Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
But my fire isn’t dying.
It’s only just beginning to ignite, burning brighter, hotter with each breath I draw from her. The room might as well be ablaze, the flames licking at our entwined bodies, scorching everything in its path yet leaving us untouched.
I crush my lips to hers in a hard and bruising kiss. No ordinary kiss, not even the feral kiss we shared earlier.
No. This is a kiss of two souls lost and now found.
And I know, in that instant, that I’ve shared a part of myself with her that I’ve never shared with anyone.
She knows me in a way no one else ever will.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Once we come down from the dreamy high, Skye chuckles.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re still fully dressed, as usual.”
“As usual?”
“You mean you don’t know that you usually stay dressed when we make love?”
“I guess I never thought about it. Though I admit it’s on brand for me.”
“Yeah, it is. Always in control.”
I gaze at her. Her lips are swollen and red from that last punishing kiss. Except it wasn’t punishing. It was violent, yes, but not punishing—I know about punishment.
That kiss was a meeting of souls.
“I won’t deny it,” I say.
“Ha! You better not. I’ll know you’re lying.”
“I don’t lie, Skye.”
It’s true. I may keep things from her, but I don’t lie. And I may eventually share everything. But honestly, I may never be able to go back there.
“I know. You want some dessert now?”
“Sure.”
“Coffee?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.”
She rises and hastily pulls her bra and shirt back over her breasts. “Where are my jeans?”
“I don’t know. I threw them somewhere.”
“Ah.” She finds them underneath a chair.
“You can leave them off,” I say. “In fact, take off the rest. I want you to serve me dessert naked.”
“Will you be naked, too?”
“Are you forgetting who makes the rules here?” I ask.
She smiles. “Braden, does this mean our relationship is back on?”
I cock my head. “Do you want it to be?”
“Do you?”
I shake my head. “You’re still the same Skye, arguing about every little thing. Yes, I want it to be, but I’m giving you an out.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not ready to give you what you gave me. I’m not ready to tell you the things you want to know, and to be honest, I may never be.”
She can always ask Apple.
But she won’t. I feel sure of it.
She strips off her shirt and bra and walks naked into my arms. She kisses my lips softly. “It’s okay. I want to be with you. Sure, I wish you’d be honest with me about those things in your past, but if I have to choose between you and knowing about you and Addie, I choose you.”
“You’re a stronger person than I am,” I say.
“I doubt that.”
“You are. I gave you a challenge, and you ran with it. You figured yourself out even though it was difficult and it caused you pain.”
“I’m far from having myself all figured out,” she says. “Like I said, it’s a journey, and the journey is what’s important.”
“I agree. And I want to give you something.”
“The truth about you and Addie?” She raises her eyebrows, hoping.
“No. That I can’t do. But I want to tell you a little more about my mother.”
She looks down at her bare breasts. “Now?”
“Maybe after dessert.” I pull something out of my pocket.
“What are those?” she asks.
I hold up two pieces of fabric, each red on one side and black on the other. “Restraints,” I say. “Silk restraints.”
“And you just happen to have those lying around in your pocket.”
“Have you ever known me not to come prepared?” My voice holds a touch of amusement, but I keep my expression stoic.
Her nipples harden in an instant, as if a chilly wind is blowing over them.
“Silk isn’t the best material for restraining someone,” I continue. “It can get knotted tightly and is sometimes difficult to release. Fortunately, I’m experienced enough that it doesn’t pose a problem.”
She shudders and looks around.
I see her mind working. Where will I bind her? Tie her? And what is all the experience I have with silk?
“To answer your question—”
“What question?” she interrupts.
“I see you glancing around. Wondering what I’m going to do to you with these restraints. You’ve underestimated me, Skye. Remember that evening when you turned off your phone so you wouldn’t get my email?”
She nods.
“I had some time here alone, and I looked around this place.” I glance to the hanging planter in her kitchen. “That hook is secured by a molly bolt. It can support at least fifty pounds.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but I weigh a lot more than that.” She gives me a teasing smile.
“That doesn’t matter, because your feet will be on the ground. The hook will simply hold your bound wrists above your head. All I need is to slide your table to the right slightly.”