Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
“Move,” she cried out when Grady was fully inside her.
“No, not yet,” Damon told her.
“Move!”
Slap!
A hand smacked her thigh.
“Behave yourself,” Steele growled at her.
And then . . . finally . . . they moved.
In tandem, one slid in while the other pulled out. It was magic. Heaven. It stole her away.
“I need to come,” she cried.
“You know what to do if you want to come,” Steele told her.
“Please, Daddy. Please let Effie come. I need it. Oh, please.”
“Good girl,” Grady told her. “So good for us. You can come. Come around our dicks.”
The pleasure washed through her, taking her breath with it. It went on and on until she collapsed between them.
Best orgasm ever.
They continued to drive themselves into her. She heard Grady come first, then Steele roared his release.
But she was done. So tired, she could barely keep her eyes open as they cleaned her up and tucked her into bed with them.
“Such a good girl,” Grady whispered.
“Perfect for us,” Steele added.
53
She knew Grady wasn’t in the bed as soon as she woke up.
For a few minutes, she silently debated what to do before she decided to carefully crawl out of bed.
She was surprised that Steele didn’t wake up, but he’d been getting very little sleep lately.
Moving onto her feet, she stayed still, just making sure she had her balance.
Then, grabbing a shirt off the floor, she slipped it on and caught his scent.
It was Grady’s shirt.
Stepping into the hallway, she decided to try his room first. She’d seen it before but hadn’t spent any real time in it. It was smaller than Steele’s and the bed wasn’t as large.
When she stepped into the room, she saw that there was no one in the bed, but the curtains were open and she caught sight of him on the balcony.
Walking over, she slid the door open. He turned from the railing immediately, taking her in.
For a moment, she thought he was going to tell her to get lost and she froze. Then he held out an arm.
“It’s freezing out here, sweetheart. Come here.”
She went to him and he drew her close, holding her tight.
“Are you cold, sweetheart?”
“A little bit.” She didn’t want him to use it as an excuse to make her go back inside.
But instead, he moved them to a chair and pulled her into his lap. Then he grabbed a blanket from the other chair.
“Do you come out here often?” she asked.
“The air helps me think,” he replied as he tucked the blanket around her.
“You always make me all snuggly,” she told him.
“Do I? Good.”
“It’s not just about me, is it?”
He stiffened. “What?”
“I thought it was me that you couldn’t sleep with because of the intimacy. But I’ve decided it’s not really that. Or not entirely.”
“Little one, I told you that you needed to give me time . . . I struggle with cuddling.”
“But you don’t have to cuddle me. I have a big snuggly ogre in my bed who will give me all the cuddles I need.”
“I should still be able to do it.”
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, honey,” she murmured. “But I don’t think it’s me, is it? It’s him.”
He stiffened. “Effie . . .”
“He loves you, you know.”
“I know.”
“But I don’t think you see it in its entirety. I think the two of you have become so worried about losing the other person that you won’t actually make a move. You don’t want to do it because you think he’ll reject you. So you hide your true feelings and fall into bed with women, but only when he’s there. Because then it feels like being with him.”
“Effie, that’s not what it’s like with you,” he told her urgently.
“Oh, I know. I’m your world. I’m his world. Nothing will change that. I know if I don’t say anything, things will continue on like this. Me, the Queen. You two, the peasants.”
“Peasants?” he growled, squeezing her tight.
She giggled. “Sorry, servants.”
“Someone’s sassy mouth is gonna get them in trouble.”
“I hope so.” A sense of sadness filled her. “But it’s no way to live, Grady. Feeling like you’re on the outside looking in.”
“I don’t feel that way.”
“Not with me. With him.” She turned to look at him. “I never told Joe.”
“Effie.”
“I never told him that I loved him and I’ve regretted that for years. He died without knowing how I felt.”
He squeezed her again. “Sweetheart.”
“I mean, I think he knew. I tell myself he knew. I tell myself I was right to hold back in case he rejected me. But there’s always that ‘maybe’. You know? I loved him. I lost him. But now I have the two of you and it’s hard not to feel guilty. Sometimes I’m so freaking happy, that I almost want to sabotage it. To test it. To make sure that it’s real and won’t crumble. Because sometimes I don’t believe I deserve to be this happy when he’s dead.”