Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
But then I realized the absurdity of the concept and frowned.
I was never going to wear Bull’s crown.
I pushed the ridiculous thought to the deepest, darkest recesses of my brain, and focused on Autumn as I sat down beside her.
“What do you think Maverick will say about the baby?” I asked.
Her face lit up. “He’ll be excited. He comes from a huge family, and I know he was only waiting until I was ready. It’s just, I had so many plans, you know.”
“I get it. I didn’t exactly plan on making Destiny home. But now I’m really pleased we did.” I thought of Bull, and a comforting warmth spread through my chest.
“Life is funny, isn’t it? Maverick was only ever meant to be a one-night fling. Then it was only supposed to be a casual thing. You know, sex without strings. Then somehow between all the sex and the crazy times, he morphed into the love of my life.” She smiled wistfully. “If it’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few years, it’s how things aren’t as random as they appear to be. Life is more precious than that. Things happen for a reason. Destiny isn’t just a mystical concept, and serendipity is a force of nature.”
I thought about what she said for a moment.
Her big brown eyes narrowed with a mischievous gleam, and she nudged me with her bare shoulder. “So, you and Bull, huh?”
I was about to deny my feelings for him but stopped. What was the point?
“I really like him.”
“Oh, I think it’s gone past the liking stage, darlin'. I think that man is head over heels in love with you.”
“What? No.” I glanced at her. “I mean, do you think?”
She wiped a tiny piece of paper towel from my cheek. “I think you should stop worrying about whatever it is that has that little frown on your face, and start enjoying what is right in front of you. After all, we never know what is going to happen tomorrow. Or if there even will be a tomorrow.”
She gave me a wicked smile and brushed her lips to my cheek. “Now, go get that spunky man of yours and enjoy him. Life is too short to do anything else.”
When she left the bathroom, I sat a little longer on the bench. Perhaps Autumn was right. Perhaps what really mattered was being in the moment and enjoying right here, right now. That worrying about the past was a waste of time because there was nothing I could do about it. And worrying about tomorrow was pointless because it wasn’t guaranteed it would ever come.
Standing up, I decided to take her advice and find Bull. I had lived inside my head for too long, and I didn’t want to hide in there anymore.
I was going to find the man who had captured my heart and soul, and the rest of the world could be damned.
Because tonight, my other life didn’t exist.
I was with Bull.
And I was going to savor it while it lasted.
BULL
Just after midnight, the River Queen docked and a hundred drunk and disorderly wedding guests stumbled down the gangway and headed for the clubhouse to keep partying. It would be a party that didn’t wind down until after the sun came up.
But I hung back with Taylor.
“Let me take you home,” I whispered in her ear.
I didn’t want to go back to the clubhouse to party.
I wanted my alone time with my girl.
She looked up at me and I felt the air around us light up with electricity. She nodded and smiled, brushing her lips to mine in response.
Back at my place, we removed our clothes and took our time kissing each other in the small ribbon of moonlight breaking through the window of my bedroom. Fingertips were featherlike, our lips gentle, our tongues needy but savoring every lick, every taste, every delicious tangle.
When our bodies became too tight with longing, I carried her to the bed and lay her down among the pillows where I’d spent many nights fantasizing about her, my body hard, my hand on my cock as I dreamed of her silky body beneath mine. Now she was here, naked and beautiful, her lush red hair spread across the linen as she looked up at me, her chest heaving with anticipation, her eyes gleaming with lust. She parted her firm thighs and I crawled along the length of her, and we both shivered when the slick head of my cock brushed against her warm skin.
With our gazes fused together, I slowly pushed into her and felt an overwhelming rush of emotion move through me. And judging by the look on her face, so did she.
I made love to her slowly. Savoring every touch, every kiss, every inch I stroked in and out of her beautiful body. I couldn’t get close enough. Couldn’t get deep enough. Every part of me wanted to be joined to her, to be in her, to be a part of her. And the more she moved and mewed beneath me, the more I got lost in her, in the moment, in what was happening. And as my orgasm continued to build, a strange feeling tightened in my chest. A feeling from long ago, awakening inside of me as I made love to her, making promises to her in my head, wanting everything with her.