Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Lex pulls me to him as my arms curl around his neck.
“Jude, I swear by all things good and holy, that part of your life is over. I will not let them hurt you ever again, and I will never try and control you like they did. Here you can be whoever you want, do whatever you want. I will never let anyone dictate your life again, least of all me. I want you to be happy and to make your own choices, okay?”
I nod, and for the first time, I believe him. I believe that he can keep me safe even from my past. Even from all the dark and broken parts.
With Lex, I am safe.
19
Lex
I wake up early, curled around the most beautiful girl in the world, and resist moving to avoid waking her. I look up and out the windows where light pours in and birds chirp, watching as they flit from branch to branch, making them sway.
I think back over the dinner and how vastly different it must have been from anything she had ever known. The contrasts between my family and hers are so wide. How she survived the dinner with us all, I will never know. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for her to see and experience many of what I consider ‘normal’ things that I take for granted. Did she understand the context? Get the normal, every day inside jokes?
Jude starts to stir, so I bring her closer, taking a deep breath, sucking in her scent while trying to avoid igniting my morning wood. I need to see how she is before getting ramped up for sex.
Her hands grab mine and pull them tighter around her, and she wiggles sexily back toward me, which is not helping matters. I close my eyes and draw on my reserves of steel, willing my body to cooperate and not ravage her completely. What I need is to distract myself.
“G’morning, beauty.”
“Hey, handsome.”
“How do you feel about doing something ‘normal’ today? Fun, but normal.”
She turns her head slightly to hear more.
“What were you thinking?”
“Well, I was thinking, maybe a date. It’s kinda backward for us, but I want to take you somewhere, spend some time with you, get to know you more.”
She chuckles and pulls me tighter again.
“I would love that,” she pauses to consider for a minute, and then adds, “but what would that look like? What would we do? Where would we go?”
“That is a great question. But you will have to let me make you breakfast to find out.”
In a flash, before she can respond, I pull away playfully and dash out of the bed.
“No, wait. Not fair. I need to pee first.”
“You snooze, you lose!” My laugh echoes in the hallway as she throws a pillow that falls far short of reaching me.
“You wait a second,” she yells after me, and I rush into the bathroom.
Jude is hot on my heels, though, and shoves the door open before I can even get it closed all the way. The smile on her lips leaves me breathless, and I reach for her without thought.
“If you want to win against me, you gotta be faster than that.” I grin, dragging my thumb across her plump bottom lip.
Her eyes fill with a lustful haze, and I drag my gaze down over her neck, chests, and down to her toned legs. She’s wearing one of my shirts, like she does every night when she goes to bed, and damn does it look good on her. There’s no denying that she’d look better naked, and beneath my body.
Leaning into her body, I nip at her earlobe. “I want you.”
My voice comes out a little rougher than usual, and I move closer, pushing into her soft body, letting her feel how much I want her.
With a fire flickering in her eyes, she pushes back and says, “Then take me.”
That’s all the spark needed to ignite me, and in seconds, I’m naked. Keeping my eyes on Jude, she removes the shirt in the same hurried fashion, and within seconds, we’re both stripped. My mouth waters at the sight before me, perky breasts with hard pink nipples, a slim stomach, and flared hips that I want to squeeze as I slam into her over and over again.
Fuck, I need her now.
“Turn around and grab the edge of the sink,” I growl, barely restraining myself.
There’s a spark of fear in her eyes, but there’s also something else, and even though her movements are hesitant, she still does as I say.
“Do you trust me?” I purr against her back, my cock pressed against her ass.
“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here,” she whispers, and our eyes meet in the mirror. She’s so small and fragile, and that just makes me want to protect her more, to tug her into my arms and never let her go.