Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Her eyes are wide, needing a minute to catch her breath as she simply gapes at me. “Holy fuck.”
“Uh-huh,” I agree.
Her chest heaves with heavy breaths as she rests her arms over my shoulders, and I can’t resist sliding my hand around the back of her waist. It feels so fucking right having her in my arms like this. Like no time has passed at all.
Water trickles down her face, and I brush my fingers over her cheek, wiping it away before pushing the wet hair off her forehead. With each slight movement, she watches me in return, those bright blue eyes boring into mine.
God, she’s so fucking beautiful.
Time seems to still, my heart thundering wildly in my chest, and before I know it, she’s leaning into me as though some invisible force is pushing us together. Her hand captures the back of my neck, her nails gently digging into my skin, and in an instant, I lose all sense of control and pull her the rest of the way.
My lips crush down on hers, kissing her deeply, and she becomes liquid in my arms, melting into me as though she was always meant to be right here. It’s fucking perfect, like everything is finally how it was always supposed to be, and when the shock wears off and her lips start to move with mine . . . fuck. It’s pure bliss.
A soft moan slips through her lips, and I swallow the sound, devouring her kiss as though I’ve been starved for it, as though I couldn’t possibly breathe without it.
This is my home.
Blair Wilder is my fucking home.
Our kiss deepens, and she tastes like freedom on my tongue, like the rest of my goddamn life. I lock my arm tighter around her waist, dragging her in closer until her body is flush with mine. It’s the perfect intensity, exactly what I’ve craved since the moment I saw her through the living room window. But how the hell am I supposed to let her go now?
The thought is sobering, and I reluctantly begin to pull away, and as if sensing the same thing, she inches back. “I umm . . . I’m sorry,” she breathes, her chest rising and falling with rapid movement, mirroring my own. “I shouldn’t have . . . but it just . . . crap.”
Blair releases her hands from around my neck and drags them down her face, but she doesn’t try to peel herself away from me. All I can do is stare at her in stunned silence because I know exactly what I felt in that kiss.
Blair Wilder is still mine.
“It’s barely even been two seconds since you said you didn’t want to touch me because it’s just going to complicate things and make them harder and there I go, kissing you like I didn’t even try to hear what you were saying.”
“Blair,” I say as she begins to ramble. Her gaze shoots back to me, almost looking distressed by what we’ve just done. “I was the one who pulled you in. Now quit fucking overthinking it and get off me. You’re sitting on my cock, and if you keep wriggling around, that kiss is going to be the last thing on your mind.”
Her eyes widen just a fraction, and she hastily scrambles off me, getting back to her feet. I don’t waste a second, getting up off the floor behind her, desperately needing to focus my attention on the sink and not the way her lips seem swollen from our kiss.
“I’ll uhhh . . . grab some towels to dry up,” she says, worrying her bottom lip. “Maybe a mop as well.”
I nod and with that, she hurries out of the laundry as though she can’t possibly get out of here fast enough. The moment she’s out of sight, I am finally able to take a proper breath.
Reality starts sinking in, and I scold myself for making such a stupid fucking mistake. Kissing her was incredible, everything I’ve thought about since the day she walked away, but I wasn’t kidding earlier. How am I supposed to watch her pack her bags and leave now? Especially knowing that after all this time, she’s still mine?
There’s one simple answer—I can’t.
17
BLAIR
It’s the annual Blushing Christmas Fair, and I’ve never been so excited. Well, okay . . . maybe that’s a lie. I could definitely think of a million other things I’d like to be doing, like creating time travel so I can go back to yesterday and kiss Nick in my soaking wet laundry room all over again, but the Christmas fair will have to do.
Bessy has gone all out this year.
The town center has been transformed into the most incredible winter wonderland. Santa has just come and gone to visit all the children of Blushing and ask what they want for Christmas. There are hard-working elves in incredible outfits that Bessy must have spent weeks working on. They’ve been busy handing out candy canes for all of the kids while discreetly handing Jello shots to the adults, making this more than my type of festival.