Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
After showing the officer out and testing the durability of the locks on the doors and windows, I skirt past the kitchen to let Alex and Regan know that I’m going to get JR settled in before coming to assist in preparing dinner.
Regan looks a little lost, but Alex is quick off the mark when it comes to defusing her. “She means to set it out, not cook it. Stop being so pedantic, Rae.”
“I’ll show you pedantic, Mr. Fancy Pants,” she bites back while following him into the den.
Once I’ve breathed out my nerves, I bang on the door of JR’s room with enough force to knock it down. I need him to feel the vibrations since he can’t hear them.
When he fails to acknowledge my request for entry, I curl my hand over the circular doorknob and turn. I’m not surprised to hear running water. JR is obsessed with showering. I’m unaware if it is a new obsession or if it’s something he’s always loved. We’ve yet to discuss matters not pertaining to cheating spouses, murderous families, and crooked men.
I can only hope that day arrives sometime soon.
I’ve unpacked half the clothes Isaac had Catherine pack for JR and me into the walk-in closet and drawers when the shower faucet switches off. Half of me wants to hide away from my problems, but the other half is dying to get them out of the way so we can move on to more pressing matters than JR’s wrongful belief I am ashamed of him.
I go for the latter when my inability to make a decision is overtaken by the creak of the bathroom door being pried open. After another big exhale, I spin to face JR. “There are clothes for you in the closet. I didn’t know if you free ball out of choice or not, so I asked Catherine to pack you a range of underwear. You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want. I just want you to feel comfortable.”
I head for the door, but before I make it all the way there, I remember how running from my issues with Cedric never made them any better. If anything, it made them worse, and the reminder has me twirling back around like a ballerina.
“And me wanting you to feel comfortable is the reason I said what I did today. They were going to lock you away, JR.” My voice cracks with emotion. “The last time that happened, the man I failed to protect came back into my custody in a body bag.” I swipe at the tears careening down my face, maddened they’re making me look weak. “I should have fought harder for him. I shouldn’t have let them take him.”
JR crosses the room so fast my legs are curled around his waist, and I’m pinned to the door I was about to exit by his large frame before the rest of my confession leaves my mouth. “He wasn’t well. Just moving him could have killed him.” I stare him straight in the eyes while confessing. “But I swear to you, I tried. I even stood in front of the door to block their exit.” More tears slip down my cheeks when I mutter, “But it wasn’t enough. They just pushed past me.”
The salt of my tears flavors our kiss when JR forgives me by sealing his lips over mine. This is a lush and gentle kiss, starkly contradicting to the man I portrayed him as in court. It shows although his last ten years were blatantly different than mine, they weren’t as horrifying as his first two decades on earth and that he’s capable of displaying love and being loved.
And that is precisely what I do for the next ten minutes.
I beg for forgiveness with my lips and tongue before the itch extending from my palms to the tips of my fingers becomes too prominent for me to restrain. They slip under JR’s borrowed shirt with a grateful sigh before they explore the rigid bumps in his midsection.
The raw energy our connection zaps through our bodies comes out with a moan. I love how responsive his body is to my touch. It’s like he’s been starved of touch his entire life, and even the tiniest brush of my skin against his is catastrophic to his senses.
As my hands exploration of JR’s body drops below his waist, he pulls me in closer, then drags his recently cropped beard down the vein throbbing in my neck. The tension is already blistering, so you can imagine how perverse it gets when he groggily breathes in my ear, “He w-wouldn’t blame you.” After pulling back far enough, I can see his eyes, he signs, “He wouldn’t even blame me. That wasn’t the man Cecil was.”
I rub at the groove between his brows, loving that a large brute of a man can still be in touch with his feelings. He’s not ashamed to display the love he has for Cecil in his eyes. He wears it like his heart—right on his sleeve for the world to see.