Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 107077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
How crazy would that be?
And how insane does that make me for even considering it?
I mean, come on...this is Asher Stevens we’re talking about. His name and monogamy are not exactly synonymous. To my knowledge, he’s never even been in a committed relationship.
Oh my god.
Who said anything about this being a relationship?
Committed or otherwise.
It’s official—I’ve lost my mind. That’s the only reasonable explanation for this lapse in judgment.
I blink back to the present when his teeth bite down on my nipple. There’s a flash of pain before pleasure crashes over me like a wave, threatening to suck me under. I’ll drown if I’m not careful. That’s what this man does to me.
“You like that, baby girl? Does it force you out of your head and into the moment?”
Fear spirals through me that he can read me so easily. If I wasn’t pinned to the mattress, I’d probably race from the room like my ass was on fire.
Thankfully, a response isn’t required as his lips trek further down my chest before arriving at my belly. I draw in a deep breath, trying to clear my muddled head. Instead, it remains fuzzy. Almost as if he’s able to stop the neurons in my brain from firing.
“Look at me, Lola.”
I don’t realize my eyelids have feathered shut until he growls out the demand. That’s all it takes for them to fly open and lock on his.
“I get that you’re scared. If I’m being perfectly honest, so am I—but I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
His words are like a punch to the gut. They steal my breath away like a thief in the night.
“How can you say that?” I whisper. “You have no idea what will happen in the future.”
His blue eyes grow so serious that looking away from the sincerity shining from them becomes impossible. “Because I’ve never wanted to take more care with anyone in my life than I do with you.”
No matter how I try to hold strong, those words are my undoing. The impenetrable walls I’ve fought to keep firmly intact come tumbling down, leaving me vulnerable and exposed in a way I’ve never been.
As difficult as it is to push out a response, I find myself saying, “All right.” I might be giving in of my own free will, but that doesn’t stop the icy-cold tendrils of panic and fear from rushing through my veins.
He stares as if he didn’t hear me correctly. “All right?”
With a nod, my teeth scrape across my lower lip. I can only pray that I won’t regret this impulsive decision in the not-so-distant future. I don’t understand how this can end any other way than badly.
Our gazes stay locked as he crawls up my body until his mouth is perfectly aligned with my own.
“Do you believe me when I say that I won’t hurt you?”
The question echoes throughout my head.
“I want to,” I tell him truthfully.
“I guess that’s good enough for now. It’ll just take time to prove that I’m a man of my word. I won’t ever lie to you. Do you understand me?” He presses a kiss against my lips. “And just so you know, I’ve never made that kind of promise to anyone. You’re the first. The only.”
When something warm blooms to life inside me, my initial instinct is to stomp it out. As tempting as it is to believe him, I refuse to get my hopes up.
“You’re doing it again.” When my brows furrow, he murmurs, “Thinking too much. We need to do something about that.”
And then he’s moving down my body, kissing and nipping before reaching my bare belly. His gaze stays pinned to mine as he flicks open the button and drags down the zipper. The metal teeth grind, shattering the silence of the room. My excitement grows, ratcheting up with every inhalation. I can’t help but tremble beneath him, impatient for his touch. He shoves the denim down my legs until I’m free of the thick material. His attention shifts to my core as I twist beneath him. No one has ever made me feel so restless.
Or achy.
As if there’s a fire blazing deep inside. One that will burn out of control and scorch me alive. Not once did it occur to me that sensations like these actually existed. I always chalked it up to the make-believe stuff that filled romance novels and movies. To think that Asher Stevens is the only man capable of rousing this kind of intensity blows my mind.
When he presses a kiss against my panty-covered core, it takes every bit of self-control to bite back the sharp moan that sits perched on the tip of my tongue. He’ll unravel me if I allow him to, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that just yet.
“You had to realize that one time was never going to be enough for either of us.”