Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“Then I’d have a whole bunch of them. A happy house, with siblings looking out for each other, but it won’t be like with Noah and me. They’ll protect each other from normal things. Arguments at school, failed tests, things like that. Not violence. Never that.”
“Well, I know you’d make an amazing father.”
“Thanks, Layla. Really. That means a lot.”
As we drive, I smooth my hands over my belly, a habit I can’t break. It’s like I’m waiting for our baby to start kicking.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Miles
“Whoa, we’re really going miles, aren’t we?”
I laugh, looking across at her. We’ve left the city, driving in the opposite direction to the suburbs where Layla lives. The road is empty. The forest borders us on one side and large fields on the other.
“How long have you been waiting to say that?”
She grins. “I was waiting for the best moment.”
“As far as puns go, that was up there.”
We smile together, and I think about her friend’s advice about forgetting our problems and simply enjoying this. We haven’t talked more about kids, but I can’t stop thinking about it, going over her words and her passion for a family. We both want the same thing, a house full of happy, smiling children. That would mean getting married. The world would have to know who she belongs to. Can we do that?
Legally, I know it’s possible, but Noah, Elena, and… No, screw this. The date is all that matters.
“Are you ready to drop your bombshell yet?” I ask.
“It’s not much of a bombshell. I think you’re smart enough to work it out.”
“Do you want me to guess?”
“It’s not rocket science.”
“You told me I must’ve had chances over the years to be with a woman, date, and go further.”
“Yeah?”
“The same applies to you. You’re beautiful. You can’t tell me nobody has ever been interested.”
“A few, sure, but I never wanted them. This is my first real date, hence the giddiness. Do you see what I’m driving at here?”
I smirk. “Maybe I want to make you say it.”
She touches my arm. She’s been doing that more since we left the city as the prospect of secret watchers recedes into the background.
“No, Miles. This isn’t a joke. If you think you know, please just say it. This is a Band-Aid I can’t rip off.”
“Okay, let me see. You’re secretly a mafia boss, Graham’s your right-hand man, and you’ve arranged to have me ambushed tonight.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “Oh, yeah, sure. Please, Miles…”
“Okay, but only because you asked. Last night, when we were getting so hot and heavy I thought I’d explode, the idea occurred to me.”
“What idea?”
“Are you sure you want me to say this for you?”
She nods, and I press on.
“Are you a virgin, Layla?”
“Would it change anything if I was?”
It would change everything for the better. It would mean I’d never have to think about another man touching my woman. I’d never have to imagine somebody else slipping deep inside of her. It would only be me thrusting hard and infusing her body with all the passion for our future.
“I won’t want you any less if that’s what you’re asking,” I say, attempting to keep the hellfire out of my voice, the burning compulsion that won’t ever let go.
My manhood is getting hard again, aching. There’s a flutter in my heart as if somebody is tapping piano keys, the notes calling to the life we will share.
“I’ve never had sex,” she murmurs.
I pull the car over on the side of the road. I may snap and leap on her while driving if I don’t. Sure, the car would spin off the road, and we’d crash, but that kiss—those moments before the end—would be the sweetest of our lives. That would mean hurting Layla, though, which I’d never do. I can’t do it.
“Why have you stopped?” she asks, then laughs. “Are you going to kick me out? I told Mom I was going to see a movie with a friend, so she might be a little surprised if I hiked home at midnight. It would probably take that long to get back from here, right?”
Her sassy expression draws me into how she always pushes her confidence to the forefront, even if she struggles not to let her nerves drag her down to the dirt.
I kiss my step-niece passionately, the same firmness that magnetized me to her at the wedding. She moans through the kiss, a sound I’ll never tire of. I’m addicted to it and will always try to draw it from her.
“That wasn’t the response I expected,” she murmurs.
“You don’t have to be ashamed. This isn’t going to stop me from claiming your perfect body. This won’t stop me from stripping every curvy inch of you naked, then driving myself deep.”
I speak with carnal deepness, inches from her face. Her breath gets quicker, warm against my skin, her eyes widening.