Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Well, I do love you wet.” He turns his face to mine, grinning in that sexy way he does.
“Perv.”
“Truthful,” he counters.
I roll my eyes and shake my head, fighting to keep the smile off my face.
I’m feeling happy. It’s been a long time since I felt this kind of happiness. The happiness I’ve only ever been able to feel with him.
“All of our important moments in life seem to happen in the rain,” I muse more to myself than him.
He starts to sing off-key the words to Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”
Our song.
“Dork.” I nudge him with my elbow but secretly love that he remembers the song’s importance.
He rolls onto his side, facing me, propping his head up with his hand. The flicker of flames glowing on his face. “I’ve missed that sound.”
“What sound?”
“You laughing. Do it again.”
“I can’t laugh on command.”
“I can make you.”
“So, do it,” I challenge, raising my brow. “Just don’t sing again.”
“Funny.”
There’s a brief pause.
Then, he attacks, and he knows exactly where to go—my stomach. I’m ridiculously ticklish.
“Ah! Stop!” I laugh, trying to bat his hands away but to no avail.
“No, I haven’t heard enough.”
“Zeus!” I scream with laughter, my chest aching in the best possible way. “Come on! Stop!”
“Okay,” he grumbles, relinquishing his tickle assault on me. He flops onto his back. “I really fucking missed you,” he says quietly, turning his suddenly serious eyes to mine.
I press my hand to his chest, over his heart, touching my tattoo. “I missed you, too,” I tell him. I dip my head and kiss him.
As I pull back, his hand comes into my hair, holding me there. “I know I screwed up with us. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“I know,” I whisper.
But we both know I only half-believe that. I’m not fully in that place where I believe him yet.
He pulls me back down to his lips and languidly kisses me.
I lay my head down on his chest, tangling my legs with his.
The sound of the fire crackling in the background and the beat of his heart in my ear—this is all I need right now.
“Do you remember when you performed at the winter showcase to ‘Umbrella’?” he says out of nowhere.
“Of course I remember.” I roll my eyes. The piece I choreographed was about him and me, about how I felt about him from the moment I’d met him. How I’ve always felt about him. “Where did that come from?” I ask him, tipping my head back to look into his eyes.
He lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know. I remember everything about us…but it’s just one of those memories that has always stuck with me. Watching you dance was my favorite thing in the whole world. I hate that you don’t dance anymore.”
“I was dancing—at the club.” Until I quit when he made a reappearance in my life.
“You know that’s not what I meant.” His eyes darken. “I hate that you stopped because of me.”
“I stopped because I was pregnant. If you’d been there or not, I still would have had to drop out.”
“But you could have gone back if I’d been there to support you.”
I shake my head. “I wouldn’t have gone back. What would have been the point? I had Gigi, and she was the most important thing to me. You know how ballet is. It’s grueling, long hours. I wasn’t going to spend that kind of time away from her.”
His eyes go to the ceiling. He blows out a hard breath. “Still, I should’ve been there.”
I don’t say anything. Because he’s right. He should’ve been there. I can blame Marcel for Zeus not being there for Gigi. But not for Zeus not being there for me. He’s to blame for that.
His eyes, determined and steady, come back to mine. “I will make it up to you both. I swear to you, Dove.”
I slide my hand up to his face, pressing my palm to his cheek. “You already are by just being here right now.”
But I know the look in his eyes. I know he thinks he should be doing more. Hence, the purchase of this house.
“Zeus…you didn’t have to buy this house, you know.”
I know he’s okay for money, but he’s still putting Lo and Missy through college and financially supporting his dad. He has money, but that money will also have to last him when his boxing career does finally come to an end.
His brows draw together. “Yes, I did. You need to know that I’m here to stay. And I will do whatever it takes to show you that.”
“I just…I know you have money. I just don’t want you wasting it.”
Frustration lines his eyes. “Nothing spent on you or Gigi is a waste. And I’m good for money, Cam. Don’t worry about that.”
“So, why is the Dimitrov fight so important? You said to me a while ago that you were doing it because you needed the money.”