Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
We were married. It hadn’t been in a church, and my family hadn’t witnessed it happen, but those things didn’t make it any less true. Otto Hawthorne was my husband. The shame and anxiety that had surrounded our physical relationship was no longer a factor.
There wasn’t anything shameful about being aroused by my husband. There wasn’t anything to fear. Marital relations were not only acceptable, but important. The memory of my mom, grimacing as she’d said those words, hit me out of nowhere. I shoved it away.
“There’s a fuckton of buttons on the back of this dress,” Otto muttered against my mouth, nipping at my bottom lip.
“They’re just for show,” I said, squeaking as his hand tightened on my butt. “There’s a zipper.”
“Thank God.”
I closed my eyes as he kissed me and his hands went to the nape of my neck, searching for the zipper tab. It took only seconds before he was sliding it slowly down my spine, careful not to catch my hair. I was focused on his lips and the way his tongue slid against mine, making my legs go weak, but I couldn’t stop the sigh that left me as the pressure around my midsection lessened. The dress fit me, but it hadn’t been made with pregnancy in mind, and had been just a smidge too tight around my belly.
Otto pulled away, and as he took a small step backward, he peeled the dress forward off my shoulders and down. Inch by inch.
I swallowed hard and watched his face, his eyes intent on every sliver of skin exposed.
“You’re tryin’ to kill me,” he breathed when the dress dropped below my breasts. “You’ve been wearing that under all those church girl clothes?”
I huffed and glanced down at the lacy white bra. “No. It’s new.”
“Just for me, then,” he said, his lips tipping up at the corners. “I approve.”
He moved more quickly after that, pulling the dress down to my knees and helping me step out of it. He walked a few steps to the table and hung my dress over the back of a chair before turning to face me again.
“One of these things ain’t like the others,” he joked, looking me over.
I glanced down, taking in the lacy bra and underwear, thigh-high stockings, and fuzzy slippers. I shrugged. I wasn’t taking them off.
“You’re fuckin’ incredible,” he said, still standing halfway across the room. “Holy hell, Esther.”
I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as he took his time, his eyes slowly moving from one part of me to the next. Without a word and without taking his eyes off me, he slid the leather vest off his shoulders and laid it on top of my dress.
“You looked nice today,” I said hoarsely, more to fill the charged space than anything else.
“Thanks,” Otto murmured, unbuttoning his shirt.
As he peeled it off, I watched the muscles in his chest move and contract. My tongue felt stuck to the roof of my mouth.
I wasn’t sure what he was doing with this slow undressing. Everything between us up to that point had been frantic and fast, but I couldn’t dispute the way it made my entire body heat.
He kicked off his boots and raised an eyebrow at me, but I stubbornly left my slippers on, making him chuckle.
Then his pants were off and desire hit me so hard that I felt a little lightheaded as he bent down to pull off his socks.
“What’s on your back?” I breathed, catching a glimpse of something at the back of his neck.
“Oh, right,” he murmured, turning so I could see the whole tattoo. It was some kind of logo, and it was huge, but before I could see what it said, he’d turned to face me again.
“Club tattoo,” he informed me easily. “Didn’t have it when we hooked up.”
“Did it hurt?”
“Not too bad.” He smiled and my knees almost buckled.
Otto was thick. His arms and chest and thighs were all corded with muscle. I’d seen him mostly naked before, but there was a huge difference between catching glimpses of someone in the dark and watching them stride toward you under the bright lights of the kitchen in nothing but their underwear.
My heart raced, but I didn’t even realize how nervous I was until Otto reached me, leaning down to pull me into a surprisingly platonic hug.
I sagged against him.
I’d been pushing back every emotion I could, getting by the same way I had in the cabin by focusing on the next thing to be done. Instead of focusing on choosing meals and cutting firewood and exploring a new section of the woods, I’d been preparing for the next time I’d see Otto, keeping all of my things neatly packed in his parents’ guest room, trying to put my best foot forward with his family. I hadn’t allowed myself to wonder if my family noticed I was missing yet or how they would react to the fact that I’d married someone outside the church. I hadn’t let myself even consider the consequences once I’d agreed to marry Otto because I knew what they would be and there was nothing I could do to change them.