Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
I'm half convinced he isn't behind the attacks, though. I haven't entirely ruled him out yet, but part of me thinks maybe Hope is right and he's just a pervy old man with a crush. Christ. I hope that's all he is. Otherwise, I just kicked a hornet's nest.
"There you are," Hope says when I carry her package into the kitchen, depositing it on the counter. "Who was at the door?"
"Silas." I step up behind her at the stove, placing a kiss on the side of her throat as I wrap my arms around her from behind. "He dropped off your package."
"Oh." She shrinks in my arms. "Was he mad about the shop?"
"He stole the package from your porch yesterday, Firefly," I tell her quietly.
She spins to face me, shock written all over her face. "He didn't."
"He did. I caught it on camera."
Her face falls and then she groans, faceplanting into my chest. "I want to say I'm surprised, but nothing surprises me anymore. He's always been odd." She lifts her head to look at me. "I still don't think he's the one trying to hurt me though, Callum. I think he's just Silas." She scrunches up her face. "Is it weird that I'm relieved the carrier isn't delivering my packages to the wrong place?"
"Nah, Firefly. The only thing weird here is your fucking pervert neighbor."
"Callum."
"He watched you grow up, he's nearly forty years older than you, and he's basically stalking you. It's fucking weird, Firefly. I'm just calling it like I see it," I murmur, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"It is weird," she mumbles.
"He won't be a problem anymore."
"You threatened him, didn't you?"
"I simply reminded him that mail theft is a crime and I have footage."
"So you threatened him."
"Pretty much." I shrug, unrepentant. I never promised to fight fair. I promised to keep her safe. I'll do whatever I have to do to protect her, even if it means holding that footage over that fucker's head until the day he dies.
She shakes her head, laughing quietly.
I press my lips to her forehead and then shuffle her to the side. "Go sit down and let me finish dinner, baby. Then I'm going to take you upstairs and have you for dessert."
"Maybe I'll have you for dessert, Callum Carmichael," she retorts, her hands on her wide hips and fire in her eyes.
"Well, shit. In that case, maybe we'll skip dinner."
"More," Hope moans, writhing against the shower wall as I pound into her, running my finger in circles around her clit at the same time. "Oh, God, Callum. More."
I roar her name and give her everything I have, fucking her so hard my balls slap against her slippery skin with a resounding smack on every thrust. She claws down my back, shouting my name with her head thrown back against the shower wall.
"Come, Firefly. Christ. I need you to fucking come." I bend my head forward, closing my teeth around one hard nipple.
She shouts my name, exploding around me.
I practically sob in relief as my balls give up the fight and I follow her over the edge, locking my legs to keep from collapsing in a heap on the floor of the shower. She feels too fucking good when she's wrapped around me, dripping all over my balls, squeezing my cock in a vise.
I can't stay out of her. I fucked her after dinner last night, and again before we went to sleep. As soon as she climbed into the shower with me, I was on her again, pressing her back against the wall. She's got my dick in a permanent state of arousal. Every move she makes has me ready to go, aching like a motherfucker to feel her wrapped around me again.
I stopped falling for her days ago. I landed face-first into love. I keep waiting for the perfect moment to tell her, hoping the sword hanging over her head will disappear soon. But I'm fucking tired of waiting. Every moment with her is perfect. I'm more alive with her than I've ever been. Today is St. Patrick's Day. If any day is fitting to tell her she has my heart, it's this one. If any moment is perfect, it's this one. When she's wrapped around me, purring like a little kitten.
"Tá mo chroí istigh ionat," I whisper in her ear, the same thing my dad always tells my mom. My heart is in you. I nuzzle my face against her throat, listening to her little gasp of delight. "I love you, Firefly."
"Callum," she breathes, her voice trembling. "I love you too."
Jesus. My eyes fall closed, her sweet words washing over me in a warm flood. They wash through me, sending a flurry of soft emotion soaring high. Peace. Hope. Joy. Reverence. Love. So much of it I can't breathe through it.