Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“You say that like you approve.”
I feel him shrug underneath me. “Maybe it’s better to let the aggression out than keep it bottled up. It worked for my brothers and me.”
I roll my eyes. “Your father was a psychopath who forced you to fight each other. It’s hardly the path I want for my boys.”
His hands come to my shoulders and he begins massaging me. I can’t help but melt against the relaxing touch. “Why don’t we forget about the boys for once? These two weeks are supposed to be about us.”
“Do you remember our wedding night?” I ask.
He laughs again, then groans. “Are you kidding? I’ll never forget. Worst case of blue balls I ever had.”
“What?” I flip around on the lounge so that I’m cradled underneath his arm, right up against his warm chest. It’s only a little chilly out, but I love any excuse to snuggle. For as long as I’ve known Layden, I always cherished even the brush of our fingertips. Any little bit of touch I could get. It still feels extravagant to have the entire length of my body laid out beside his.
“You were turned on that night?”
“You’re seriously asking me that? Of course I was. It was our wedding night. And you took off that sexy dress right in front of me and started making all those noises on the bed.”
My cheeks heat, and I bury my face against his warm chest. Which is ridiculous because, obviously, we’re a real husband and wife now and have done so much more than make pretend sex noises while jumping up and down on a bed. “I was so nervous that night.”
“You were?” He sounds astonished. “But you came in so sure and confident. You just grabbed the headboard and started banging away like you knew exactly what to do. I was completely intimidated.”
I pull my face back from his chest. “You were?” I shake my head. “I was just mortified that after I’d basically told you to fuck off the last time we’d really spent any time together that Vlad managed to pull not only you but your whole family into one of his schemes.”
“I thought you were pissed off at me for contacting you when you’d basically told me to fuck off the last time.”
“You know why, now, though, don’t you?” I look up into his eyes. “You understand?”
He frowns a little. “I think… Maybe?” Then his eyes go a little distant. “I know I’d do anything to protect the kids. Say anything I had to if I thought it would keep them safe.”
“And why is that?” I prod.
“What do you mean?” he scoffs. “I love the hell out of those little fuckers.”
But then his eyes widen. “Wait. You loved me? Even back then?”
I nod, and his eyes go soft. “Phoenix. What the fuck?” His hands come to my cheeks, and he lowers his head for the softest, sweetest kiss.
Then his hand slides to the back of my head, where he fists my hair, gently tugging my head back. “You’ve loved me since then but made me wait all this time? All these years?”
I blink up into his dark, dangerous eyes and nod again.
His voice is deep and growly when he says, “Well. You’ve been a bad, bad girl, haven’t you?”
I swallow, getting tingly in all sorts of places as I whisper, “Does that mean I deserve a punishment?”
“You know it does.”
My breath hitches.
“I think you should run, little goddess,” he rumbles. “Run, else you’ll get punished.”
I feel my eyes widen with thrill. We haven’t been able to play any of these little games the way we really want to yet. Not since that day in the limo, and once last week when we barely got started before the boys burst in, arguing about something.
Luckily, I was able to explain away the leash as just some new jewelry their father had bought me that I was trying on. They’re still too new to this world and involved in their own squabble to question more.
I roll off the pool lounger and start to sprint away, but before I can get very far, a lasso of blue-white runes lashes around my waist and stops me in place. I squeal and try to squirm out of it, grabbing onto the shining rope. It doesn’t burn, but it’s also not going anywhere.
Behind me, I feel the warmth of Layden’s body as he comes up and tugs off my robe. It falls right off through the shining rope. I’m naked beneath it because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other as soon as we got to the luxury mountain cabin tucked away where no one else could see us. It was only the basics, though. No games. Just enough to already have my sex primed so that I’m quickly throbbing again.