Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 72308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
I didn’t realize how much I wanted more until he reminded me that I couldn’t have it. It would always be this way, our clandestine meetings in the middle of the night, our dinners planned in advance, my kids never knowing about the man in my life and my man never meeting my kids. It was depressing.
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine. He couldn’t hear my thoughts, but he could see the emotions play across my face. “We okay?”
I cleared my throat before I gave a nod. “Yeah…”
“Good. Because I missed you.”
Like always, my knees went weak.
He moved into me, one hand sliding into my hair, the other moving underneath my shirt to touch the skin on the small of my back.
“I missed you too…”
His mouth sealed over mine, and he tugged me harder into him, lifting me slightly from the floor so my mouth was easier for him to access. The second we came together, a flush of heat hit me everywhere, my core and my limbs. My hands dove under his shirt and slid up his muscled back, my nails sinking into the skin like anchors from a ship.
He got me undressed as he kissed me, our mouths breaking apart so articles of clothing could disappear. His fingers yanked my hair out of its bun, and the strands came free around my shoulders.
When I pulled his shirt over his head, I felt the satisfied gasp escape my lips. He was so hard. Everywhere. A powerful chest strong like the keep of a castle. A stomach that could break the knuckles of a hard fist. He got me onto the bed, and like a mountain over a valley, he covered me with his darkness.
My ankles hooked together at the top of his ass as he pushed inside me, his big length like a drill to the center of the earth. He invaded me fully, stretching me, hurting me, conquering the land he’d already conquered many times.
God, it felt good.
In near silence, we moved together, my nails clawing into his back as I moaned against his mouth.
His pacing was slow and deep, and he made an extra effort to look at me, to kiss me, to take his time because there was no rush. We had the rest of the night. And the next night. And the rest of our nights.
13
CAULDRON
I drank my scotch at the bar, my eyes glancing at the door every few minutes.
He finally walked in, wearing a black bomber jacket and a tired look. He dropped onto the stool beside me and ordered his drink before he gave me his attention—because booze was more important.
We were the only ones inside, so I knew the stench of jasmine was coming off him. “You smell like a woman.”
He grabbed the glass from the bartender and took a drink. “I smell like Elise.”
“Midnight romp?”
He didn’t answer the question. “You look like shit.”
“This is how I always look.”
“You didn’t look like that a month ago.”
Not when Camille was in my life.
“You’re running out of time, man.”
“Running out of time for what?”
“For you to make things right. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, but absence makes the heart grow stronger.”
“What does it matter to you, Grave?” I took another drink.
“Because I want you to be happy, brother.”
Brother. He hadn’t called me that in a long time. “Her apartment is nice.”
He turned to look at me. “Did you stop by to say hello?”
I shook my head. “Not sure how she was able to afford it.”
He looked at his glass and took another drink.
“Any theories?”
He stayed silent.
“So, you’ve seen her.”
Grave wouldn’t give me anything.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
After a long silence, he finally addressed the elephant in the room. “She saved my life. It was the least I could do.”
A jolt of jealousy exploded inside me, but I kept it concealed within steel walls. “How was she?”
He swirled his glass, making the remaining contents spin in a vortex.
“Grave.”
“You want the truth?”
I swallowed.
“Devastated. Utterly devastated.”
The self-loathing returned in full force.
“You’re devastated too—so you should fix it.”
“Nothing’s changed, Grave.” I wouldn’t give up my livelihood for her, and if I didn’t do that, she would be tortured and killed just like my mother. I was incapable of loving anyone, and that had become even more apparent when she’d told me she loved me so casually, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to say, and I couldn’t even stand to hear it.
Grave gave a quiet sigh. “A woman like Camille won’t be a single woman for long. She’ll replace you. And she’ll replace you with a man thrilled to give her everything she wants. Then you won’t be able to fix it.”
I didn’t need a fortune-teller to let me know that would happen. It would hurt, hurt even more than my loneliness hurt me now. When I’d texted her, I’d hoped she would say something harsh, something to make my isolation more bearable, and she did. “Roan is officially in Paris. Now’s the time.”