Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
It’s exactly the precipice I stand on right now.
Despite the nerves and fear, I never back down from a challenge and Kiera has been one since the night I met her. It’s among the top reasons I’m attracted to her and why intimacy is so fulfilling.
“You’ve got this,” I whisper to myself as I exit the car.
I don’t even make it up to the top step before the door opens. Emotions slam into me hard as I take Kiera in. Pure joy, lust, tenderness. There’s a low-level wariness as her smile is thin, but everything else about her is as stunning as ever.
“You’re beautiful,” I say, the words falling out of my mouth before I can stop them. Mom will be disappointed I put Dad’s advice over hers.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes too,” she replies.
I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do, but I move into her, wrapping her in a gentle but encompassing hug. Her arms go around my neck and her face buries there.
We stand that way for a few moments and I take note of how right she feels in my arms. I thought it might be weird or there would be a barrier, but even if I’m here for her to end things, this hug feels right. She and I have shared something many people don’t.
Kiera’s the first to pull away, but her hand slips into mine. “Come on in.”
She leads me over the threshold and once I’m in and the door is closed, she releases me. I follow her into the kitchen and she moves to the Keurig. “Want a cup of coffee?”
“Sure.” I say, mainly because I don’t know what else to say.
While Kiera works the machine, I ask, “How are you doing physically? Are things okay?”
She twists her neck, gives me a smile over her shoulder. “Yeah. I’ve had no problem, really. Spotting for a few days, but that’s stopped. I’ve got a follow-up with Dr. Segal on Monday.”
I restrain myself from offering to go with her. I want to but not sure she wants it, and I don’t want to pressure her about anything. I can’t forget she pushed me away at the moment we should have stuck together if there had been a solid foundation between us.
Kiera turns and hands me the coffee cup. She motions to the table and I follow her. It’s a square table with four chairs and I choose to take the one adjacent to her rather than opposite. I want to be close to her so I can touch her if the opportunity presents.
Placing her hands on her mug, she lifts it to her mouth to blow on the steam. My eyes laser focus on her lips and fuck… I miss them. I miss the way they curve when she’s amused or the way they pout when she wants something. I long to see them wrapped around my cock again, but I’d settle for them on my mouth.
She sips and sets the coffee down. Her eyes meet mine and I’m surprised by the contrition I see. “I’m so sorry how I treated you last week. There was no excuse for it.”
“You were hurting. I understand it.”
“I know. But now that I’m feeling… more grounded, I’m actually ashamed of how I acted. You were doing everything right in supporting me and not only was I ungrateful for it, I deprived you of the right to have the same back from me. You were hurting too.”
“I was hurting for you,” I say because I want her to know that while the loss of the baby pinched, my biggest source of pain was seeing Kiera tormented.
Her eyes fall away and I want to take her by the chin and force her to look at me again, but I know she has more to say and she needs to get it out any way she can. If she can’t meet my eyes, so be it. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Everything we had was a house of cards. We started building it fast once we found out we were pregnant and once that fell, it all came tumbling down into a big, confusing mess.”
I nod because that summarizes exactly the thoughts that have been plaguing me. “We moved fast.”
Her gaze comes to mine and she smiles. “Super fast.”
Despite her tone sounding amused, am I wrong in hearing regret? Is she focusing on a mistake we made because all her future decisions regarding us will revolve around that?
Moving too fast?
I latch onto that and roll with it. I want her to know I’m solidly with her… in whatever she’s thinking because that’s the best way for us to start over. “We’re two people who weren’t built for all that serious shit and then we floundered when shit got serious.”