Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
He squeezed my hand between both his palms. I swiped at the tears on my cheeks, annoyed by their presence.
“Ok,” I said. “I’m done.”
Graham sat quietly for a long moment, seemingly lost in thought. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, “I’m not going to lie to you, Hailee. I don’t regret hurting that nasty little prick. But I do regret getting caught because it took me away from you.”
My heart sank into my stomach like a rock.
“That’s not good enough. I can’t let you back into my life if there’s a chance you’re going to do something crazy that’ll force you to leave again.”
“Trust me, I have no intention of coming back here after my time’s up. Once I’m out, I’m out for good.”
“How am I supposed to trust you?”
I watched him watch my hand begin to slip out from between his fingers. He foiled my retreat at the last second, drawing my hand back to the center of the table.
“Listen, baby,” he said. “You want me to promise that I’ll never leave you again. But the truth is, no one can say for certain what the future holds. I can tell you that I’m sorry for the pain I caused you, and I am, so fucking sorry. I can say that losing you nearly killed me. Some days, I wasn’t sure if I’d survive my sentence because it hurt so much to be apart from you. That’s how the recordings started. I begged Logan for pictures and videos of you.”
Heat crept into my cheeks at his mention of the footage. He stroked the back of my palm, inching toward my wrist.
“What happened was entirely my fault. The thought of someone tormenting you made me snap and I…” He closed his eyes for a few seconds, maybe to calm himself? “I was so blinded by my emotions that I didn’t stop to think about what would happen after I punished the prick who’d hurt you. I ended up hurting you worse than he ever could. Because I was supposed to be there for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t.”
Tears blurred my vision. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for giving me the chance to apologize.”
I smiled at him, wishing I could crawl into his lap. Then I remembered…
“We still get one hug, right?” I asked.
He barked out a laugh, betraying the tension in his throat. “Yeah, we do. Would you like me to hug you?”
“Yes, please.”
We rose from the table and moved toward each other. I sighed with relief as he wrapped his arms around me, cherishing the sensation of his hard, toned body pressing against mine. He squeezed me gently, and I swore I could feel something growing hard against my belly, something just for me.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he whispered. “You’ve changed so much, but you’re still my Hailee. You’re the exact opposite of this place.”
“How so?”
He pulled back to look at my face. “This place is all cold, hard edges, and you’re soft and warm and generous. What I wouldn’t give to press against your supple curves every night.”
My lower body clenched. Luckily, I caught myself before I did anything egregious, like French kiss my stepdad in front of a bunch of prisoners and their spouses. He brushed his lips across my forehead and then took a step back. I immediately felt colder without his touch to warm me up.
“We probably shouldn’t push it,” he said.
I nodded and sat back down. The careful way he lowered himself into the chair confirmed my suspicions. I’d made him hard with just a hug.
He clasped my hand again and held it tightly. I cursed the table, the rules, and the whole damn justice system for standing between us. He studied my face, my heated cheeks, my hard-won smile.
“God, I wish I could kiss you,” he said, his voice hoarse with longing. “I wish I could kiss you, hold you, touch you…”
“I wish you could touch me, too.”
His nostrils flared as he sucked in a breath. I could only imagine how starved he was for physical contact, and I suddenly felt ashamed that Logan and I were able to enjoy each other so freely.
“See that guard over there.” Graham tipped his head toward the bored-looking guard standing against the wall. “I cashed in a favor to get him to look the other way today, so… I could touch you if you wanted me to.”
“Wait, really?” A slew of scandalous images flooded into my mind, and all of them involved Graham’s hands. “What about the cameras?”
“Since when are you camera shy?” he teased. I shot him a look that made him chuckle. “If we angle it right, the camera won’t see anything.”
I waited for the guard to scan the room, noting how he seemed to avoid glancing at our table. My pulse began to race. Was I seriously going to allow Graham to fondle me in a room full of strangers? Was I that fucked-up?