Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
She always had to have the last word. “Or what?”
Self-preservation was clearly not in my sister’s vocabulary. Tired of all the fighting, I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes, wearily. My husband snaked his arm around my middle, snapping me out of my stupor. I looked up at him. He glanced down at me. And together, we walked away from Vincenza once and for all.
I did not miss the affronted look on her face at being completely disregarded.
My footsteps didn’t slow as I called back a blunt, “Or I’ll kill you myself.”
And I meant it, too.
Tor gently touched my lower back and held my hand as he helped me into the limo. My handsome husband sat beside me, watching me closely, holding my hand and running his thumb lightly across my knuckles as I came to terms with what had just happened.
There was no going back. I no longer had roots that lead me home.
To say that it hurt that I no longer had a family would have been an understatement, but it hurt far less that I expected it to. My eyes found the thick masculine thumb stroking my hand lovingly, and the realization hit.
Everything I needed was right here.
My free hand came to rest on my fluttering stomach.
This baby would not know their aunt or great-uncle, or their grandfather whom I loved so very much. And yes, I was made to feel alone in this world, but this child didn’t have to be.
I glanced up at Tor’s face to find him watching me. His apprehensive gaze had me smiling softly in reassurance. “I’m okay.”
He released my hand before sliding his arm around me and pulling me close. I fell into his chest and listened to every steady beat of his heart as he pressed his lips to my brow. “I don’t know how,” he muttered softly. For a man who could glare away the shining sun, at times, his openness stunned me. “I wouldn’t be.”
God. My heart bathed in the glow of his adoration and I didn’t think I could possibly love him more than I did right at this moment.
Ettore’s ability to read me and my vulnerability was second to none.
I hadn’t yet told him about our little sprouting peach pit, but I would, soon. After feeling suffocated for so long, I only wanted a moment to breathe. And with Tor, every second was a cooling breath of fresh air.
Yes, he was a dangerous man, but I saw it now. He was no danger to me.
Whether it was his desperate need to touch me when close, or the way he couldn’t stop himself from holding my chin up and kissing me breathless, or maybe it was the way he wrapped his body around mine as we lay in bed, his legs tangling with my own… He wasn’t much for talking, but his actions spoke loudly. Everything he did let me know I wasn’t alone anymore.
I remember feeling raw, but part of growing up was understanding. I’d stopped waiting for an ‘I love you’ when I realized he’d been saying it all along, just not in the ways I was used to hearing it.
Desperate for comfort, I turned my face into him, pressing light kisses along his stubbly throat. He stretched his neck out, giving my mouth better access and it didn’t take long before he dipped his head and captured my lips with his own. The taste of mint lingered on his tongue and the smell of his cologne had my hands reaching out and tangling in the front of his shirt. Soon, our kisses turned passionate and greedy. I barely heard the light hum of the partition window lifting as I began pulling at his clothing, and Tor didn’t bother undressing fully. He pulled his throbbing cock out of his open fly, pulled my panties to the side and lifted me to sit on him.
Our eyes met and my fingers dug into his shoulders as my body stretched to accommodate him, and Tor caressed my hips as I lifted my hips then sunk back down, riding him slowly, taking my time to make us both feel good.
He groaned and I watched his head fall back as I clenched around him.
I was devoted in my religion.
He was my church. My place of worship. And I prayed to him like a God.
Sure. This wasn’t where I thought I would end up, but the fates had decided I was exactly where I needed to be.
And as I gripped at his collar, my body shook and I moaned through my release, Tor grasped my waist and pounded up into me until he found his. My body slumped forward, our chests heaved together and the connection we had bordered on transcendent as our pounding hearts beat as one.
Our beginnings were rough and strained and violent, but to image life without him now was sheer anguish.