Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 94687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“Take off your mask,” he demands, sliding out of his. The steady pulse of music from outside is muffled, allowing for easy conversation.
I follow his orders. As much as I appreciate the anonymity, the air on my skin feels good.
He sighs heavily.
Why do I feel like I’m about to be scolded?
“First of all, I’ve never made you do anything, have I? I’ve never forced you?”
“No, but—”
“And you’ve enjoyed everything that I knew you would enjoy, right?”
“Yes. But I—”
“Okay, good. I’m glad we have that out of the way. Listen to me very carefully, Abigail.” Henry’s tone is cool and calm. “When I said I’m not sharing you with anyone like I did that night with Ronan, I mean that no one is ever laying a fucking hand on you ever again. Is that clear?”
I swallow. “Yes.”
“So that spectacle back there? Having someone else’s cock inside you? You don’t have to worry about me asking you for that because it’s not happening. Ever.”
I hesitate. “And what about you?”
“Me? I plan on spending an excessive amount of time inside you. Every day for the rest of my life, if it’s up to me—”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” I giggle, even as his words fan a wave of heat through the lower half of my body. “You’re in those rooms every year you come here. You said so yourself.”
“Every other year, yes. You weren’t in my life then.”
I falter. Okay, that’s somewhat of a declaration, but it still doesn’t ease my worries. “What about next year or the year after? What if you decide that’s something you want to do again?” What if, as Merrick so bluntly declared earlier, he’s bored? Why have one woman when he can have three? “I’ve never seen you so giddy. You’ve been like a kid in a candy store all night here. You’re telling me you’re just going to give up this lifestyle and not have regrets?”
He purses his lips, and I don’t know what is going on in his head, but I’m equal parts afraid to hear it and dying to know. When he finally meets my gaze, his blue eyes are piercing. “You still don’t get it, do you?” A strange look fills his face. “You have commanded my attention without pause since that interview video. I lied and manipulated to get you to Alaska as my assistant, I risked my entire future because I couldn’t stay away from you, I came back even after you shattered my heart.”
Henry’s never been so direct about how much my mistake hurt him this past summer.
“I feel like I’m on a fucking leash, and I don’t even care. There isn’t a woman out there who has ever tethered me like this.” His voice turns gruff. “You own me, Abbi. Everything that I have and am is yours, and that will never change. That, I can promise you.”
I fold into his body, pressing my cheek against his chest to feel the steady hammer of his heartbeat. “I love you so much. I’m terrified that I won’t always be enough for you.” As soon as I admit the words out loud, I accept how potent my fear still is, despite the ring on my finger, despite our conversations about this in the past.
“That’s not possible.”
“How do you know?”
He wraps me in his arms. “Because I’ve already had everything else, and none of it feels a fraction as good as you do.”
I sink into his warmth, reveling in it. I know what he means, the latter part, anyway. But will I ever feel like enough for him?
“Do you want to leave?”
“No. I am having fun.”
“Good. Because my favorite part is ahead.” He slides down his mask.
“Which part is that?” I would much rather stay in this little stall.
He grips my jaw between his thumb and forefingers and leans down to capture my lips in his. A whimper escapes me and he deepens the kiss, forcing my mouth open wide to make room for his tongue.
My hands smooth over his hard chest, reveling in his curves as I slide my palms downward, aiming for his belt buckle.
Just as quickly, he pulls away, stopping my fingers from their goal. “The part where I prove how I could never be bored with you.”
I slide my mask on and follow him out, my pulse racing.
“I got lost in a House of Mirrors when I was nine,” I admit as we ease along the corridor of reflections. The maze is draped in tulle and illuminated by red lights, and I’m already confused which direction to go. “I was convinced I was going to die there.” Jed didn’t help any either, running off to ride the Gravitron.
“You obviously found your way out.” Henry leads, one hand gripping mine.
“My father came and got me. I was sitting on the floor, bawling. After, he walked me around the structure outside and showed me how small it was, that they’d never lose me in there.”