Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Even in the darkness of the night, she’s like bright sunshine illuminating the way.
My hand slips around her waist as we head up the rickety front porch stairs.
The warm weight of her pressed against my body feels good.
Right.
Almost as if we’ve come home together a million times before and this is nothing out of the ordinary.
There’s an ease between us that shouldn’t be there.
I don’t understand it.
It’s only when I slip the key into the lock that I realize that her fingers aren’t the only ones shaking with pent-up nerves. I clear my throat, only wanting to draw her attention away from them so she doesn’t notice. Throwing the door open, I steer her toward the staircase and then the second floor. Every step that brings us closer to my room has my heart jackhammering harder until it thuds painfully in my chest.
When was the last time I felt this kind of anticipation thrum through my veins? The need to lay my hands on her is all I can focus on. In this moment, nothing else matters.
Not even the possibility that she belongs to River fucking Thompson.
By the time I step over the threshold into my room, my skin is buzzing with adrenaline.
One twist of the lock and I’m ready to pounce.
8
Willow
Hunger burns brightly from his dark eyes as he stares at me like I’m the only thing he’s cognizant of. Like he plans on swallowing me whole in one tasty bite. It’s doubtful anyone has ever looked at me with so much pent-up intensity.
Longing.
Desire.
It’s a heady sensation.
An addictive one.
Everywhere his gaze caresses tingles with newfound awareness as electricity pulses in the air around us. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the room burst into flames and I combusted with it.
He cocks his head. “Are you ready for me, sunshine?”
Anticipation dances down my spine. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more ready for anything in my life than this man.
For this precise moment in time.
I didn’t realize it until now.
“Yes.”
His lips lift into a ghost of a smile as he shoves away from the door. Once he’s on the move, there’s no more holding back. I feel it in the shift of the atmosphere.
I’ve given my consent.
I’m here.
This is happening.
And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
His large hands drift over my cheeks until he’s able to cup the sides of my head. He angles my face upward so his mouth can crash onto mine. When his tongue sweeps across the seam of my lips, I open and allow him entrance. It never occurs to me not to. The second they part, he’s delving inside and dragging me beneath the surface of the ocean where breathing becomes impossible.
Unnecessary.
“So fucking sweet,” he whispers before diving back in for more.
Even though his mouth grows demanding, his lips remain just as soft as I imagined when I caught sight of him on the ice. It’s weird to think that it was only hours ago. It seems more like days or weeks.
His palms fall away, dropping to the zipper of my jacket.
“This needs to go,” he mutters.
As soon as the words are released, the sound of metal grinding against metal fills the room and then the black jacket is shoved away from my shoulders before it falls to the carpet beneath my feet.
His mahogany-colored eyes turn stormy as he stares at my jersey. Before I realize what’s happening, it’s yanked up my body and over my head. He glares at the scratchy white and blue material wadded in his hands before flicking a hard stare in my direction.
“After I’m finished with you tonight, you’ll never look twice at that jersey again,” he grits between clenched teeth before tossing it away like garbage.
I can’t imagine what would happen if he discovered that I’m not the puck bunny he assumes, but River Thompson’s sister instead.
Would he stare at me with the same kind of hatred he reserves for my twin?
That thought is enough to send a shudder of unease skittering through me. My nipples tighten into hard little points beneath the light-blue cami stretched across my breasts. His attention zeros in on the gentle swells and his previous desire returns full force.
“You’re like a beautifully wrapped gift on Christmas morning. I just want to tear the paper away until I can see what’s waiting beneath for me to play with.”
Arousal pools at the bottom of my belly as I lift my chin and say something I never thought I would. “Then what are you waiting for?”
Anticipation floods my system until there’s a good chance I’ll drown in it.
A growl vibrates from deep within his chest as his fingers grip the hem of the cami and drag it up my torso. Seconds later, it meets the same fate as both the jersey and jacket. A lacy pale-pink bra covers my breasts. The gorgeous material is sheer and reveals far more than it conceals. Unlike Holland, I’m not overly generous in the cleavage department. When you don’t need a lot of support, it’s easy to wear pretty little undergarments.