Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“Do you.” His eyes hold mine, and then something shifts in them. “You always did run toward things without thinking. Some things never change.”
The barracks. The night before I shipped out. He’s not talking about the grenade and we both know it.
I don’t have an answer. I’ve never had an answer. That’s the whole problem—I want things I don’t know how to name, feel things I don’t know how to express, and every time I get close to the edge I pull back because it’s safer than falling.
But safety hasn’t kept me alive. It’s just kept me lonely.
The water runs behind the wall. The fire continues to hiss. Liam watches me like he’s waiting, and the hell of it is I don’t think he knows what for. I don’t think either of us does. I think he’s just here, the way he’s always just been here, planted in my head even when he’s been gone for years.
There are words. Actual, specific words sitting right behind my teeth. They’d crack this whole thing open, and part of me is desperate to let them out and part of me would rather walk into an active minefield.
The minefield would be simpler. The minefield has rules.
“I’m taking a shower,” I say abruptly.
Liam blinks. “She’s in there.”
“I know.”
He gets it. He gets exactly what I’m about to do, and for a second I think he’s going to say something. Stop me. Stake his claim.
He doesn’t. He picks up his wine and turns back to the fire.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hailey
The water isn’t cold. I’d meant for it to be. Cranked the handle all the way to the left, ready to punish myself with ice water for that little performance at breakfast. But Marlena’s luxury prison apparently doesn’t believe in discomfort, and even the cold setting runs lukewarm at worst.
So instead I stand here under a spray that’s slowly warming, steam curling up around me.
I tip my head back, letting the water run over my face. My cheeks are hot—water temp or arousal, I can’t tell anymore.
I’m reaching for the shampoo when I hear it—the soft click of the bathroom door opening.
My hand freezes. Steam billows thick around me, and I lean forward, peering around the shower curtain just enough to see a slice of the bathroom through the haze.
Knox is standing there.
“Door was locked,” I manage.
“Was.” He takes a step closer, his eyes raking over the sliver of me visible past the curtain.
He doesn’t have to say another word. I know exactly why he’s here.
I turn off the water and reach for the towel, wrapping it around me as I step out of the tub. Knox is leaning against the sink, his arms crossed over his broad chest. His eyes never leave mine as I approach him, drops of water trailing down my legs.
A smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth, and he reaches up, tucking a wet strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers linger, tracing the line of my jaw. I lean into his touch, my heart pounding against my ribs.
Knox’s eyes flare, and before I can react, he’s crushed his mouth to mine. It’s a fierce, demanding kiss, one that leaves no room for doubt or hesitation. I kiss him back with equal fervor, my towel dropping to the floor as I wrap my arms around his neck.
He lifts me onto the sink, his hands gripping my bare, wet thighs. He kisses me like a starving man, his tongue plunging into my mouth, his teeth nipping at my lips. His grip tightens, fingers pressing into my skin as he presses his entire body against mine. I can feel the hard bulge in his pants against my inner thigh.
There’s no turning back now. I don’t want to.
His hands leave my thighs, sliding up to grasp my waist as he pulls me closer to the edge of the sink, grinding against me. I can feel his heart pounding against my chest, matching the rhythm of my own. His mouth leaves mine, trailing hot, hungry kisses down my neck, pausing to suck and nip at my collarbone. I gasp, my head falling back, giving him better access.
His hands slide up my waist, cupping my breasts, thumbs brushing against my hardened nipples. I moan softly, arching into his touch.
“Shh,” he whispers as he places his fingertip against my lips.
Liam’s on the other side of the door . . . and for a moment I pause. A thread of doubt . . .
I push the thought of Liam away, looking into Knox’s dark, hungry eyes. He’s all I see, all I want right now. His fingertip slowly trails along my lower lip until it presses past my teeth, a silent command to keep quiet. I suck on his finger, swirling my tongue around it, tasting the salt of his skin. Knox’s eyes darken, his gaze locked onto my mouth. He growls low in his throat, a sound of pure, primal want.