Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
She chuckles, squirming on my lap...and a different sort of idea takes hold.
CHAPTER
EIGHTY-FOUR
MAEVE
I'm glad that he likes the plan.
He pulls me into his lap, hugging me from behind, and I'm smiling again. My smile faded when he'd said all those terrible things in the barn—that I'm a foolish, worthless human and he would only marry me under duress. That it was the truth.
I don't know if it's the truth or not, but it hurt my feelings. He'd said each word with such authority that they felt like daggers slicing into me. I don't want him to think I'm “just a crappy human.” I want him to think I'm awesome. I want him to like me. I want him to like our marriage. It might not be ideal but that doesn't mean it has to be shit, right?
But now he's hugging me and rubbing his face against my neck and it's hard to think about him hating me. We're just friends with benefits, so I shouldn't take anything he says to heart. Nothing has to be love. We can just be fuckbuddies. Companions that fuck and don't have feelings towards each other. No feelings at all. None. Not a single banana.
Haven't had my world rocked since I had sex, no siree, not me.
Zhur presses a kiss against my neck. "You are so thoughtful, my Maeve. You deserve a kiss."
"I do, don't I?" I tilt my head so he can have more access to my throat. "I'll be more than happy to take that kiss."
He kisses my neck and then tugs at the collar of my tunic-dress. "I would like to kiss you all over your salt-crust skin."
My...what? That makes me sit up in his arms. "Say again?"
"Your salt-crust skin," he repeats, as if this is the most sensible thing he's ever said. One hand pulls my hem up to my knee, while the other works on tugging my collar over my shoulder. "You are the exact shade of coarse salt rocks. At first I thought you simply looked bare, but I have grown to enjoy the sight of it."
And he nuzzles a kiss on my shoulder.
I...I'm not sure if that's supposed to be sexy. I bite my lip, trying to hold back a giggle. "You couldn't find a sexier comparison for my skin?"
"You are like an egg white that has been cooked in butter—"
Worse. Definitely worse. "Try again."
"You are...doughy," he says. "Like the color of your breadcrust when you don't cook it all the way."
I can't even be insulted. It's just so ridiculous that it's funny. His comparison makes my composure break, and I start laughing, hard. "You can't call me doughy!"
"No?" He's got this sexy little purr in his throat as he continues to press kisses to my shoulder, working my skirt up to the tops of my thighs. "But you like bread. You find it tasty."
"Yes, but you called me uncooked dough. That's different. That's—" I suck in a breath as his fingers slide between my thighs and go unerringly for my clit. "Oh god, that's the spot."
"Mmmm. No panties today. I approve." He continues to press kisses on my shoulder, even as one arm anchors around my waist, holding me in place as he fingers me. "For a female that says she doesn't like my flattery, I bet I can make you wet."
"I don't like your flattery," I manage to wheeze out as he traces delicate little circles around my clit, my legs jerking when he taps a teasing finger on the underside of it. "But god, I love your hands."
"I have another compliment I just thought of," he purrs against my shoulder, giving my skin tiny nips as he works his way back to the crook of my neck. "Are you ready for it?"
I whimper, because even as he says that, he pushes a finger deep inside me and nudges my thighs apart, adjusting his hand so I'm straddling it. Riding it. "Hit me."
"I...thought..." He chooses each word with slow precision, and each time he speaks, he works his finger in and out of me. "You...remind...me...of...that...tasty...bit...of...fat...in a...bite...of meat."
His teeth graze my shoulder and make me suck in a breath.
"And I love a tasty bit of fat on my tongue," Zhur concludes, and drags his tongue against the sensitive base of my neck.
It's on the tip of my tongue to tell him that calling me an egg white, or a bit of fat, or uncooked bread are all incredibly unsexy visuals. Thing is, I'm so fucking turned on right now that I'd be lying. I love that he's been contemplating my skin, even if the conclusions he came to are downright terrible. It's hard to be mad when you're being fingered, though. When he's pushing deep inside me again and then his thumb taps against my clit, sending zings right up my spine and making my toes curl.