Total pages in book: 167
Estimated words: 164838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
I hated that I was the fairer sex.
I hated that I hadn’t been able to fight back.
That I was smaller, lighter, and weaker than him.
But in that moment in X’s protection, I liked that I fit perfectly against him. I liked the sensation of him looking out for me. I liked that I could surrender to him all because I knew he would keep me safe.
“Get some sleep, Lori,” he purred, soft and hypnotic.
I yawned and scooted my way down his firm, toned body until my head rested on his lower belly.
Shifting me a little, he stole my pillow that I was no longer using and placed it behind his head. Angling himself so he wasn’t sitting upright but wasn’t fully lying down, he ran his fingers through my hair.
The first jolt of him touching my scalp where Milton had torn out chunks made me gasp.
He stopped immediately. “If there are places I shouldn’t touch, just tell me. Don’t suffer through it because you don’t want to be honest.”
Nodding, I forced myself to lose my sudden shyness and put my hand on his stomach.
His heartbeat pounded loud beneath my ear, and I smiled at another surge of power.
“You weren’t lying when you said you have a crush on me,” I whispered.
He laughed abruptly. “Am I shaking that much?”
“Your heart is racing.”
His fingers feathered to my neck beneath my ear. Finger-mark bruises still collared me and I could barely touch that part of myself without suffering flashbacks, but X’s touch was exquisitely soft. Endlessly gentle. Just a worshipping caress in the night.
I shivered as he pressed two fingertips to a pulse point there. He didn’t speak for a moment. “I’d say yours is going just as fast.”
Sifting his fingers through my hair again, he sucked in a breath. “Is this okay?”
My eyes closed, sinking into his petting. “Yes.”
“You’ll tell me if I do something that unsettles you?”
“I promise.”
“In that case, close your eyes and let me restore your faith in men.” He sniffed as if scowling beneath his mask. “Let me undo everything he did.”
His fingers drifted like warm water droplets over my head, and I couldn’t fight it anymore.
My eyes closed.
In a few seconds, I was asleep.
* 22 *
Zander
Nothing Like a Cat Gift
I WOKE TO MY ALARM BLARING ITS horrible foghorn alert, injecting me with an unhealthy amount of adrenaline.
Everything ached. My brain ached. My body ached. My cock throbbed with morning wood. I couldn’t get my bearings. The light was all wrong. The scent far more floral than my usual clean laundry fragrance.
What the hell did I do last night?
“Oh my God!” a woman groaned. “What is that awful noise?”
I froze as last night exploded through me.
The kitten.
Sailor.
Her going to sleep on me.
I bolted upright, fighting to untangle my legs from hers and unthread my arm from beneath her shoulders. My fingers tingled with pins and needles, hinting I’d been sleeping wrapped around her for a while.
I’d been sleeping with Sailor.
Oh fuck!
Launching out of bed, my hands flew to my face.
My mask!
It’d fallen a little, clinging to the tip of my nose. Wrenching it up high enough to blind myself, I snatched my phone from where I’d placed it on the floor and killed the nasty alarm.
Six a.m.
I had surgery today. And I officially felt as if I’d been run over. Twelve times. By a train.
What with the kitten keeping me up, and then Sailor messaging me just as I’d gotten into bed, I was running on absolute dregs. Not to mention the fact that I’d put the blue-black rinse through my hair like Colin told me to, pinched a ridiculous fake piercing on my eyebrow, then fought my overwhelming dislike of wearing contacts to cover my bright green with muddy brown.
My parents tried to encourage me to use contacts after I got bullied at school for wearing glasses, but I’d never been able to put them in without causing myself serious harm. I didn’t like the scratchy feeling. And I didn’t like putting anything in my eyes—helpful or not.
Sailor sat up in bed. The covers slipped to her waist, revealing the same Sailor Moon t-shirt she’d worn when mixing her creams the other day. I’d found it sexy then, but now? Now, I found it horribly arousing. Especially with her hair tousled and eyes hooded.
Talking of eyes.
What if one of the coloured contacts had fallen out while I slept? What if she saw me in the light and saw past all the facial disguises that seemed utterly pointless but Colin seemed to think would trick all humans because we inherently sucked at looking at people.
“I-I have to go.” Grateful that a lack of sleep coated my voice box with some serious gruff, I yanked on my boots and stumbled toward the door. “I’ll see you later.”
No, you won’t.
This was the last time.