Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“Fine,” I snap, gesturing for them to get going. “We don’t have much time. The ships are closing in.”
“Roger that, General Dragon.” Lucy salutes me and nods for Gabe to follow.
“I’ll see you two later,” Gabe says to Allie and Rosie before following my second-in-command.
I step close to my wife. She doesn’t flinch away; she only smiles at me sweetly with pure defiance in her eyes. No matter what I do, she’s not going to change her mind. If anything, she’s going to fight me tooth and nail for every concession.
“You are going to our apartment.” I clutch her arm. “You are going to stay there no matter what happens. It’s safe enough.”
“I want to be with you.”
“I’ll come and make sure you’re settled, but I have other responsibilities. Like making sure your foolish brother doesn’t get killed.”
That softens her a bit. “Promise you’ll get him through this?”
“So long as I don’t have to worry about you as well. Swear to me you won’t leave the apartment.”
“I swear.” She sighs, getting on her toes.
“Then I promise I’ll keep him as alive as I can.”
We kiss fiercely before I drag her away from the command center and toward the elevators.
Rosie’s in a good mood at least. All the action’s keeping her entertained.
Distant booms pepper the night. Lucy keeps sending me updates as the battle progresses. Medved’s ships are moving into position while our gunboats harass and attack them.
“When the fighting starts for real, I’m going to have to leave you.” I pull Allie tight against me. We’re lying together in bed, the only light from flashes of firebombs out on the ocean. Now that Rosie is asleep, I can give my wife my full attention.
“I don’t want to think about that right now.” Allie touches my face. She’s so beautiful right now it threatens to overwhelm me. “Everything outside of this room doesn’t exist. At least for a little while.”
“You’re right. What more could I need?”
Another thunderous crash. This one sounds closer than the others. Allie flinches, eyes flitting to the window nervously.
I pull her chin toward me. “Don’t look away.”
Her eyes go wide and she nods. “I’m trying not to.”
We both know what those sounds mean. Each crack and boom means death is still coming. Allie knows I have to be down there among my men, fighting and killing and risking myself alongside them, or else I’m not worthy of my Dragon title. She knows it’s something I have to do.
But if I’m honest with myself here in the darkness of our bedroom, I’d rather stay behind.
I’d choose staying here in her arms a thousand times over.
Everything out there is for her. It’s for another chance at coming home alive to see my wife again.
Because if I don’t, this is all a ruin.
That doesn’t make it any easier.
Not for her at least. For me, the choice is simple.
Kill my enemies. Save my family.
But still, despite all that, I ache to stay with her more than I ever dreamed I could.
She presses her lips to mine. “Stay with me while you can,” she whispers, dragging me from my thoughts. “You don’t want me to look away. I want you to stay right here.”
“I’m with you.” I tug her tighter, burying her mouth with mine.
There’s only so much I can tell her. How she changed me for the better. How having Rosie in my home has expanded my idea of what it means to be a man. How Allie’s like the right-sized glove I’ve been searching for all my life.
My tongue dives into her mouth. She whimpers when another explosion goes off. I tug at her clothes, slowly undressing her, desperate to distract her from the noise and what’s coming. I kiss her neck, kiss her chest, suck her nipples, and pin her hands above her head.
I don’t say I might be doing this for the last time.
But we both know.
I don’t rush it. I kiss, suck, and lick my way down her silky skin, praising every inch of her as I go. I tell her how good she tastes, how hard she makes me, how I spend all my time waiting until I can be back in bed with her just so I can lick and suck and fuck her like this, over and over, until we’re spent and getting ready to do it again.
Every explosion makes her tremble, and I fight back the night.
I fight it with my mouth, my lips, my tongue. I tug her pants off, toss her panties aside, and lick her from bottom to top. I growl at her taste and try to keep myself from moaning as I slide my fingers deep into her tight wetness. Her back arches into me desperately. I fuck her with my fingers, sucking her clit, rolling my tongue in circles.