Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 118459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
“We’ll eat and then I’ll help you clean it up. We’ll put her to bed and I’ll read her a bedtime story. I hope we’ve moved on from princesses by then. Then we’ll crawl into our bed together and I’ll hold you all night long.”
“Oh, Crew . . .”
I kiss her gently on the lips. Her eyelashes flutter and her body relaxes a bit.
“We’re in this together. For as long as I live, every battle you face is mine, too. And I promise you,” I say, leaning in like I’m telling her a secret, “I’m one helluva fighter.”
She giggles and it’s music to my ears. “Let’s go to bed,” I say, starting to lift up.
She sighs and I sit back down, rolling my eyes.
“She calls me Daddy. There’s nothing wrong with us sleeping together.”
We’ve been over this nearly every night that she’s been home since the night we were together. I don’t see her point; she won’t see mine.
“She calls you Daddy because you fill that role for her, not because we’re married.”
“Let’s fix that then.”
“Crew . . .”
I know by the look on her face I’ve pushed her and I feel like shit, in a way. But in a way, I don’t. I’m not kidding. In my head, this was the way things were always supposed to have been. It’s as natural as anything to me.
“You girls are mine, Jules. That will never change. As far as I’m concerned, she’s my daughter. And you are mine, like it or not.”
A hint of a smile appears on her face. She wraps her arms around my neck. “I am yours. And I love that you love her.”
“Of course I do.”
“I just want to give her time to get used to us being together before she wakes up and sees me in your bed.”
“Or sees me touch you or me kiss you . . .”
“This is hard for me, too, Crew. You don’t think I want you? You don’t think I want your hands on me, that somehow they don’t piece me back together? You think I like sneaking affection from you when she’s not looking? Because I don’t. I don’t like this at all. But I’m trying to be a good mother and not disrupt her chaotic life more than it already has been.”
I stick out my bottom lip. She leans in and bites it gently.
My hands wrap around her, slipping beneath her ass. “Let’s go,” I whisper. I grab her hand and stand up, leading her to my bedroom. I guide her in first and shut and lock the door behind me.
Closing the distance between us with a couple of wide steps I’m behind her before she knows it. I sweep the hair from her neck and she gasps a shaky breath.
I know exactly how she feels. Every time she touches me, every time I brush her skin with mine, it feels the same way. Like the very first time. It’s always that way with her.
Leaning close, almost touching her neck, I take a deep breath, breathing in her familiar scent. It’s intoxicating and makes me so fucking hard that I almost can’t stand the wait. I want to lick her, taste her, touch her, own every single fucking piece of her so badly that it makes my head spin.
She bends her neck, giving me more access. I lay a trail of kisses from beneath her ear gently down to the collar of her shirt. As I work my way back up, I raise her shirt and tug it over her head. My hands go to her braless breasts immediately, and then I pull her back against me, working her nipples with my fingertips, my tongue licking the silky skin right beneath her jawline.
She lets out a clip of air, her body melting into mine. I work my hips against her, letting her feel how hard she makes me with no effort.
I plant one single kiss on her cheek and turn her to face me.
Julia grabs the bottom of my shirt and draws it over my chest, tossing it to the side. She runs her hands over my body, caressing every ridge as she works her way down to the waistband of my pants.
I can’t stand not having contact with her, so I pull her into me, our bare chests against each other, and gaze into those deep brown eyes. “I love you,” I say with reverence.
She starts to reply, but I capture the words with my mouth. Our lips work together, creating sparks that light up my body. Her hands run down my back, mine entwine in her hair as I walk her backwards to the bed.
Sitting on the edge, I grab her behind her thighs and pull her towards me. I breathe her in again, not able to get enough of her. Her skin has beads of sweat dotting it and I run my tongue across her stomach, tasting the saltiness. I push her pants over her hips and she steps out of them while cradling my face to her abdomen. Her body rises and falls with her hasty breaths and it turns me on even more.