Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
"Jesus."
"You asked if he hurt me. He didn't in the way you meant it." She wraps her arms around herself, shivering. "But yeah, he hurt me, Callum. I went to school with two parents and came home with one in heaven and one bound for hell. I haven't spoken to him since that day."
I stride across the small foyer toward her, unable to keep my distance in the face of her pain. She allows me to pull her into my arms, though she stands stiffly.
"I stopped believing in fairytales and happily-ever-afters that day," she whispers against my throat. "I never wanted to believe again. But...then there was you."
I tip her chin up until her eyes meet mine. "What are you saying, Firefly?"
"You make me want to believe in forever, Callum." Her throat works, her eyes bottomless pools I could easily drown in and never even miss oxygen. "For the first time since I was ten, I believe in fairytales again."
"Jesus," I breathe, my voice shaking. I feather my fingers across her cheeks, staring at her in awe. She's so goddamn brave. I've known soldiers who have cracked under a tenth of the weight placed on her delicate shoulders, but not Hope. She carries her trauma, her fears, the crushing weight of what's happening to her, and every responsibility placed on her with her head held high. She doesn't bow beneath the weight. She doesn't break. She soldiers on.
"I need you."
"You have me, Firefly. You'll always have me." I press my mouth to hers, sealing my promise with a kiss. The heat between us grows, flames erupting to life as soon as she presses those sweet curves against me.
"Then make me yours, Callum," she whispers, commanding me to give her what she wants. "Make love to me."
Who the fuck am I to tell her no?
Chapter Nine
Hope
Callum sweeps me up into his arms, pressing his lips to mine as he carries me upstairs to my room. I shiver in his arms, but I'm not cold anymore. The chill left me as soon as he touched me. How can it withstand the flame of his touch? Nothing can. I melt to him, igniting all the way to my core. Nothing but want and need.
"Callum…" I love you is on the tip of my tongue, but the words stick in my throat, caught there by the fierce devotion in his eyes. It turns the pale emerald lush, like Ireland…the land that still beats in my blood. It beats in his too. I feel it in him, the magic. The fiery spirit. The unending capacity for good.
He's all those things.
Rain pelts the tin roof of the old farmhouse overhead as he carries me into the bedroom, each drop sounding like the discordant note of a long-forgotten song. It's captivating. Or maybe that's just the man wrapped around me, his rich scent intoxicating my senses.
"If it weren't storming, I'd put you in the shower," he murmurs, sliding me down his body until I land on my feet in front of him. He runs his hands down my arms as if to warm me. "Pamper you the way you deserve."
"You already do that."
A crooked grin dances at his lips as he brushes my tangled hair away from my face. "Get used to it, Firefly. I plan to do a lot of it."
"I've never had that before," I admit, though I'm guessing he already knows it. "I might be bad at it."
He chuckles, his breath pelting my lips. "Baby, I already know you're bad at letting yourself be cared for, but that's all right. You'll learn."
"Yeah? You're going to teach me?"
"Mmhmm." He bumps his nose against mine, reaching for the hem of my shirt. "Starting right now."
Even though he saw me practically naked yesterday and had his hands on intimate places today, I still squirm when he pulls my shirt off over my head before tossing it toward the bathroom. It lands on the floor with a wet plop.
His eyes flare with heat as he dips his head, settling his lips against the hollow of my collarbone.
I groan, digging my hands into his muscular upper arms to keep myself upright as he sucks right there, licking up rain drops from my skin.
"Delicious," he breathes, reaching for the clasp of my bra. He unhooks it with nimble fingers, peeling the lace fabric from my body.
As soon as it falls to the floor, I grasp the hem of his shirt, sliding it up his hard stomach. He helps me pull it off over his head, tossing it in the same direction mine went.
I run my hands down his bare chest, marveling at the way he trembles beneath my touch. He feels me just as acutely as I do him. He aches for me, just as much as I do for him.