Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 70628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I groan as the contractions start at my balls and move outward.
Everything, everything is Aspen.
Aspen, enveloping me, letting me come inside her.
Aspen, my love.
My only fucking love.
We climax together, and I’m not sure where my body ends and hers begins.
I realize then.
This is how it’s supposed to be between lovers.
We are one now.
We can never be complete without the other.
The sun streams into the bedroom.
I wake, and there’s no more pounding in my head. I feel strong. Strong and fit and ready to face the world.
As long as my woman is at my side.
I turn to touch her, just to feel her nearness—
Then I jerk upward.
She’s gone.
It’s early yet. Not even seven o’clock according to the clock on the bedstand. But I don’t hear the shower. In fact, the bathroom door is open.
Oh, of course. She went back to her own room to go to the bathroom.
That’s where I’ll find her.
She’s probably in the shower right now, so I decide to surprise her.
Since we’re in someone else’s house, I grab the fluffy robe. Luke said my clothes would be here sometime this morning.
Doesn’t matter. I don’t need clothes for what I’m about to do.
I slide the robe over my shoulders and then leave my room. I’m steady on my feet, and I feel ninety-nine percent like myself.
Good. I need to be at full capacity. Not just for joining Aspen in the shower, but for everything else that Luke and I must do.
The door to Aspen’s bedroom is cracked. That’s a little bit strange, but she knows neither Luke nor Katelyn would barge in.
I walk in, but I don’t hear the shower running.
She must already be out. Too bad for me. But I can still catch her naked.
I head toward the bathroom.
12
ASPEN
I did my best to avoid Luke’s security this morning. Last night, after I left the deck and before I joined Buck in his bedroom, I scoped the area from my room to the front door. I found several cameras and figured out how to avoid them. It was simple dumb luck that a siren didn’t wail when I left. Thank God. I was worried that an alarm might be tripped.
My Uber driver drops me off at a rental car place.
I hated leaving Edgar, but I know Katelyn will take care of him. I’ll be back for him, God willing.
If I come back at all.
Leaving Buck was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
And yes, I know what that means. It means it was more difficult than every day I endured on that island.
And it was.
It gutted me.
Completely gutted me.
I almost couldn’t do it.
The only reason I could? My undying love for him.
He deserves a life of peace. Especially after all he’s been through.
He doesn’t need to get mixed up in my life. And once I’m done? If I live to tell the tale? I’ll go back to him.
And I hope like hell he doesn’t hate me for what I’m doing.
13
BUCK
I run out to the kitchen. “She’s gone! Aspen is gone!”
Katina stands by the cooktop. “Yes, Mr. Moreno. Mr. Ashton is already on it.”
My heart is racing, but I force myself to draw in a calming breath. “Right. All of his security.”
Luke walks in then. “I’ve got a tail on her. An Uber driver picked her up, and then he drove her to a rental car place. She’s there now.”
“Let’s go get her.”
“I was just coming to wake you. I figured you’d want to go with me.”
“Of course. We’d better hurry though. And I don’t have any clothes.”
“Your clothes were just delivered.”
My mind races. “What if she leaves the rental car place?”
“She won’t. I’ve got people in place to keep her there until we arrive.”
I open my mouth.
Thank you. The words want to come out, but I can’t get them to move.
Luke doesn’t seem to mind though.
“The packages containing your clothes are right by the front door. Get dressed, and we’ll leave as soon as you’re ready.”
I nod.
Damn. Aspen. What the hell was she thinking?
I grab all the boxes and take them to my room. Two pairs of shoes—army boots and a pair of running shoes.
I choose the running shoes. If Aspen’s going to run from me, I’m damned well going to catch her.
I pull on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Then the runners.
That’s all I need here in LA.
I haven’t showered, and I’m a mess, but I don’t care. Getting to Aspen is more important.
I walk out of my room and back to the kitchen. “I’m ready,” I tell Luke.
“All right. Let’s go.”
“What about Katelyn?”
“She’s out on the deck with the dogs. She knows what we’re doing.”
“Wait. Dogs? As in plural? She left Edgar here?”
“I know. Strange. But it makes me think…”
“Yeah, me too. And I don’t like it.”
If she left Edgar here, she knew she wasn’t going anyplace where she could take care of a dog. She trusted that Katelyn would take care of him, which she will.