Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 105231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“My beautiful girl.”
She really wasn’t. But she decided she wasn’t going to tell him. If he thought her beautiful . . . well, who was she to protest?
“Hey, why does that make you cry?” he murmured, brushing away a tear.
“I just feel so happy,” she told him. “Like all of my dreams are being answered. That lonely, abused girl never thought you would touch her like this. Never thought she would be right for anyone. That someone might . . . want her. Choose her.”
“Well, I do want her. I do choose her. And she’s mine.”
26
Those words settled around her and she bit back a sob. She was not going to fall apart. That would be too embarrassing. But she did lean forward and rest her face in the crook of his neck as she wrapped her arms around him.
He picked her up, holding her cradled against him with his hand on her ass.
“Everything will be all right, baby. I promise. I’m going to take care of you. I’ll protect you. We will figure all of this out. The important thing is that we do it together. I won’t ever let you go.”
“Please don’t. Don’t ever let me go.”
“Such a beautiful, special girl. You’ve been through so much, haven’t you? But you’re not alone anymore. You’ll never be alone again.”
Caren wondered if he realized what those words meant to her. She guessed that he probably did.
Leaning back, she kissed him, cupping his face between her hands.
He wrapped his hand around her hair and tugged her head back. “We need to cool things down.”
“Why?” She pouted. “The bedroom is just over there. I think we need to heat things up.”
“You haven’t eaten. Breakfast is sitting in the oven and I have to feed you.”
“I don’t need anything. I’m not hungry. Well, for food.” She gave him a suggestive look.
He grinned but shook his head. “You do need to eat. You said you barely ate yesterday. I should have put this conversation off until you had some breakfast.”
“I’ve gone much longer without food,” she complained. “I can last another hour.”
Travis gave her a stern look. “You won’t be going without food for any length of time. I’m not happy that you didn’t eat yesterday. From now on, no more skipping meals. That’s a rule.”
He tapped her nose with his finger and she attempted to bite it.
“Stop that,” he told her firmly.
“I don’t think I want to have rules.”
“Well, you’ve got them. No lying.” He set her down on the counter once more and started ticking things off with his fingers. “No leaving New York without me. No skipping meals. You need to tell me where you are at all times. You need to promise to use your safeword if you are ever uncomfortable or in pain or scared. No going to anything like last night without me. No calling yourself an intruder or weird or anything derogatory.”
“Those are a lot of rules.”
“More will likely come up.”
More? Was he kidding her? Nope. He didn’t look like he was.
Sheesh, she didn’t know exactly what to think of that.
“I need to tell you where I am at all times?”
“Yeah, although probably easier if I put a tracker on you. I’ll get onto that.”
“A tracker?”
“Don’t look so worried, not one that goes under your skin.”
Oh, right.
Good.
Because that’s what she’d been concerned about.
“Wait there.” He moved away from her as her mind tried to cycle through everything that he’d just said.
When he returned, he held two plates of food that he put down on the counter. She slid onto a stool and he grabbed some cutlery.
Her stomach rumbled as she stared down at the food, but she couldn’t eat anything until she made sure . . .
“You’re sure you want someone who can’t cope that well with stress?” she asked quietly. “Someone who has the . . . quirks I have?”
“You went through a lot as a child,” he told her quietly, turning her to face him. “And if you have to cope with stress by filling up the kitchen with food or showering several times a day, then that’s what you do. But I’m hoping I can help you with your stress. Talking to your therapist will help. And if there’s anything she suggests that I should do . . . I’ll do that.”
“How are you so amazing, Travis Andrews?”
“Not that amazing. But I want to do whatever is necessary to make you happy. If that means getting rid of everything stressful in your life, then I’ll do that too.”
Yikes. She hoped that didn’t mean he was planning to permanently get rid of her mother. “Umm.”
To her surprise, he threw back his head and laughed. “I can see where your mind is going. Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch your mother.”
Okay. She guessed that was good.