Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
I stare at her for a long moment, fitting the pieces together in my mind. Trying to imagine…but I fucking can’t. She was just a kid. No wonder Micah is so protective of her. No wonder he feels guilty. Jesus. He’s going to lose his mind when he finds out we’re married.
“But then he met Elodie, and she changed his mind,” Wren continues, a soft smile overtaking her face. “She made him realize that love is worth the risk, I guess. He’s so happy with her and Tatum.”
“Yeah, he is.” I clear my throat, uneasy about my decision to keep the truth from him for the first time. It isn’t right. I fucking know it isn’t. “Maybe we should tell him about us.”
Her gaze flies to mine, her mouth open in shock. “He’ll kill us both, Archer,” she says, shaking her head. Panic flits through her expression. “No way. We’re going to pretend everything is normal until we annul this marriage and then…and then…”
I stalk across the kitchen toward her, instantly pissed at how easily she talks about unraveling our marriage. “And then what?” I ask, stopping in front of her. “We pretend that we never happened? That we were just a mistake?”
“I…”
“What if I can’t pretend, little bird?” I tip her chin up, forcing her to look me in the eyes. “What if I don’t think we’re a mistake?”
“You don’t mean that,” she whispers.
“Says who?” I arch a brow, holding her gaze. “You feel what’s between us, Wren. I know you felt it at their wedding. You’ve felt it every time we’ve been in a room together since that weekend.”
“Archer, please,” she pleads quietly, desperately. But I don’t want to give her the out she’s begging for. I want her to feel it. I want her to see what’s right in front of her.
I growl, dragging her into my arms. My lips come down on hers. Like always, the kiss is explosive. We ignite like kindling, going up in flames together. She clings to me, whimpering. Melting.
“Deny it now, little bird,” I growl against her lips, hauling her up into my arms. I plant my hands on her ass, pressing her back against the fridge.
Her legs spread around mine, her head falling back. I grind against her, my cock nestled between her thighs, driving against her perfect pussy.
She sobs my name, her hands scrabbling at my shoulders, clutching me tighter. Clawing.
“Please,” she sobs.
“Please, what?”
“S-show me.”
Chapter Six
Wren
He knows what I’m asking, what I need. I need to know this is real.
His groan vibrates through me before he kisses me again, hard and deep. Like he’s trying to make me feel what he does, trying to brand me with his possession. But he doesn’t need to do it. I already feel it.
I’m just a coward. One balancing on the edge of a knife. And I’m terrified that I’m going to knock us off the side and get us swept away into something that none of us can come back from.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men…
I don’t want to break anyone I love. I don’t want to be broken.
But none of that matters when he’s kissing me. None of it matters when his hands are on my body. The only things that matter are him and the way he makes me feel alive in a way I’ve never been before now.
“Goddamn, Wren,” he growls, reaching for the hem of my shirt. His hands rake up my abdomen as he lifts it, only breaking from my lips long enough to rip it off over my head. The chrome of the fridge is cold against my back, but he’s searing hot against my chest. “You have no idea the things I want to do to you.”
“Show me,” I say again, not offering any resistance. I’ve spent a year thinking about a whole lot of things I’d like him to do to me. Dreaming about them. Getting myself off to fantasies of them. Now that the reality is within my grasp, I’m not shying away. Hell no. I want everything he has.
“Don’t tempt me, little bird.” His lips slide down my throat. “I’ll have you tied to my bed, surviving on my cock until you’re carrying my kid.”
My womb clenches, a wave of heat blasting through me. Good Lord. This man is going to annihilate any chance I have of surviving without him. I already know he is. Because I want his babies. I want everything he’s offering. It’s so damn tempting, like waving alcohol in front of an addict.
“I’m on birth control,” I blurt, trying to claw us both back toward sanity. It helps regulate my cycle. PCOS is a bitch.
Archer’s teeth sink into my throat before he snarls. “Think that’ll stop me, baby?” He kisses lower, ripping the cups of my bra down. “Throw the pills out.”