Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I roll us until I’m on top, and the laughter dies, replaced by moaning. We infuse everything we feel into the sweep of our tongues. At some point, she breaks away, and even though she’s pinned underneath me, the seriousness in her eyes gives me pause.
“If you break my heart, I’m gonna break your dick, Ash.”
“Ouch,” I say, faking a wince to hide the smile that wants to take hold.
She socks me in the shoulder. “I mean it. Don’t you dare break my fucking heart.”
I surround her face with my hands. “I’ve wanted this for a long time.”
Her mouth parts in surprise. “What about all the women?”
“None of them were you.”
She blinks as if the passing seconds will make my declaration sink in. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why do you think?”
Understanding dawns on her face. “Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“No matter what happens, promise we’ll always be friends.”
“I promise, Sawyer. You’re stuck with me.”
We seal that promise with a kiss that turns into an epic make-out session.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Sadie
Ashton’s embrace is the epitome of security, and I cling to it as doubt and fear of the what-ifs try sneaking past my happiness. I told him I wanted more. I told myself I’d try.
Now I’m scared shitless I made a mistake.
But God. How can I not bask in the sensation of skin on skin, or find solace in the serenity that only the stillness of night can bring? Eventually, we fall into a peaceful doze, wrapped together in the sheets in the aftermath of lust and liberty.
Then something jerks me awake.
I don’t know what time it is, but the hotel suite is full of inviting shadows that whisper for me to lay my head back on his shoulder and let sleep claim me. But then I hear it again. Careful not to wake Ash, I sit up, blinking grit from my eyes, and search our surroundings for…something.
Something is making itself known, encroaching on my time in Ashton’s arms.
It’s a vibrating pulse that goes silent, and I realize it’s a missed call. The sound goes off again, this time only once, and my attention lands on his cell on the nightstand. I grab it without thinking, and I’m about to tap him on the shoulder when I happen to glance at the screen. I do a double take since I recognize the name on the text notification pop-up.
Corinne.
The blonde he took to prom. The girl I spied hanging all over him last month at his house during his roommate’s drunken birthday celebration. I tamp down the jealousy threatening to rise because Ashton has never hid his manwhoring ways.
But now those days are over. I’ve been his secret for a couple of weeks, except that’s about to change, too. We’re a thing now. He’s mine, and I’m his, and soon, everyone will know it.
So why is this bone-jarring doubt plaguing me? With fear squeezing my heart, I don’t question the wisdom of snooping through his phone. I get his passcode right on the first try. It’s the same one he’s had for the past year, and he’s never felt the need to keep it a secret from me. Once I’m in, I pull up the message from Corrine, and my heart thuds to the bottom of my gut.
Corrine: I need you. I’m at the ER. Something’s wrong with the baby.
I spring up in bed so fast the room spins around me. The abrupt movement wakes Ash, and he sits up too.
“What’s wrong?” Voice thick with sleep, he settles a hand on my shoulder.
I turn to him, evidence of my snooping in my hand, glowing in the dark. A dead giveaway, but I don’t give a shit.
“It’s Corinne,” I say, barely hiding the tremor in my voice.
He flips on the lamp on his side of the bed, and his focus lands on the phone in my hand. When he flicks his gaze up to meet mine, I hate the guilt I spy there. Wordlessly, he takes the cell from me, and his mouth melts into a frown as he scans the message.
My vocal cords are frozen. I can’t ask him what the hell is going on—all I can do is sit and watch while he calls Corinne.
Corinne…with a baby.
She answers, and I detect her panicked voice from where I’m sitting, naked next to Ash in the huge bed where we kissed and touched and admitted there’s something real between us. Where I fell asleep in his arms not two hours ago believing we had a future.
I’m gulping down the pain and fighting tears as Ashton’s soothing voice fills the room.
“Everything’s gonna be okay. I’ll be right there.” He pauses, and her high-pitched voice comes through the cell again, though I can’t make out what she’s saying. “No, just stay put. It won’t take me ten minutes, okay?”
She says something else, and he must have convinced her since he ends the call. Then his blue eyes are on me, dark and full of guilt but also a plea.