Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 25039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
So, so beautiful.
And just like before—-
Time slipped out of her grasp, and she was no longer able to count the minutes.
All she knew was how good she felt.
So, so good.
When she opened her eyes again, and she saw him staring down at her with emotions that she was finally able to identify—-
Fear.
Desire.
But most of all—-
Love.
Tears burned her eyes even as she started to wriggle out of his hold, and Hale eventually set her down on her feet.
He loved her.
She had a feeling he didn't know this yet.
But she knew it to be true.
He loved her.
And so, of course, there was one thing left to do.
Hale stiffened when Heaven suddenly reached up to cup his face.
"Thank you, Hale," she whispered.
"For what?"
"Because I know how much it cost you to stop hating me."
Fuck.
All he could do was stare at her.
Why, dammit?
Why did she have to be so unpredictably and terrifyingly...different?
"I don't deserve you, Heaven."
"I don't deserve you either."
A humorless laugh escaped him.
"Damn right, you don't."
Dismay flashed in her eyes. "I didn't mean it that way—-"
"I know."
And he truly did.
She was different, after all.
"But it doesn't make my words any less true," he said grimly.
"Oh, Hale—-"
"I hurt you too many damn times—-"
"Because you were hurting—-"
"And you weren't?"
Tears shimmered in her eyes. "Not as much as you."
Fuck.
"Don't fucking take pity on—-"
"I'm not," she denied in a rush. "I swear I'm not! But..."
She suddenly took a step back, and his whole body turned cold when he saw her reach for her clothes.
Fuck.
Was she leaving him?
"There's something I have to tell you," Heaven was saying as she hurriedly tugged the cups of her bra over her breasts. "But it won't feel right to say it when I'm naked."
A shudder of relief rocked his body.
She wasn't leaving.
Whatever it was she had to say—-
He was fine with it.
As long as she stayed.
Heaven glanced back at him when she was finally dressed, and the smile on her lips was so damn sweet it had him clenching his fists against the urge to haul her back into his arms and have his way with her again.
"Are you ready to hear what I have to say?"
"Why do I feel like I'm suddenly in one of your Animal Week presentations?"
Her blue eyes sparkled in mischief. "Who says you're not? But the question is, hmm..."
He watched her adopt a posture of introspection as she thoughtfully tapped her chin, and he had to swiftly press his lips together to keep himself from smiling.
"Are you my audience or exhibit?"
He couldn't remember having this fun with anyone.
That was the fucking truth.
And while this terrified him as well—-
"Neither," he drawled.
That didn't mean he'd let Heaven have her way all the time.
She looked at him, startled. "Neither?"
"Yes, neither."
Because if it did, where would be the fun in that?
"Then you'd be—-"
"The billionaire who owns this place—-"
Heaven choked back a laugh.
"And this close to firing your ass," he drawls, "if you don't get to the point and tell me—-"
"I love you."
"WHAT THE FUCK?"
She burst into laughter.
Hale remained unsmiling.
But this only made her laugh all the more even as the look in his eyes made her heart ache.
Oh, Hale.
Had no one ever told him how expressive his eyes were?
"And that's why it didn't feel right to say the words while I was naked," she said primly. "I was afraid you wouldn't take me seriously."
"I still don't," he rejected flatly. "I think you've lost your mind."
"Um, you got it wrong. It's my heart I lost—-"
Hale looked like he wanted to strangle her now.
"To you," she added helpfully.
Hale took a threatening step towards her, and Heaven quickly jumped a step back even as she was unable to keep herself from giggling.
"This isn't fucking funny, damn you."
"But it is—-"
"Godda—-"
Hale caught himself in time when he saw the way Heaven looked at him with hurt.
"I'm sorry," he said tautly. "I'll...try to stop swearing."
"Please don't do it for me."
"I want to."
She took a step closer. "But you mustn't," she said gently. "You could choose to do it for yourself, or better yet, you could choose to do it for God, but please don't do it for me. Because you could end up resenting me later on."
"I won't."
"But you could."
"I'm not going to win this one, am I?"
"We both win if we make the effort to always remember we're not each other's enemies. We can disagree and have misunderstandings, but one thing we can't ever be are enemies."
It was the wisest thing he had heard in years, and this...
This just made him feel like it was only a matter of time before he fucked things up between them.
"Are you sure you didn't lie in your CV?"
"I never—-"
"Because you sound more like you're ninety than twenty-two."
"Oh, Hale."
Hale crossed his arms. "I know what you're doing. You're saying it like that—-"
Heaven couldn't stop laughing at the way he perfectly mimicked her tone when saying his name.