my face. “I know. I heard the fear in your voice, but I’m okay. A beam landed on my shoulder, and they insisted on bringing me in to make sure nothing was broken.”
“Let me see,” I demand, gripping the bottom of his shirt and lifting, needing to see with my own eyes that he’s okay.
He carefully removes his shirt and I spot a bruise on the left shoulder already forming. It looks painful, although it could have been worse in the grand scheme of things. He could be dead.
But he’s not. He’s alive and okay.
Climbing into his lap, I press my lips to the injured spot. “Pierce,” I choke out, emotion clogging my throat. “I was so scared. I called the hospital, and they couldn’t tell me anything. I tried Sara, but she didn’t answer. I called you.” I lift my gaze to meet his. “The entire time, I kept praying that you were alive and okay because…” I suck in a sharp breath and release it, needing to tell him how I feel. “I’ve fallen in love with you.”
His eyes widen then soften, with his lips splitting into the most breathtakingly beautiful smile. “You love me, sweetheart?”
“I do,” I admit. “When I found out about the fire, my only thoughts were that I never got a chance to tell you. I know it happened quickly and unexpectedly, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve fallen for you, and I don’t want to waste a single second not being with you. Life’s too short.” I press another kiss to his shoulder. “It can be taken from us at any moment.” I kiss each of his cheeks. “I don’t want to be scared anymore.”
I lean down and press my lips to his heart, so thankful that unlike Trent’s, Pierce’s is still beating. “I don’t want to live in fear anymore,” I tell him, meeting his hazel eyes that are so full of life. “I just want to live and love and do it all with you.”
“Jesus, Kels,” he says, gripping the side of my neck. “You’re so damn brave, sweetheart. Pouring your heart out to me like this after everything you’ve been through, after thinking something happened to me. You’re amazing.”
He slants his mouth over mine and kisses the breath right out of me, a reminder that we’re both alive. We break apart long enough for us to pull my shirt over my head and toss it to the side and then undo my bra. When I remove the straps and drop it onto the floor, Pierce backs up slightly, drinking in the sight of my breasts. His tongue runs slowly along his bottom lip, and he shakes his head.
“So beautiful.” He lifts my breasts, feeling the weight of them in his palms. “So perfect.” He takes one into his mouth and sucks on my nipple, eliciting a moan from me. “So goddamn lovable.”
I freeze at his words, and our eyes meet.
“I love you, Kels. I think I might’ve loved you since the moment I saw you in the grocery store. You and your mini. You’re both mine.” He leans in and nips my bottom lip then soothes away the pain. “Tell me, baby. Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m yours,” I breathe, the words spilling out far too easily.
“Damn right, you are.”
His mouth is back on mine, and we kiss for several minutes, getting lost in each other, making silent promises that should be too soon for either of us to make, but knowing neither of us cares about anything other than the way we feel.
While we kiss, Pierce tweaks my nipples and massages my breasts, working me up higher and higher until I’m squirming in his lap, begging him to take me over the edge.
“Not yet,” he murmurs, changing our positions so I’m lying on the mattress with him hovering over me. “I’ve dreamed… Hell, I’ve fantasized about the day I get you…all of you. I’m going to take my time and memorize every damn inch of you.” His hands land on either side of my head as he trails fiery kisses along my neck and chest. “Then, when I’m done, I’ll do it all over again.”
He stops abruptly, his brows creasing. “Wait, where’s Jordan?”
He glances around as if she’s going to pop out of the closet, and laughter bubbles out of me. At the same time, my heart soars, knowing that even in a moment of lust, he cares about more than sex. Pierce Adler truly cares about my daughter and me.