Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
She shakes her head.
“It means strength.”
“It does not,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“It does. I looked it up.”
Her eyes narrow at my slipup and she tilts her head to the side. “You looked up the meaning to my name?”
I stuff my hands into my pockets, aiming for nonchalance. “Like I said. I was bored.”
“Mhm. Just how much time do you spend thinking about me?” she teases.
“Way too fucking much.” Her playful smile slips at my admission. I can’t quite place the look on her face as she closes the distance between us. I stay still as a fucking statue, hands still in my pockets as she pushes up on her tiptoes, flattening her hands on my chest. She presses her lips to the side of my neck. I swallow thickly. She does it again, kissing her way up the front of my throat, the side of my jaw, and finally landing on the corner of my lips.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice sounding hoarse. My heart thuds so hard she has to feel it.
“I want you to fuck me,” she whispers, eyes zeroed in on my mouth. The words go straight to my dick.
I almost choke on my own spit. I mean, not that I’m complaining, but… “I think I missed a step.” I know it wasn’t discussing name origins that turned her on.
“I need…a distraction.”
“A distraction, huh?” Fuck that. “That’s the only reason?” I push.
Her tongue darts out to wet her lips as she pulls back a little. “What else would it be?”
It’s my turn to close the distance between us, walking her backward until her back is against the window. I pull my hands from my pockets, placing them on the glass behind her. “I’ve wanted to get inside you for the past three years. I’ve let you call the shots. I’ve played your hot and cold games. But if you want this, you’re going to say it. Not out of boredom. And sure as fuck not as a distraction. Admit it, Valen.”
“Admit what?” she grinds out.
I slip a hand underneath the hem of her shirt, and she shivers as my thumb traces her hip. “That you want me just as much as I want you. That last night wasn’t nearly enough, but you’re too afraid to say it out loud.” Afraid of what exactly, I don’t know.
Her chest heaves as she scowls at me, but she still doesn’t respond. Gliding my fingers to the waistband of her leggings, I slip them inside. She pushes into my touch, urging my hand lower.
“Am I wrong?” I ask, the tip of my middle finger just barely brushing her clit. She doesn’t answer me as her head falls back against the wall, her eyes falling shut as I apply more pressure.
One hand still braced on the window behind her, I look down, watching her writhe against my hand. She’s so fucking wet already. There’s nothing I want more than to take advantage of her offer and fuck her right up against this window. But I won’t. Not until she tells me what I want to hear. Not until I get the truth.
“Tell me I’m right, and I’ll give you what you need.” I say the words against her pretty neck, feeling her pulse beat wildly against my lips, but still, she says nothing. I back away, pulling my hand from the warmth of her pussy, ignoring her whine of protest as I do so. “You’re a lot of things, Valen, but I didn’t think a coward was one of them.”
Her eyes burn with anger, watching as I wipe my fingers on the front of my shirt. “Suit yourself.” I shrug before turning away. I take one, two, three steps before her voice stops me.
“Fine.”
I stop dead in my tracks and wait for her to continue, my back still to her.
“I want you,” she whispers so quietly, I’m not sure I heard right.
“What was that?” I ask, turning to face her.
She rolls her eyes. “I want you,” she says again through gritted teeth. “For some idiotic reason that I can’t explain, I do. And I think the only way I can get over this…” she gestures between us, “thing is to give in to it and get it out of my system.” She closes the distance between us, her big brown eyes looking up at me. “So I’m asking you to fuck me.”
“Thank fuck.”
Valen
“Thank fuck,” Holden says, and then he’s on me. His hands circle my waist and lift at the same time his lips land on mine. My back hits the window, legs winding around his waist as his tongue pushes past my lips. It’s desperate and full of need, his lips kissing away every last ounce of uncertainty with each passing second. My hands find the back of his head and thread through his hair as I pull him closer. He groans into my mouth and I squeeze my thighs tighter, needing to be closer, needing…more.