Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
She closed them with a scissor action. “What are you doing?”
“Taking care of you.”
“I’m fine.”
He pushed her thighs open, keeping her spread for him. “You’re swollen.”
“It’s a good swollen.”
“I’ll get you an anesthetic cream to dull the ache.”
“I’m not that fragile.”
“You’re anything but fragile.” He kissed her folds and crawled up her body. “I already want you again, but it’s too soon.” Pushing off her, he climbed from the bed, picked his jeans up from the floor, and pulled them on. “I’m going to freshen up. Want to come?”
“I’m good.” She sat up, clutching the sheet to her breasts. “There’s a torch by the door.”
“I won’t be long.”
He took the light from the hook and flashed her a smile before walking out and closing the door behind him.
Flinching at the ache between her legs, she scurried from the bed and pulled on his shirt. She grabbed her bag and rummaged through it for Godfrey’s pen. When she’d retrieved it, she kneeled in front of the nightstand and placed the wrist pad with trembling hands under the light of the lamp.
Like Godfrey’s technician had showed her, she loosened the four screws with the screwdriver tip and carefully lifted the face. She slid the fake chip in place with cold sweat running down her back. Then she inserted the chip into the copying device.
When the green light came on, she reversed the procedure. She was about to screw the face back on when the doorknob turned. Dropping the pen and jumping to her feet, she placed herself in front of the nightstand to hide the watch with her body.
Bono entered, his chiseled chest shining with a layer of sheen in the light. “What are you doing?”
She removed his shirt and threw it over the nightstand, burying the watch underneath the fabric. “I missed you. Come back to bed.”
She crawled onto the bed, praying he’d follow and not tell her he had to leave. To her relief, he removed his jeans and lay down next to her.
“You’re shivering.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Are you cold?”
“Just hold me,” she said, fighting to suppress a sudden bout of tears.
He hugged her tighter. “I’ve got you, beautiful.”
She splayed her hand over his chest, enjoying the strong beat of his heart under her palm. “Will you stay?”
A smile sounded in his voice. “If you’ll let me.”
In different circumstances, honesty would never have been an option, but at least the grimness of the situation allowed her this luxury. “I think I may be falling a little for you.”
Chuckling, he kissed the top of her head. “That’s a good start.”
In the warm comfort of his arms, sleep pulled at her, but she forced herself to stay awake while waiting for his breathing to turn even. When she was certain he was fast asleep, she carefully detangled herself from his embrace and quietly got up. To be on the safe side, she waited a few seconds. Sick with anxiety, she carried the pen and the watch to the kitchenette where she continued to fasten the screws. To her ears, the noise of the automatic screwdriver sounded as loud in the silence as the erratic beat of her heart. The last screw was just about tightened when Bono’s voice made her jerk.
“Sky?”
Chapter 10
“I’m thirsty,” Sky said, keeping her back turned to Bono.
She finished tightening the screw, retracted the screwdriver point, and dropped the pen in the pot plant on the countertop. It was hard to stop her hands from shaking as she covered the wrist pad with a dishtowel and poured water from the jug into a cup.
Facing him with a smile, she offered the cup. “Want some?”
He trailed his gaze over her naked body. The appreciation on his face made her cringe inwardly with guilt, but she shook off the feeling. Grabbing the dishtowel with the watch concealed underneath, she walked back to the bed and knelt next to him.
Holding her eyes, he took the cup. Something in the way he regarded her made her tremble. For a frightening second, she believed he suspected something, but he only smiled a wise kind of smile, and then his features softened into an expression that looked too much like forgiveness.
He put the cup on the nightstand. “Come here.”
Dropping the dishtowel with the wrist pad on the floor, she got back into bed.
He pulled her down next to him and kissed her gently. “You know you can trust me.”
“Yes.”
“Life isn’t always hard.” He stroked her arm. “There is so much beauty I want to show you.”
She shifted closer and rested her head on his chest. “Your life hasn’t been easy either.”
“Not always.”
“What happened to your eye?”
His muscles tensed minutely. A moment of silence passed.
Intertwining her fingers on his chest, she rested her chin on her hands to look at him. “Will you tell me?”