Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Her lashes flutter. “You know I like it. I love it. And you like it when I return the favor.”
“I do,” I say. “Just thinking about your teeth on me is enough to make me feel a certain kind of way.” I lower my hips, pressing against her slickness, letting her feel how quickly my cock is rallying for round two. “I guess we’ll just have to agree to be more than friends.”
“Yes, please,” she says, wrapping her legs more firmly around me. “Now bring that bicep over here and let me see if it’s still as fun to nibble as it was before.”
And because her wish is my command, I do, and in just a few minutes, I’m inside her again, taking her slower this time. We grind together, languid and deep, kissing and biting and teasing until the last few moments, when all I can do is stare into her eyes.
Those gorgeous blue eyes that show me all her secrets…
In the seconds before she comes again, I see all the way to the heart of her. I see her bravery, her sweetness, her fear, and her pain. I see all the love she has inside, desperate for a home, and the dreams she’s started to think might never come true.
As I lose myself inside her a second time, I silently promise to make them come true. I want to be her home, her refuge from the shit show of the world, the man she can trust never to let her down.
After we catch our breath, I pull back, gazing down at her, searching for the perfect words to tell her that I’m all in without scaring her away. I know it’s too soon to tell her I love her, even though it’s true.
Before I can find any words, let alone the perfect ones, a sharp chuffing sound comes from behind us.
I turn over my shoulder to see Freya standing at the top of the stairs with her eyes narrowed. She’s on her back feet, giving her a clear view of the bed…and my very exposed, very vulnerable parts.
“Should I be worried about my crotch?” I ask, the words ending in a rush of breath as Freya charges the mattress.
My heart leaps into my throat, but before I can even think about moving to protect myself, the avenging ferret scampers past my ass. She stops by the head of the bed, sticking her tiny snout in between us, sniffing Tessa’s cheek.
“Stop,” she says, laughing as Freya’s nose probes into her hair. “I’m fine. I promise.”
Clearly unconvinced, Freya climbs onto Tessa’s chest, crouching between us.
Tessa laughs harder. “No, buddy. No furry friends in the bedroom. We need boundaries.”
“We need a bedroom door,” I say, reaching for my clothes.
“Or her crate,” Tessa says, sitting up and shooing Freya onto the covers beside her.
“On it,” I say, already off the bed and halfway into my jeans. “Don’t go anywhere. You stay naked and in bed, that’s the deal.”
Tessa shakes her head, her dimple popping. “I need water. And so does Freya. We’ll get back in bed later. I promise.” She makes shooing motions at me this time. “Go, fetch things. The sooner we give this hungry, nosy girl her dinner, the sooner we can tuck her into her crate for the night.”
“All right,” I grumble, playing up my annoyance to make Tessa laugh again.
I love her laugh.
I love knowing I don’t have to hide how much I want her even more.
I’m so high on good feelings, I don’t remember to be creeped out by the spooky forest until I’ve already gathered our things from the camper and am almost back to the cottage. I hurry the last three steps to the door, ignoring the “watched” sensation prickling up the back of my spine.
Back inside, the uneasiness fades quickly, but I don’t protest when Tessa insists on putting a bowl of cream on the back porch as a goodwill offering to the fair folk and cryptids.
Afterwards, we feed Freya and snuggle with her on the couch for a bit, while Tessa reads from a book of fairy tales on the coffee table. When the ferret’s eyes slide closed, we tuck her into her crate and head back upstairs.
Sometime around midnight, when we’re finally too tired to go again, Tessa rests her head on my chest. I hug her close, drifting off to sleep with only one thought in my head—This is it.
This is what I didn’t realize I was looking for until I met her.
This is all I’ll ever need.
This is worth fighting for, no matter what happens when we get back home.
I kiss her forehead, chest tightening when she hums happily and snuggles closer to my side.
Maybe I’ll be able to tell her I love her sooner than I thought.
Chapter 22
TESSA
The next morning, I slip quietly out of bed, the better not to awaken the sexy beast sleeping beside me. After his performance last night, he definitely deserves his rest.