Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 111416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
With a frown, he dug his elbows into the mattress and brushed her tousled hair out of her face so he could see it more clearly. “Why do you look so fucking shocked?”
Normally, he’d be amused by her deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression since much didn’t shake her, but right now he wasn’t. While he didn’t expect her to declare her undying love—not yet, anyway—he hadn’t quite expected that response.
“I… I just wasn’t prepared for that. You hadn’t said a fucking word.”
“You’re right. I hadn’t. But, holy fuck, Nova, I figured it was obvious. And I didn’t want to come out and say it until I was sure what I discovered that morning in your condo was actually real or only an emotional reaction from seeing you in that situation.”
Her lips gaped open for a second before she pinned them closed. She swallowed so hard, he could see it. Now he was starting to doubt everything. Did he just make a fucking fool out of himself?
He never should’ve said shit. He might have fucked up a good thing.
“And now you know for sure?”
He could lie and lessen the damage or he could say “fuck it” and continue marching down this disastrous path. “Yep.” Jesus Christ, that was a fucked-up way to answer an important question. “Yes, I do.”
“Fletch,” she breathed.
With their chests pressed together, she could probably feel his heart thumping heavily. “By your reaction, I’m assuming you don’t feel the same.”
“I didn’t say that,” she whispered. “But you haven’t actually told me. We’re discussing it like we’re discussing how shitty the Steelers played in their last game.”
“Yeah, well… I’m not the most romantic guy. That’s one of my many faults.”
She snorted softly. “Do I come off as a woman who needs romancing?”
“No. I guess we’re a lot alike in that respect.”
“That could be good or bad.”
“With us, I think it works. I respect and appreciate everything about you, Nova. I assumed you felt the same way about me.”
“I do.”
“Well, there you go.” Problem solved. Easy fucking peasy, right?
“While that’s needed for a solid relationship, that’s not love.”
Fuck, he might have shot his load too quickly. “Then what is?”
He braced himself when she took a deep breath before saying, “How I realized just how much I missed you every time I walk through the door and see you after we’ve been apart for hours. How quickly my heart beats when I watch you getting undressed. How it swells and tumbles with the way you look at me.”
Now his mouth was probably hanging open. “Damn, Nova. You just said you aren’t romantic, but that sounded romantic as hell.”
“It wasn’t meant to be romantic. It was one way to tell you how much I love you.”
“Fuck,” he whispered.
“Yeah. Fuck.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Wait. Are you fucking with me?”
She laughed. “No. You want to know when it hit me?”
“I’ll admit, sometimes I can be a dumb fuck but I’m not dumb enough to say no to that.”
“Like you, in my condo that morning. The second you kicked in my door I knew you were perfect for me. It’s not taking me out for a romantic dinner. It’s not flowers. It’s not sweet words. Or opening a door for me. It’s kicking down a fucking door and plugging a hole into a threat about to take me somewhere to be tortured. But… I’ve never been in love with anyone before and also like you, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t simply an emotional reaction to that situation.”
“Neither of us said a fucking word,” he groaned.
“Did we need to?”
“I guess not. But the validation is nice.”
“That I agree with. But, Fletch, I’m not a woman who will need to hear it. I’m the kind of woman who believes actions speak louder than words.”
“Then you should’ve known I loved you for a while now.”
Her eyes flicked to the mirror for a few seconds, before coming back to him. “Now that I think about it, I saw it in the way you looked at me, but at the time I didn’t recognize it for what it was.”
“Well, now you know,” he whispered.
“Yes, now I know and now you know, too.”
He grinned. “Now I know, too.”
It was a relief he wasn’t such a damn fool after all. His gut instinct hadn’t failed him yet.
She lifted her head and brushed her lips lightly across his. “Well, I’m glad we finally figured that out. Now all we have to do is figure out where the hell we go from here.”
“No matter what happens and as long as you’re willing, we’ll figure it out. Together.”
“That sounds like the perfect plan.”
Yes, it did.
Epilogue
Fletch’s head was thrown back on the pillow but his eyes were tipped forward as he watched Nova just about eat his cock whole. His fingers dug deeper into her hair, guiding her mouth up and down his hard as fuck length.