Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
We make our own rules.
He’s right.
If we’re crazy, I don’t want to be sane.
Chapter Eighteen
Jaxon
Normally I devour my food with a vengeance, my body demanding protein from how often I visit the gym and work my body hard. But this evening I keep being distracted by my woman, her every quirk fascinating to me, staring across the candlelit table as she cuts into her steak.
She giggles, a sound more beautiful than anything I’ve heard before, causing a cascade of relief to spark within me.
She’s laughing. She’s here. She didn’t run away like maybe any reasonable person would have.
But screw being reasonable.
We’re in love. We fell in love the second we saw each other. It’s as simple as that and I don’t give a damn what the rest of the world says, if they whisper about her wanting me for my money, or make comments about our age gap.
I know that Jessie and I are the real deal with every atom of my being.
“What’s so funny?” I ask, realizing I’ve just been sitting here staring at her.
“It’s just you’re staring at me like I’ve done something wrong.”
She smiles widely, her cheeks rosy red, making me think about the different shades the rest of her body will turn when I claim her for the first time, kiss me red, grab me red.
“You’ve done everything right,” I growl. “I’m just trying to stop myself from doing some savage things to you. It’s a constant battle, every second we’re together. And seeing you eat…”
“Eat?” Another laugh, and suddenly I know everything’s going to be okay, always. “I didn’t realize steak was sexy.”
“Everything you do is sexy,” I snap. “I could watch you watch paint dry and still lose control.”
She looks so sexy, her hair in disarray from where I kissed her and ran my hands through it as we were waiting for our food to be brought up. Her work shirt shows the faint outline of her bra, making me want to tear the buttons loose and free those round gorgeous breasts, suck her nipples until her pussy is sopping wet and she’s ready to take everything I have.
“Even this?”
She pops a piece of steak into her mouth, smiling as she chews with her mouth closed.
“Even that,” I confirm huskily. “I want you to keep that body of yours good and strong for when I put a baby inside of you.”
Her gaze drops. Something’s happened, inside of her, perhaps the sort of thing she’d usually hide from me. The same way I was hiding my true feelings for her.
Hell, how am I not cheering right now, beating my chest?
Every time I think that – she feels the same way – I feel like letting out a roar.
“Jessie. What is it?”
“It’s…” She looks up, her lips set firmly. “I was about to say it’s nothing. But I think we should be honest about our feelings, right? Seeing as we’re going to…”
“Go on,” I urge. “Don’t be shy now.”
Another smile, a heavenly wide smile that heats me up. “Be together forever.”
My lips twitch, contentment moving through me. “That’s goddamn right. But what did you want to say?”
“I guess it’s just hard to believe. But I’m not saying I don’t believe you. That’s the crazy thing, well, one of the crazy things. I do believe you. I really do. And yet it’s still hard to accept if that makes sense?”
“Why?” I growl. “Any man would be lucky to have you. Not that anybody else is ever going to get the chance.”
“Jax. Come on. You can’t be that naïve.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She drops her silverware against her plate, the sound loud in the privacy of the rooftop. “Have you ever looked in a mirror, ever? Have you ever read a magazine? You’ve appeared on so many hottest celebrities lists I’ve lost count. And I saw the way all those women were looking at you at the launch party.”
“I don’t care about any of that,” I snarl. “I only want you. And I don’t want to hear any insinuation about yourself, Jessie. About your body or your looks or anything. You’re beautiful. Every single part of you, inside and out, is beautiful.”
“Even compared to your other partners?”
It takes me a second to work out what she’s saying.
And then it hits me. She means sexual partners.
Something drops in my stomach, and I turn and look out at the city. Darkness has fallen and a few stars poke between black clouds in the sky, but the city is a world of light, windows gleaming.
“See,” she says fiercely. “You know it’s true. No matter how badly you want me, you’ve been with other women. And I’d be willing to bet everything I have – okay, that wouldn’t be much, but still – I’d be willing to bet… they were sexier than me, thinner, more glamorous.”