Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“She’s going to need to apply a cold press on her face to help with the swelling and lots of rest. Your son’s lungs seem fine, but I’d really feel better if you brought him in at some point so I can be sure there aren’t lasting effects. With his young age and the trauma he experienced, you don’t want to leave his health up to chance.”
I nodded while watching as Mian curved her body around Caylen’s sleeping body and stroked the baby hairs on his head. I wanted to join them on the bed and hold them both, but it didn’t seem like the right time to stake my claim. I was partly responsible for what could have been tonight. It was going to be hard to live with that.
I forced my gaze away from them when Mian closed her eyes and shook the doctor’s hand. “I’ll show you out.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
MIAN
WAKING UP THE next morning without bursting into tears the moment my eyes opened was a challenge. I reached out, needing to feel the beat of my baby’s heartbeat underneath my palm, but found the spot where I’d left him warm but empty. Flipping onto my back, I sought out his crib and found Angel standing next to it. Through the rails, I could see his hand resting lightly on his chest. His hand was so large, it covered Caylen’s entire chest, but something deep inside me knew what he was doing.
He was checking his heartbeat.
Our gazes connected in that next moment when my heart felt full and heat spread through my lower body.
“Hi.” His voice was deeper from sleep, which told me he’d just woken himself.
“Hi.” He looked away long enough to pull the blanket back around Caylen and then prowled back to the bed.
Slipping underneath the sheets, he reached out for me and pulled me close. I needed his heat and his strength, so I went without a fight. I didn’t resist, either, when his lips found mine. It wasn’t driven by lust, but instead, the need to soothe.
“How are you feeling?” he whispered after pulling away.
I sucked in air, and then my body shuddered as I released it. “Aaron almost killed my son… didn’t he?”
His gaze darkened with leftover rage. “Yes.”
“He tried—” My voice cracked, causing my words to lodge in my throat. “He tried to suffocate him?”
“Yes.” I could tell it was as hard for him to speak about it as it was for me to imagine. How was it possible to have made something as beautiful as Caylen with a monster like Aaron?
“Caylen is his son,” I sobbed. “How could he hurt him?”
“They may share the same blood, but Caylen is not his. He never was.”
I cried then, but I didn’t cry for me. I cried for my baby who had a father he didn’t deserve.
“You were right,” I forced through my sobs.
“About what, Sprite?”
“Caylen should have been yours.”
Except for his grip tightening on my hip, he didn’t react. I began to worry that maybe he didn’t want my son after all, but then he unleashed every emotion he was feeling all once when he seized my lips again. This time, there was lust, need, and uncontrollable possession in his kiss. I took his tongue deep and ran my hands over his chest as he rolled on top of me. His weight was like a balm. I wrapped my legs around his waist when he pressed his hips against me. I almost cried out when he broke the kiss and lifted his shirt over his head. My mouth watered at the sight of his abs and chest.
“He’s already mine.”
“Yes.” It was all I could manage when his hands slipped under my t-shirt, and he slowly slid my panties down.
“You both are.”
“Ye—oh yes.” I lost the ability to do more than moan when his fingers found my clit.
“No one’s going to take you away from me. I’ll kill anyone who tries.”
“Please.”
“Is there something you want?” he teased as his finger slipped inside me.
“You.”
“Then take me.” I hesitated, unsure what to do and how to do it. He bent low and kissed me deeply at the same time he added a second finger and pressed deeper inside me.
“Take me right now,” he growled. “Fucking do it.”
His skin was hot when my hands found his waist. I slipped them inside the waistband of his gray sweatpants and pushed them down enough to free his cock. He was harder than I’d ever felt him, and it made me nervous as I anticipated having him inside me. I wrapped my fingers around him and enjoyed when his body shuddered.
“Make love to me, Angel.” I met his gaze and found him staring down at me with barely controlled lust. “Please.”
“I will, Sprite, but first I need to taste you.” He slipped my shirt over my head. I shivered when the air touched my skin or maybe it was because of the way he was devouring me with his eyes.