Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“It would be great to see you too. I miss you, Sasha.”
“I miss you too, Mom.” But it was her choice to stay with my father after everything so this is what our relationship was reduced too. “I hope you come.” But I wouldn’t hold my breath. “I need to get back to work, Mom. Love you.” I ended the call before she tried to bring my father into the conversation again.
Dixie grunted which meant it was time for a diaper change and it was a sad state of affairs when that was a better option than talking to my mother. I realized what a horrible thought that was considering that Dixie may never see her mother again.
The front door opened and closed and my stupid belly flipped knowing that Alex was home. Down girl, none of this is real. Okay, the orgasms were real but those didn’t count. They didn’t come with love and affection, they were just physical urges. This was for his career, his image and for something that Jack had called his Q Score. This wasn’t about me, I was just convenient.
As always, my mere existence was convenient. For my parents and now for my fiancé. I needed to remember that.
“Hey, how are my girls?” Alex flashed a brilliant smile as he leaned against the door in the nursery.
“Good. Productive day at the rink?”
He shrugged. “Pretty good. You?”
“Fine,” I sighed. “I have three options for you to choose from for invitations.”
“Excellent,” his smile brightened and my heart leapt in my chest. “Thank you for taking care of that.”
“What are fiancées for if not wedding planning duties?” I picked up Dixie and handed her to Alex since she was reaching for him anyway. It was a good thing that she recognized his face and his voice, that she knew he was someone she could rely on because he was all she really had.
“Hey Dixie, you smell good.” He kissed her cheek and smiled affectionately at her and it was so damn cute I had no choice but to look away.
“Excuse me,” I murmured and slipped past father and daughter to give them some privacy. That was a lie, I needed a moment to get myself together. I couldn’t waste time nursing this crush on my boss and future husband, not when it wasn’t returned and definitely not when it could never be anything more than whatever it was at this moment.
That’s enough, I told myself. Alex was nice to look at, he was kind and this would be an easy two years of marriage.
Mostly.
“Hey, Sash,” Alex called out and I couldn’t stop the shiver at his use of the nickname he’d made up. “These invitations look great. All of them.”
I met him in the living room where the laptop with the invitations filled the screen. “All you have to do is choose one.”
He glanced at the screen, giving each one a solid fifteen seconds of thought before he moved on to the next. His smile grew and he went back to the second choice. “This one.”
My favorite one too. “I’ll send it to the printers now so we should have them sometime tomorrow.” My eyes darted around the living room in search of something else—anything else—to look at other than his gorgeous smile. “One more thing done,” I said as my gaze darted around. “Only about a thousand more to go.”
Alex laughed and set Dixie in her swing. “We’re almost done. Just a few more things to go and a month from tomorrow we’ll be married and this will all be a distant memory.”
“I admire your optimism.”
His smile brightened. “Thanks.” Alex took a step forward and then another. To the outside observer he resembled a predator as he slowly stalked his prey—me—who was powerless to outrun him or his advances. “What else do you admire?”
I laughed and gave his chest a shove but he wrapped one hand around my wrist and pulled me close. “Need your ego stroked, Alex?”
His smile was slow and fiery like a smoldering fire with a magnetic core that pulled me in. “It’s not my ego that needs stroking, Sash.”
My head fell back and I laughed and in the next second, one hand cupped the back of my head and then his mouth crashed down on mine, his tongue swept across my lips in a drugging back and forth motion that sent fire pumping through my veins. Back and forth he went until I couldn’t breathe and on that gasp, Alex slipped between my lips and his tongue laid siege inside my mouth, taming me into submission. I clung to his broad shoulders and pressed my body closer to his, hungry for more even though I shouldn’t be.
Alex’s hands roamed my body, admiring, no, worshipping my curves. His big hands cradled the small of my back, leaning me over just enough that I was completely at his mercy while he devoured me.