Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
A nagging thought taps the back of my mind. Has Gabriella made this deal because she’s still searching for that connection and sense of belonging? When she reaches out and touches my face, my heart skitters in my chest. I know I’m always the joker, the one who strives to focus on the bright side of life. I’m the one who tries not to take things too seriously. The one who suggested this idea in the first place. But I’m also the one who can read people the best. My brothers don’t see what I see. It’s like they exist on a more surface plain.
“Are you sure about this?” I murmur, turning my face into her palm and kissing the center.
“Yes,” she says softly.
“Because, if you’re not sure, we can just hang out. I could put on some clothes, and we could watch a movie. Eat popcorn. You know. Just like old times.”
Her fingers find the corner of the towel where it is tucked securely. “I’m sure, Blake. But thanks for checking.”
Before I can respond, she tugs the towel open, letting it drop to the floor. Her eyes hold mine and a pretty flush spreads across her cheeks. My cock is erect between us, jutting out so far, it’s almost touching her, but she resists looking.
Fuck.
This girl is so sexy. Confidence like this is exactly what floats my boat.
“I’m naked, Gabriella,” I whisper.
“Yes, Blake.”
“I think it’s time to get you naked too.”
I touch the hem of her shirt, finding the fabric soft and warm. “Need some help?”
She nods, still holding my gaze, and it feels like we’re in a competition to see who will break first.
It’ll be me. I know it will be. As soon as I get these clothes off Gabriella’s body, she’s going to be on her back in a flash.
She doesn’t resist when I lift the shirt, and she grins when my eyes widen, taking in her naked breasts beneath. They’re perfect handfuls, tipped by tight little nipples that make my mouth water. Gabriella doesn’t wait for me to remove her shorts, she simply pushes at the fabric on her hips, and they drop to the floor, leaving her totally naked.
In the face of so much perfection, I can’t hold on to my restraint any longer. I take a step forward, holding her gaze, my jaw ticking as I grit my teeth. She takes a step back, keeping the distance between us the same, eyes still focused on my face, hands hanging at her sides.
Another step and we’re closer to the bed, another and the backs of her legs hit the mattress. “It’s pointless moving away from me,” I say, my voice becoming husky with want.
“Isn’t the chase half the fun?” she says.
I take hold of her hand, bringing the open palm to my dick, forcing her to encircle the rigid bar of my arousal. Her lips part as I rub my piercing against her skin, and finally, she gives in and looks down.
“Oh my god, Blake. You pierced your dick?”
“I did.”
“Will it…?”
“Rock your world,” I interrupt. “Yes. It will.”
“I was going to say hurt me,” she says, touching the piercing with the tips of her fingers, stimulating my cock in the most tentatively mind-blowing way.
“No pain, Gab. Just pleasure.”
“What about condoms?”
I drop my head to one side, touching Gabriella’s cheek. “I can use one, but I won’t come inside you in case it tears.”
“That can happen?”
“There’s a risk, but I know what I’m doing. I can feel it if it happens.”
“I’m not on birth control,” she says softly. “My mom doesn’t think it’s a good idea to mess with hormones if you don’t need to.”
“She’s probably right,” I say, sliding my hand to the back of her neck where it’s warm. “You know I’ll take care of you, right?”
She nods, gazing up at me with wide emerald eyes that always had a way of bewitching me, even before I understood the power that women can have over men.
“Can I kiss you now?”
Gabriella nods, and her eyes drift closed with anticipation. For a couple of seconds, I stare down at her peaceful expression, taking in the soft dusting of freckles across her nose, and the long sweep of her darkened eyelashes as they cast shadows over her high cheekbones.
When our lips meet, I don’t initially feel a rush of possession and desire. There’s something else between us first. A recognition, maybe, of a connection that’s been beneath the surface for years. The feeling of coming home.
But when her tongue touches mine, all the soft warmth slips away and, in its place comes a rush of overwhelming need. I hold her, lowering us both to the bed so she’s splayed beneath me and I’m looming over her. We don’t stop kissing, but now I get to feel her writhing beneath me. “There’s no rush,” I whisper against the skin of her neck over the place her pulse thuds fast beneath. “We can take our time.”