Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 77841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
I fear getting caught. I fear getting confronted by other people wondering where I've been for a month. I fear that my explanation wouldn't be enough.
Father has too much power for things to just be okay. I pause at the end of the narrow hole, hearing Liam close the door to the hidden room before replacing the back panel. I know we'll never get to come back here and that saddens me more than it probably should.
The second he clears the hole he picks me up just like he promised. I don't hesitate to wrap my arms around his neck and press my nose into his skin. When he squeezes me, I hold him even tighter.
Chapter 29
Liam
Federal agents or even those Blackbridge guys could be running up on our asses at any moment, but when she tucks her nose into my throat, I find myself slowing. I want this moment to last forever. I want to always feel the warmth of her body pressed against mine. I want her against me, touching me.
I’m not a man who lets himself hope very often. I'm a man of action. I don't often allow myself to wish for things I know I can't have. And Raya is no different.
She may have chosen to stay, but that doesn’t mean she's choosing me. And even if she chooses me in this moment, it doesn't mean she'll stick around. Freedom is a hard-fought thing for many people, and she's no different.
As I walk, I try to prepare myself for the inevitable fallout. She won't want to stay with me forever. She's eventually going to come to her senses and realize what a monster I actually am. Comfort in a secluded home isn't the same as having to run forever, and that's what we'll have to do.
If by chance she does choose me, if she wants to stay with me, we'll always be on the run. We’ll always have to look over our shoulders. I always run the chance of us being found. They’d return her home, and I’d be sent to prison. I'm fully in the mindset of let's just see how long this can last because giving her up a second before I have to isn't an option.
I feel the warm press of her lips against my skin. I swallow against the rush of emotions I'm incapable of handling right now. I look down at her, giving her a soft smile without actually telling her exactly how much I enjoy it. She doesn't return the smile like she often does.
The motion activated lights along the tunnel make it easy to see the heat and desire filling her eyes. But before I can tell her now isn't the time, her lips are on mine. I had the strength to pull back earlier, but the man with control can no longer be found.
Her kisses are hot and deep, full of a longing that makes me wonder just how long she's wanted it to happen. I've wanted my lips on hers since the moment I watched her down on the beach. Nothing is like the fantasies. The images in my head were incapable of describing the warmth of her body against mine. The way her fingers curl into the back of my neck is as if she's desperate to get closer.
I pull back and take a breath, looking down at her kiss-swollen lips.
“You stayed,” I whisper. “All you had to do was stay standing on that front porch and you'd be halfway home by now.”
She shakes her head as if the idea is ridiculous. “I'm exactly where I want to be.”
I kiss her again, holding nothing back. When she shifts her weight in my arms, I don't hesitate to turn her body against mine so we’re lined up in all the right places. The warmth between her legs isn’t hindered by the sweats she's wearing. The t-shirt on her torso does nothing to conceal her pebbled nipples.
Her hand snakes down the front of me and I groan with need when her fingers brush along my erection. She has proven she can make me come just by watching her and that same tingle threatens to embarrass me within seconds. I grip her hand under mine, stealing her movements as I look into her eyes.
“You chose me,” I say, and her smile is slow but sure.
“I chose you and I choose this.”
Her permission is all I need to softly place her on the ground and start pulling at her clothing. There are better times and there are definitely better places than an escape tunnel in the middle of the desert. But the urge to take what she's willing to give can't be ignored.
Her fingers work open the fly of my zipper as I take the tip of her breast into my mouth. Her skin is cool and firm. The perfect combination of all the things I love about a woman. Her sounds are otherworldly. A combination of whimpers and moans that arrow straight to my dick.