Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 61542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“When I told you to come with me and you did, you were mine,” Adam says. He lightly runs the tips of his fingers down my upper arm. “When I told you to get naked and you did, you were mine.”
His touch leaves a trail of little goosebumps on my sensitive skin. It hasn’t escaped his attention. He smirks as he rests a hand on my knee.
“When I told you to spread your legs and you did it—” his hand travels up my thighs over my jeans “—you were mine.”
I swallow, but the lump in my throat remains.
Adam lifts his hand up to caress my cheek. “And when you had my baby, you were mine.”
Adam
Her lips part, but no words come out. She just sits there, staring at me with eyes that tell me everything I need to know.
There's anger there; maybe even outrage. There's evidence of shock. But she's also intrigued. And her rapid, shallow breathing tells me she's aroused, too.
Her cheeks have filled with color. As I run my hand over her denim-clad thigh, she parts her legs for me—only slightly, but I’m watching her like a hawk so nothing escapes my attention.
But most importantly, she hasn’t said no to any of my assertions.
I just told her she was mine and I knew the baby was mine, too. That second one was a bluff, but she doesn’t need to know that.
Her stunned silence is all the evidence I need to confirm all my suspicions.
Sawyer and William are still in the adjacent living room. I can hear some cartoonish voices from the TV, as well as the giggles from William—my son.
Jesus. My son. That sounds so weird. But I guess I’m going to have to get used to it.
I’d already decided, long ago, that I was going to be there for any kids I have. I’m not going to disappear like my dad did. I mean, it’s not like I miss him or anything, but it was really hard for my mom to raise me on her own.
And besides, even if the kid weren’t a factor at all, I was already going to find Katie and make her mine again.
But now . . . After seeing William, my resolve has only grown stronger.
I’ve decided. I’m going to make Katie and William mine. We’re going to be a family.
First, though, I have to convince Katie it’s a good idea.
“He’s mine, isn’t he?” I ask. I need her to say it, even if I already know the truth.
Katie hesitates, and for a moment, I see a storm in her brown eyes, clouding them over. But then, she shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“I’ve never bothered to find out. He could be anyone’s.” Katie looks away before guardedly glancing at me. She’s lying.
It’s understandable that she wouldn’t believe me since we haven’t seen each other in three years, but I need to find out for sure. I have the right to know, don’t I?
“I don’t think you’re telling the truth, kitten.” I trap her gaze and watch her squirm in her seat.
“Well, maybe I don’t think you’re telling the truth either,” she says after a long silence.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean I don’t know you. You claim to have met me at The Succubus, but you could be lying about that. And even if that’s true, we still have only met once.” Staring straight into my eyes with bravado, she repeats, “That’s what I mean. I don’t know you.”
The corners of my lips tug up into a smile. She’s sassy. I kind of like that.
“You can stop lying to me now. I can see right through you,” I say.
“You don’t even know me,” she snaps.
Just then, a heart-breaking wail breaks out, and I turn to look for the source of the sound. Before I can find it, the wooden legs of Katie’s chair drag on the floor as she gets up and rushes to the living room.
William’s crying, and Katie, the good mom that she is, rushes to check on him.
My son’s crying, and his mom’s doing everything a good mom would.
I’ve always wanted a family of my own. Maybe it’s because growing up, it was just my mom and me. Maybe it’s some irrational urge to prove myself different from my dad.
Regardless, the scene unfolding in the living room right now, of Katie comforting a crying William, is the one I’ve always yearned for my whole life.
And now that I’ve found it, I’m not going to just walk away from it.
I stand in front of Katie’s bathroom vanity, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The vent fan whirrs noisily—good; that should somewhat cover the sounds I’m inevitably going to make.
Okay, that didn’t come out right. Just to clarify, I’m not doing a number two.
I turn my attention to the screen of my phone again.