Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 135536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Hopefully before you break me.
She watched through sluggish eyes as I stripped down to my briefs, lifted the comforter, and slid in next to her. I wrapped my arms around her from behind so she couldn’t see me.
With my nose nuzzled in her hair, I decided in that moment that if she was crazy enough to give me another chance, I would give her everything she wanted, no questions asked, and demand nothing in return.
If it meant I got to keep her, I would endure an entire lifetime of her stringing me along, getting pregnant, fleeing to Chapel Falls, and returning here only when it suited her.
Shortbread quaked in my arms. I squeezed her close to my chest, my throat tightening with all the words she deserved that I never got to tell her.
“Are you shivering, sweetheart?”
Her shoulders shook.
After a long pause, she said, “No, I’m sad, you idiot.”
I didn’t know why it made me chuckle. “Why?”
“Because you deserted me.”
“I didn’t desert you.” I kissed her jaw from behind. “I didn’t think you wanted to see me.”
Close enough to the truth, I supposed.
“You’re my husband. Who else would I want to see?”
Your mother and sister, to whom you declared you cannot stand me.
“I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.” I stroked her hair.
I couldn’t stop kissing her jaw. My body sucked the fever out of hers, our skin plastered together, our flesh melting into one unit.
“I hate you.”
“I know. I hate me, too.”
Leaning forward, I kissed her cheeks, absent of tears.
I noticed she never cried, even when I most expected her to. Yet another thing I’d never asked about. I hoped she’d give me the chance to.
Dallas shivered inside my arms until her breathing evened out and I knew she’d fallen asleep.
Another thing that fell asleep was my arm beneath her body, but I didn’t dare move an inch.
Not even when an hour turned into two, then three, then four, and I was certain I would have to amputate the whole limb after she woke up.
In fact, I didn’t give much attention to my arm at all, because finally—fucking goddamn finally—Dallas sweat out her fever.
I knew her fever broke when the sheets beneath us pooled with scentless perspiration. She squirmed and groaned as the sickness escaped her body.
I couldn’t do much but stroke her damp hair, kiss the back of her neck, and watch as she crawled back to health.
The entire time I held her, I was in awe of how I felt.
How I was capable of giving someone love without expecting them to return an ounce.
In awe of how I senselessly slipped back into her bed.
The place where my heart would surely be broken.
I stirred to life in the darkened room, stretching in my damp sheets.
White stars danced across my vision as reality seeped in. Romeo lay beside me, his muscular body draped over mine.
He’s still here.
I wiggled my fingers and toes, trying to keep calm.
I decided not to tell him he shouldered the blame for my body’s reluctance to heal. But in my heart, I knew the truth.
From the moment he stormed out of the kitchen and ignored me, venomous unease slithered into my limbs, latching onto each organ until I struggled to stand, breathe, exist.
While my tear ducts never seemed to get the memo, the rest of my body remained in perfect sync with my soul.
Both craved Romeo.
And both stubborn entities went on strike until they got him.
Yet again, my romance books proved right. Love is an accident. Something that occurs completely out of your control with no regard for your safety.
At first, the desire to reach out enticed me. Then my fever spiked, my bones descending into unending ache.
The more time passed, the worse I felt.
The worse I felt, the angrier I got that he hadn’t even checked on me once.
He was here now.
I didn’t know if it was out of obligation, reluctance, or genuine worry. It didn’t matter.
Stupid gratitude fueled each breath. I felt all better now. Brand new, in fact. And eager to find my way back into my husband’s good graces.
How convenient, then, that we were both naked in my bed. I wiggled my butt against his cock, springing it to life within seconds.
For someone so against breeding, he wielded a reliably virile response.
Plastering my back to his chest, I propped my head on his shoulder and reached for his cock.
He clasped my wrist before I slipped my fingers into his briefs. “No, thank you.”
My breath hitched. Blood roared between my ears.
I met his eyes. Cold and lifeless, they belonged to the man at the debutante ball. Not the one who made me hot chocolate and agreed to give me the baby I longed for, to sacrifice his own plans and dreams for my own.
“You don’t want me anymore?” I tried to sound casual.