Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 163328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163328 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 817(@200wpm)___ 653(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
He yanked the knife away as Priest strode toward him. Their eyes connected, their postures hard and combative. But as Priest raised his hand, it wasn’t to hurl a punch. His fingers curled around the back of Ashley’s neck and dragged their foreheads together.
“Perhaps I should have said this years ago.” Priest closed his eyes and released a breath. “I didn’t know how to put it into words.”
“Don’t.” Ashley gripped Priest’s shoulders, neither pushing nor pulling, as he gritted his teeth. “Don’t do this.”
“I don’t know what to call it…this invisible thing that wraps so tightly around us. All I know is that I want to protect it, guard it with my life, and never let it go. This isn’t something that needs mending or burying. It’s raw and honest and perfect, and you damn well know it.” Priest leaned back enough to hold Ashley’s gaze. “I love you.”
Ashley’s chest hitched, his expression so unguarded I felt his longing in my bones.
“You like hearing me say that to you?” Priest tangled his hands in Ashley’s hair, holding their faces together. “I love you, and I will keep fighting for us. But this time, we’re doing it Bennett’s way. And a word of warning. The last time I crossed her, I woke shackled in the bilge of her ship with a vicious bump on my head.”
My chest squeezed as Priest released him and joined my side.
“Jade will leave at dawn on the day of your wedding.” I squared my shoulders and raised my chin. “All three of us will be on that ship.”
Ashley glared so hard a vein bulged in his brow.
Without another word, Priest gripped my hand and led me into the corridor.
We took to the stairs and tunnels beneath the manor. Then, in the pitch of night, we rowed the jolly boat to Jade. Our weapons, the compass and map, everything that mattered to us was on the ship.
Except Ashley.
But he would come. I’d never been more confident of anything in my life.
One week later, I stood at the balcony of my private cabin on Jade, squinting at the dock that led to Ashley’s manor. The crisp twilight breeze kissed my skin, chilling my nude body. But it didn’t persuade my mood. I felt hot, restless, anxious to weigh.
Today was Ashley’s wedding.
The sun crowned the distant horizon, burning the underbelly of the dark sky in shades of rose and gray amber. As dawn approached, the shadows shifted around the dock. I narrowed my eyes, telling myself a nobleman was standing there as if that could actually make one materialize.
“Come back to bed.” Priest’s husky baritone floated from the mattress behind me.
I chewed my thumbnail, my eyes glued to the dock.
The ship creaked. Footsteps sounded. Arms came around me from behind, and his warm physique, naked as I was, pressed against my back.
“Too much time has passed between raids.” He pulled my hand from my mouth and inspected my fingernails. “You’ve chewed them down to the quicks.”
“I miss the open sea. I need to sail.”
“Soon.” He leaned his hips against my backside, letting me feel the state of his morning hardness.
He was always in a state of hardness. The man had the appetite of a wolf in mating season.
His hands roamed my hips, caressed upward, and encircled my bare breasts. While waiting for Ashley, we’d spent the past week in this cabin—in the bed, on the floor, against the wall, bent over the desk, rocking against any surface that would support us.
I knew he was anxious about Ashley. But rather than talk about his nervous energy, he preferred to fuck it out of himself while between my legs. It was also his way of showing me his commitment. Not just of body but his commitment of the soul. He was here with me, choosing me, no matter what.
“As long as you stare at that dock, he isn’t going to show.” His mouth inflicted havoc on the sensitive parts of my neck.
Reynolds had spent the past month readying Jade for the six-week journey across the Western Ocean. Food, water, wood, everything we needed had been collected and hauled on board. The only thing missing was Ashley.
“It’s not dawn yet.” I licked my lips, watching Priest’s hands, muscled and tanned, knead the white globes of my chest. “He’ll be here.”
“What’s your plan if he isn’t?” He tweaked a nipple.
“I’ll strap on my blades, steal the fastest horse in his stable, ride like the wind to London, and arrive before he relieves his bride of her maidenhood.”
“You’ll kill her.”
“Depends. If she’s curled up on the floor and crying in fear, perhaps I would take pity.”
“If her virgin eyes saw the size of his cock, she would undoubtedly be in that position.”
“Oh, yes, his superior breeding.” I shook my head and laughed. “His words.”
“Arrogant prick.” His smile tickled my neck. “I think we got through to him.”