Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
“No argument from me,” I answered. “How are you doing?”
“Tired,” he yawned. “It’s been a long day. Fuck, it’s been a long week.”
“I read the report your mother sent me,” I said. “Why on earth did you get reprimanded for literally watching over the pilots who’d crashed?”
He grinned sleepily and scratched his arm. “You get yelled at when you don’t follow protocol. If rescue hadn’t arrived when it did, I would’ve gone down too. I was out of fuel.”
But still. “You were protecting them.”
He shrugged. “Gettin’ yelled at ain’t always a bad thing, darlin’. They have to do it. Don’t mean they would’ve wanted me to do anything different.”
Fair enough, I supposed.
“How’re you?” he asked.
“Good. Worried about you.” I let out a small laugh and leaned back in my chair. “You’re hot, Captain.”
“Ditto.” He rested his forearms on the desk and cracked his knuckles. I couldn’t tell where he was by the background. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he sat in a cubicle. “I have some good news. Looks like we’re coming home earlier.”
“Really?” Hope flared up inside me. “Anytime soon?”
“Well. No.” He chuckled. “But nine months is better than twelve, right?”
“Ugh. I honestly feel like throwing a tantrum,” I admitted. Nine months was still five months away.
A faint smile graced his lips, and he rested his chin in one of his hands. “It’s good seein’ you, Lucas.”
Those words took the fight out of me, and I mirrored him and leaned forward. “I miss you.”
His eyes softened. “Me too.”
We went quiet and just watched each other. Maybe we were thinking the same thing, how strange all of this was that we had this level of chemistry. A small voice in the back of my head kept asking how this was ever going to work, but when I saw him, when I sat here and stared at Colt, I didn’t fucking care. I had to have him.
“Your mother wants to meet me,” I said.
He drummed his fingers absently against his cheek, and one of the corners of his mouth tugged up a bit more. “She told me. Are you?”
I lifted a shoulder. “If there’s no objection from you. We haven’t set any boundaries, so it’s up to you.”
He hummed. “I’m the selfish dick who wants to claim you from thousands of miles away. So, no, it’s actually up to you, Luke.” His tone changed to carry some gravity. “I can’t get you outta my head for shit. No matter how different we are—or…” He huffed. “Rather, we’re the fucking same. In what we’re usually into, I mean.” He received only agreement from me. “Doesn’t matter. I want you. I wanna try. But—”
“Why are there buts?” I blurted out. “You were doing so well. No buts, please.”
He smirked, undoubtedly thinking of puns.
“I want to try too, Colt.”
He offered a patient smile but went on. “It’s still unreasonable to ask you to wait for me. Nine months—after half a weekend together? Come on.” His expression turned hesitant.
“I don’t care. You’re already all I can think about.” I shook my head. “You gotta say it, though. Set the boundaries. I’ll need them.”
He cocked his head at that. “Why do you need them?”
Because…because we lived in the real world, and at some point, we would have to move those boundaries if we ever wanted to live out our fetishes to the fullest. And before we went there, I would need stability. Security.
“I’m not poly,” I admitted. “I’ve only been in monogamous relationships.”
“So have I.”
Oh. Colt struck me more as one who’d tried everything.
“Okay, but eventually…” I trailed off.
He nodded slowly, processing. “That’s why I’m cautious about trapping you. It was one thing to ask for a few weeks while I had a mission. It’s a whole other, setting you up for monogamy when we both know we’re not gonna find that particular thing with each other.” It hurt to hear it, despite that I felt the same. It was nothing but the truth. “If we’re open—” He paused at my cringe and became visibly confused. “You’re kinda givin’ me mixed signals here. The way I figure, if we’re open, I can get used to it. I think.” He frowned to himself.
“I need to build something,” I explained. “I have to know you and I are solid. It feels bizarre talking about it so soon, but it’s what my gut is telling me. Yes, eventually we will have to explore options. Eventually. Right now, I just want you. You’re my priority. I can miss the Daddy/Little thing but miss you more. And—fuck. We shared more than twenty-four hours, Colt. I know you well enough to be sure that I’d like to go all in with you—and only you—and create something that’s only ours first. And whatever happens after that, we will figure it out together. At least, I wanna try. Does that make sense?”