Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 145574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 728(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 728(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
She found him on his knees, his shirt unbuttoned to his waist, looking up at her with eyes glazed with the same desire coursing through her veins. Her nerves almost got the best of her, but she pushed them aside as she slipped one arm from her dress, then the other, holding the fabric just above her breasts for the length of several heartbeats before she found the courage to drop it.
The dress slid off in a flutter of satin, leaving her standing in nothing but the underwear and silk stockings she’d saved two months of pay to acquire. The look on his face made it more than worth the sacrifice.
“You…” His gaze was hot enough to warm her skin as he took her in. “You are so exquisitely beautiful, Scarlett.” He looked stunned, astonished really, and…hungry.
She smiled, and he gripped her hips and tugged her forward, kissing the sensitive skin of her stomach. After a year of wearing issued garments that made her just another identical cog in a large piece of machinery, she felt completely and utterly feminine. She speared her fingers through his hair to hold her steady as his mouth journeyed up her body.
He stood, then shed both his collared shirt and the soft cotton one underneath.
Her mouth watered at the sight of his bare torso, the soft skin that stretched over ropes of hard muscle. His stomach tensed when she traced the lines that ran down either side with her fingertips, memorizing the planes and hollows.
She brought her eyes to meet his questioning gaze—as if this man had anything to worry about. He was just as carved as any of the statues she’d seen, but so very warm under her hands.
“Well?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You’ll do,” she deadpanned, fighting the purse of her lips.
He huffed a laugh, then kissed every thought from her head. They were a flurry of questing hands as their remaining clothes fell to the floor with every step toward the bed. She gasped as he palmed her breast, then melted when he swept his thumb over the stiff peak.
“Perfect,” he murmured against her lips, then lowered her to their bed. She devoured him with her eyes as he rose above her, his hair falling forward to brush along his eyebrow. Every single part of him was flawless. He was so much bigger than she was and infinitely stronger, but she’d never felt more cherished.
“I love you, Jameson.” She brushed those locks back just to watch them fall again. Out of every sensation bombarding her body, from the feel of his strong thighs inside of her much smaller ones, to the wisp of cool air across her exposed breasts, the swell of love—of unfettered joy—in her chest flared the brightest.
“I love you, too,” he promised. “More than my own life.”
She arched up and kissed him, inhaling sharply as their bodies came in full contact. He brushed his lips over the patch of skin just beneath her ear, then moved down her body, slowly, methodically exploring her curves with lips and hands.
He sucked the peak of her breast into his mouth. Her fingers tightened in his hair as his tongue unraveled her. Everywhere he touched seemed to catch fire—the curve of her waist, the swell of her hips, the tops of her thighs. He turned her into a living flame, stoked a hunger she hadn’t known she was capable of. His hands felt so good, her entire body began to ache with it.
He brought his mouth to hers again, and she poured everything she felt into the kiss when words failed her. Her hands stroked down the broad lines of his back, and he deepened the kiss, groaning into her mouth before yanking his away, his breath coming in the same quick pants her own did.
“I forget my name when you touch me,” he said, bracing his weight on an elbow as his other hand traveled down her belly.
“It’s the same for me.” There was a slight tremble in her fingers as she lifted them to the back of his neck.
“Good.” He kept his eyes locked with hers as he reached between her thighs, gently cupping her. “You okay?”
Her breath hitched and she nodded, her hips rolling against him, seeking pressure, friction, anything that would relieve the ache.
The muscles of his shoulders went tight for a breath, and then his fingers were there, sliding through her, stroking from her entrance to where that ache centered. The first touch sent a jolt of pleasure so intense, she felt it all the way to her fingertips. The second was even better.
“Jameson!” she cried out, her nails digging into his skin as he returned to that spot again and again, swirling and teasing, overwhelming her senses.
“You’re incredible.” He kissed her once. “Are you ready for more?”