Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I kiss her lips softly, and when I pull away, she has a sleepy smile. Her eyes sparkle, and she looks up at me with a content expression.
This is how lovers fuck, and I can’t say that I mind.
As our breathing slows, I press my forehead against hers and whisper “You are truly mine now.” She smiles up at me, her eyes still filled with desire as she wraps her arms around me and whispers “I’ve always been yours.”
Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles softly before pressing her lips to mine. Our kiss is soft and gentle, filled with promise and devotion.
My arms wrap around her waist as I deepen the kiss, our tongues entwining in a passionate dance. She moans softly into my mouth, her body trembling in my embrace. I can feel her warmth against me, her need for me a shimmering heatwave.
We break away from the kiss reluctantly, both of us breathless and trembling with desire. I look into her eyes and see something I can’t put words to: love, passion, commitment... It’s all there in her gaze.
I brush my fingertips over her cheek before carefully tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I smile at her before leaning back in for another kiss, this one slower and more tender than the first.
She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me closer to deepen the kiss even further. We move together as one, exploring each other with an intensity I’ve never felt before.
We break away eventually but remain pressed against one another until we’re both breathing normally again. We pull apart just far enough so that we can look into each other’s eyes once more; hers still filled with emotion and mine burning with passion for the woman I can now call mine forever.
She is my dove in the flames of my fire, and that will never change.
Chapter
Forty
Phoenix
We’re back in the manor, but this time it’s different. This time I have Ani. She’s here by choice, and I’m no longer trapped between four walls. I still use the attic as my office, and I still hate most people. Ani has assured me that some things don’t need to change. I am who I am, and that’s fine. She says that she loves my grumpiness and to never change.
I take a break from my work and walk down to our bedroom. It’s next to a smaller room we’ve decided to turn into the nursery. Olympus Manor isn’t exactly our house as it belongs to the Godwins, but neither Ani nor I feel any place is truly home other than where we fell in love. No one in the family seems to mind that we’ve taken up residence here. My father barely said two words when I told him the plans that Ani and I have to live full time on Heathens Hollow and call Olympus home. I am grateful for that, and when it comes to that man, I’m not grateful for much.
I’m not ready to ask her to marry me. I’m not sure why. I think it feels too normal, and I’m far from that. Also, by marrying her, I truly expose her to the Godwin rules. I feel this need to protect her from that. To keep her safe from the strangling vines. But I am committed to giving this woman everything I have until the day I die.
Ani is lying in the bed, her stomach growing bigger and bigger with my twin boys every day. She’s reading a book, but she’s frowning. Tears are rolling down her cheeks. Ani’s hormones have been out of control, but something tells me this is different.
Rushing to her side, I say, “What’s wrong, dove?”
Her big eyes look up at me, and she asks, “Promise you won’t get mad?”
I’m unable to control my emotions. This is not a skill I feel I’ll ever master, so instead of lying to her, I swipe a tear from beneath her eye and say, “Tell me.”
“You’ve been working all day, and I was getting bored. So I decided to read some more from your mother’s journals. I want to know everything about her and your family to tell our boys someday when they ask about their grandmother. I know you asked me to put them away and keep them out of your sight…”
I did. And a familiar rage begins to bubble up inside of me at the mere mention of my mother.
“But I feel there’s something you need to read.”
I open my mouth to refuse, but Ani pushes the open journal my way.
“Just one entry. That’s all I ask. But I really feel you need to read this,” she presses.
“Ani…”
“You said your mother committed suicide, right?” she asks.
“Yes.”
She pushes the journal to me again. “Then you really need to read this.”