Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“Yeah. It was good.” She sat down on the edge of his big bed and started to reach for the lamp on the nightstand.
“Don’t turn it on,” he said quickly. He took an audible breath. “I would rather do this with the lights off, please.”
She felt her whole body stiffen at the words and what she thought they might mean. “Do what? If that was your way of keeping me calm in front of the guests so you could fire me in private, I swear we’re going to have trouble, Joshua. You kissed me. You can’t kiss me and fire me.”
His hand found her arm, tugging her down to the mattress. “No, baby. I’m not going to fire you. I know I should. I know that would be the selfless way to go, but I’m not selfless when it comes to you. I’m a selfish bastard and I can’t send you away. Not even for your own sake. That means I have to tell you the truth and give you a chance to leave of your own volition.”
She lay down beside him, facing him, their legs brushing against each other. “Will you kiss me first?”
Even in the low light she could see those gorgeous lips curling up in a self-satisfied smile. “You are obsessed with kissing.”
“I’m obsessed with you kissing me.”
His hand came out, smoothing back her hair. “I’m not good at it. Oh, I’m great on screen, but that’s someone else. I have to figure out how I kiss.”
“All this time and no personal kissing? How did you learn to do it on screen? And what’s the difference?”
“I was nineteen when I made my first movie,” he started. “I was supposed to kiss this actress. She was my age and gorgeous. I got sick at the thought of kissing her.”
“That must have done a number on her ego.”
“Oddly not. Even then Alicia was pretty cool.”
“Alicia Kingman?” She was one of the hottest actresses working in Hollywood. “I guess I haven’t seen that one.”
“It was a small indie film. Anyway, Alicia is a sweetheart as long as you’re not involved with her. Great to her friends, a horrible romantic partner, but she asked me if it was girls I was opposed to as a whole or just her. I told her I’d never kissed anyone. At all. And she taught me how to kiss for the screen. It’s different. You have to be aware of what it’s going to look like. I don’t think it’s that way when you really kiss someone. I want to put my tongue in your mouth, and I won’t give a shit that it doesn’t look delicate and romantic. I want to eat you up with no thought past getting inside you and taking you hard so you remember who you belong to.”
He said all the right things. “I think you have the principles down pat. Now you simply need to put them into use. You know what they say. Practice makes perfect.”
He was quiet for a moment. “You might not want to kiss me after I tell you my story.”
She wasn’t stupid. She reached out for him in the darkness. “I know someone hurt you when you were young. Maybe more than one person. And I would bet it was sexual abuse, but it doesn’t matter. Josh, I will still kiss you. I will kiss you because I’ll be grateful you survived. I’ll kiss you because I’ll want to take away the pain even though I know I can’t. I’ll kiss you because I think we belong together, you and I.”
“Who the fuck are you?” He whispered the question, but there was awe in each word. “Sometimes I’m absolutely sure you’re too good to be true.”
Before she could answer, his lips were on hers, tentative at first, and then moving with more confidence. She submitted utterly, letting him take his time. He explored her lips, brushing against them over and over until she finally felt his tongue drag along her lower lip. He tasted her slowly, as though trying to find his way. He sucked her bottom lip gently between his teeth, nipping her and sending sparks through her body.
His hands tightened and she was suddenly flush against his body as his dominant nature seemed to take over. One big palm found its way to the back of her head, holding her still as he feasted on her lips. His tongue surged into her mouth, taking over and making her shiver with pure desire.
And then he was done, breaking off the kiss but holding her close to his body.
“I’m not going to tell you everything. I don’t want to relive it. I know this sounds weird because I was against sleeping with you, but I want this to be our bed, and it’s sacred. I want it to be a place where it’s only the two of us and no one else gets in.”