Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
I back toward the big bed and lower myself onto it while looking up at him.
He doesn’t come with me. His nostrils flare as he looks me over and he shakes his head slowly. “Tell me this isn’t a dream.”
“Does it matter?” I ask, though I know what he means. We’ve been circling each other all these months, and he’s kept his distance because that’s what I asked for, but that never made the want go away.
“It does to me.” He grabs a condom from his nightstand drawer and rolls it on.
“Why?”
He shoves his pants down and steps out of them. “Because I’ve already dreamed this a million times.” He comes onto the bed, supporting his weight on his elbows and hovering over me. “But the dreams always fade in the morning. And I never want to forget this.”
I bite my bottom lip. Don’t fall. Don’t fall. Don’t fall.
I thread my fingers through his hair and pull his mouth to mine—kissing him to hide how much his words mean, arching my body into his to keep myself from melting.
He drags his mouth to my ear as he slides into me, his voice raspy as he whispers, “Perfect. Why do you have to be so fucking perfect?”
I draw my knees up, meeting him stroke for stroke because—God, I’ve wanted this too. Even if I’ve wished I didn’t. Even when I knew I shouldn’t. I’ve wanted to know if the flashes of heat and lust from my booze-soaked memories were real. If the connection between us was real.
Alec turns his mouth to my neck, scraping his teeth across my collarbone and the swell of my breasts. Then one hand finds its way between my legs, and his thumb finds and strokes that spot in perfect rhythm.
I’m still slick and swollen from before, and pleasure coils tight and fast in my core. I scrape my nails down his back. “I want you to come with me. I want to feel you.”
He groans in my ear. “You’re so close. I feel you. Jesus. I feel you.” His thumb stills, and I want to cry out, but then he pushes down on my clit with perfect pressure and picks up his pace. Half wild, I feel him swell, see the surrender on his face as he closes his eyes.
Then I close mine and we fall. Together.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
SAVVY
I’m sleeping in a cloud, wrapped in Alec’s strong arms. I know I need to wake up, but I wish I could stay here all day.
“Good morning,” Alec murmurs, his lips brushing the top of my head.
I roll to my back, and he props himself up on one elbow, his gaze following the sheet as it slips down to my waist. “Morning.” I stretch, reaching toward the headboard I gripped last night. My cheeks heat, but when Alec rolls onto me and kisses his way down my body, that heat finds its way to other places.
I groan when his mouth latches on to my breast. “You’re going to make me late for my flight.” I sigh. It’s so tempting to just stay here. “I need to get back to my room to shower and pack up.”
His tongue flicks over my pebbled nipple. “I’m just making sure you remember why you want to come back.”
All the morning-after bliss drains out of me, and I sit up stiffly in bed. “Alec . . .” My heart is stumbling into a run. I want to spend more time with Alec, but I also don’t want to hurt him. Which leaves . . . telling him.
Alec shifts, unfazed, and presses his thumb to my lips. “Don’t say anything yet. Go get your shower while I make us some coffee, then I’ll take you back to your hotel.”
I swallow hard. I don’t deserve his patience.
He rolls out of bed, and I can’t help taking in his body—the way his muscles move as he reaches for his boxers, the little dimples at the base of his spine, and the soft sprinkling of hair on his thighs.
When he turns back to me, he catches me looking and winks. “Find me in the kitchen when you’re done.”
I bite my tongue to keep myself from inviting him to join me in the shower. If I do that, we may never leave this bedroom.
Alec’s bathroom is something out of a luxury hotel. There’s a steam shower with heated floors and marble counters. I don’t let myself think too much about how much money it must take to even maintain a place like this. I make my shower quick, helping myself to his body wash.
After, I dry myself off with a fluffy white towel and give last night’s dress the side-eye. Is it still a walk of shame if you showered?
I wiggle into my panties but can’t bring myself to put on the rest. I pull open dresser drawers until I find a pair of black joggers and a T-shirt. I’m swimming in the shirt, and I have to cuff the joggers several times at the ankle to keep from tripping over them, but it still beats walking into my hotel in last night’s clothes.