Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 80261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80261 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
My memories.
I left her out there alone for a minute, needing to take a breather from our day. Out of all the places I could have taken her, I decided on the one restaurant I hadn’t been to in years. It wasn’t even intentional. I just drove there like there was nowhere to go.
Grabbing the blanket off my bed, I stepped back onto the deck unnoticed, wanting a minute to admire the vision in front of me from a distance without her knowing. She was leaning against the railing. Her dark hair was flowing around her face and down her back. It was the first time I noticed how long it was. She was fucking beautiful. So fucking stunning it should’ve been illegal.
When all of a sudden, she began spinning around in circles with her arms catching the wind and the moon reflecting off her soft skin. Her eyes were closed, and her smile lit up the entire deck, leaving me breathless and completely consumed by her.
I found myself having to lean against the sliding glass door to catch my bearings. It physically pained me to look at her in that moment in a way it never had. I wanted to soak in her smile, her laugh, the way she moved and the joy she created.
Haven Beckham was a force to be wrecked with. She was destroying me. I had to shut my eyes and inhale a few deep breaths. Needing to reel in the emotions she was stirring inside of me. I wasn’t used to feeling this way. I thrived on control. It was how I survived.
I knew our time together would eventually come to an end. I’d make sure of it.
She wasn’t mine.
But fuck, did I want her to be.
I counted to three to steady my pounding heart that throbbed mercilessly against my ribs. Finally finding the strength to open my gaze, only to unexpectedly meet hers. Staring right at me. I wasn’t prepared to have her look at me with so much love and devotion that I swear it almost brought me to my knees.
I pushed off the slider and in one quick motion, I lifted her off the ground, spinning her around in a circle. She laughed, loving our carefree moment. If she only knew how much turmoil spread inside of me. It was ache I couldn’t soothe.
Forever imbedded and a part of me.
I kissed the top of her head, letting my lips linger for a while.
It seemed like all I did was blink, and we were laying on the lounger, looking up at the stars with her on my chest. I played with her hair, loving the silky feel of it in my callused fingers.
Time was at a standstill with her in my arms as she talked about one thing or another. As much as I wanted to live in the moment with her, my mind was somewhere else entirely.
I just laid there beneath her, pretending to listen intently to what she was sharing. Desperately trying to drown out everything else spinning around me.
“Did you see that shooting star?” she exclaimed excitedly.
“I see them every night.”
“Did you make a wish?”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“What did you wish for?”
“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”
“You should wish on Northern star.”
“I can also wish on Venus and the Southern Cross. Can you find the Big Dipper?”
I pointed to it.
“How about Princess Andromeda and her husband, Perseus?”
“The stars that you can’t tell where one begins and the other ends.”
“That’s because they’re holding hands.” She beamed, loving the fact I knew about the constellations. “Perseus rescued her from being sacrificed to the monster.”
“And then he fucked her senseless and they had nine kids.”
She spun to look at me. “When she died, Athena, Goddess of war and wisdom, placed her in the sky as a constellation, near her beloved husband Perseus.”
“They were soulmates who were destined to be together forever, and Athena made them stars so they would be.”
She was glowing brighter than the stars. “I can’t believe you know that story.”
“I told you I read a lot.”
“I didn’t think you could get any sexier and you just proved me wrong.”
He ignored my remark. “What’s your favorite?”
“Aphrodite.”
“Ah, the Goddess of Love, but she doesn’t have her own star.”
“I know, but she’s still part of the Pisces constellation, which is her and her son, Eros.”
“Also known as Cupid.”
She nodded.
“It’s the hardest constellation to find, so if you can find Pieces than you have quite a gift.”
“I’ll never tell.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “What’s yours?”
“Orion.”
She grinned. “The greatest hunter, his constellation has two of the brightest stars in the sky because he didn’t die a hero’s death.”
“You have to watch out for those scorpions,” I replied, referring to how he stepped on one and died.
“You just like that he’s a star you can see from all over the world.”