Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“About what?” He grabs my hips, his fingers gentle but firm as he holds me close.
“I’m smashing you.”
He grins. “I like it.”
I glance out the window, but I have no idea where we are or how much longer it will be before we pull up to his house. “Do we have time?” I slide my hand between our bodies and stroke his erection through his pants.
“We have all night,” he says, just as the driver makes a turn that brings us into a big, circular drive.
The sight of this huge house steals my smile. I want to be confident enough that Alec’s world doesn’t faze me, but I’m not. Big money ruined my family. Ruined my brother. It terrifies me.
I slide off Alec’s lap and situate myself on the seat next to him, pulling down my dress as the car comes to a stop.
When the driver opens the door, I step out onto the stone pavers. The sight of the front door sends my heart racing as I remember the last time I was here.
The trench coat. The way Oliver looked at me. The nightmare feeling of realizing that the troublemaker half-brother Alec couldn’t stand was also the man who once stole my heart.
“Why do you look like you’re about to enter a house of horrors?” Alec asks behind me.
I force out a laugh. Paste on a smile. “It’s a little intimidating.”
“It’s just where I live. Don’t read too much into it.”
It’s more than that, and we both know it. It’s a sign of the differences between us, proof that we live in different worlds. But he sweeps my hair to the side and presses a kiss to my neck, and I tell myself to forget all that. Just for tonight.
ALEC
This isn’t the first time I’ve wished I could sell my grandmother’s home, but tonight, as I lead Savvy in through the massive front doors, I’m feeling it more acutely.
Savannah, so hot and needy in the car, went cold the second she saw the house. How can I explain that this isn’t who I am? That I live here because none of us can bring ourselves to sell the house a sweet old lady loved so much?
“Do you want the tour, or . . .?”
She scans the foyer, eyeing the oversize curved staircase and the custom marble floors. I can feel her freezing up on me, all the heat from the car sliding away as she pulls into herself.
“Hey.” I turn her to face me and slide a hand into her hair. “Don’t let this place fool you. This is where I live on the increasingly rare occasions that I’m in town. It’s not who I am.”
She lets her eyes drift close, and I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “It’s just a reminder that this is a mistake. That we don’t work.”
I study her for a beat, my heart aching with how much I want her. Not just tonight, but always. “Do you still want this? To be with me?”
“Yes. But that doesn’t—”
I put a finger to her lips. “Close your eyes.” She obeys, and I quickly loosen my tie and slide it out from under my collar. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” The word shakes enough to communicate how hard that is for her. I want to understand that. To know everything that’s made her who she is. Everything that scares her and everything that makes her feel brave.
I place the middle of the tie over her eyes and secure it behind her head.
“Is this what I think it is?” she asks. Her smile is back, and the sight of it pulls some of this incessant weight from my shoulders.
“That depends. Do you think it’s a blindfold meant to distract you from this ostentatious fortress parading as a home so I can keep you focused on what matters?”
She laughs softly. Not all the way unwound, but closer. “What matters, huh?” She presses a hand to my chest and lazily skims it down my body. “And what’s that?”
I kiss the corner of her mouth then the edge of her jaw before cupping her breast through her dress. “Wait and see,” I whisper against her ear.
She shivers in my arms. “Have I ever told you that you’re full of good ideas?”
I hoist her into my arms, and she squeals. “I’m just getting started.”
SAVVY
I wrap my arms around Alec’s neck as he carries me into the house, and I will my mind to go quiet. I shove aside my guilt and shame and focus on tonight. On us.
Even if I tell him the truth—an if that’s beginning to feel a lot more like when—Alec and I don’t get forever. It would be too complicated and hurtful for everyone involved. But I’ve made my boundaries very clear, and he’s giving me tonight anyway. I won’t let anything ruin this gift.