Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
I leaned up and kissed her. “Shh. Don’t wake up Nicky. You don’t have to be pissed off.”
“I am pissed off. And I feel awful that—”
I cut her off with another kiss. I didn’t need to talk this out. Not with Savannah. She wasn’t the one who owed me answers.
“It was a long time ago. And you were glad to have me gone,” I said, meaning to tease. But her eyes filled again. Fuck.
“Not like that, Finn. I hated you, but not like that.”
“I know, Savannah. I know it wasn’t like that.”
I kissed her again, her anger soothing where her tears couldn’t. Until this moment, I had no idea it wasn’t like that. If you asked me back then, I would have been sure Savannah would shoot me herself if she thought she could get away with it. But holding her in my arms, knowing her so much better than I had back then, I realized Savannah didn’t have that kind of hate in her.
Wiping the side of my thumb across her damp cheek, I said, “I’m going to go see Ford.”
Her eyes flashed wide. “Really? When? What are you going to say?”
“I don’t know. Griffen said he’d set it up. I don’t know what I’m going to say. I think I just need to see his face. And I want to know if his story is the same as Haywood’s.”
Savannah sighed, nestling her head back on my shoulder, going back to tracing circles on my skin. I let my eyes close, sensing that she was done talking. Good. So was I. I just wanted to lay here, her warm body pressed to mine, the firelight flickering on the walls, and drift off, knowing I was exactly where I wanted to be.
We came together again in the dark, Savannah turning into me, her mouth hot on my neck, her hands teasing me awake. Without words, I rolled on top of her, finding her ready, her body welcoming mine, the sound of her pleasure bringing my own yet again. When I came back to bed after dealing with the condom a second time, she curled into me as if we’d been sharing a bed for years, sleepily throwing her arm across my chest and pulling me close.
I woke exactly on time, as I did every morning since I’d taken over the kitchens in Heartstone. The sky outside was dark, the fireplace off, the room chilled beyond the cozy warmth of Savannah’s body pressed to mine.
A part of my brain had already clicked into gear, planning the steps I’d have to take to get breakfast on the table. The rest of me didn’t want to get up, hating the idea of leaving this bed for my cold clothes on the floor. But Savannah’s alarm would be going off soon, and then she’d have to wake Nicky and get them both dressed and ready for the day.
It was time for me to go. I slipped from the bed, something tugging in my chest as Savannah’s arms tightened around me. “It’s almost time to get up,” I whispered in her ear. “I’ll see you at the house.”
Her eyes flickered open, a smile curving the side of her mouth. I brushed her hair off her face and couldn’t resist dropping a kiss to her cheek. “Go back to sleep.” Her eyes drifted shut, and she rolled, tugging my abandoned pillow into her arms.
I dressed in silence, creeping down the stairs and out the front door, closing it carefully behind me. It was still dark, sunrise hours away. The cold air took my breath. This time of year—just before Thanksgiving—the days could go either way. Crisp and cool, or warm and sunny, but in the hours before dawn, it was always fucking cold. I quickened my pace, making a note to grab a jacket the next time.
I didn’t hear Hawk until his feet crunched on the gravel path behind me, only feet from the side door of the Manor. Stopping, I waited until he caught up, not liking the thunderous expression on his hard face illuminated by the light above the door. Drawing to a halt, Hawk crossed his arms over his chest, glowering at me.
“If you’re going to keep this up, you need to get a key from Savannah. It’s not safe to leave her door unlocked like that. Locking the knob isn’t enough. I want the deadbolt on at the least. The alarm would be better.”
Shit. I hadn’t thought of that. Or the cameras I belatedly realized Hawk must have on the cottage somewhere. Fuck. I wasn’t trying to keep this a secret, exactly, but I knew without asking that Savannah wouldn’t want anyone to know. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I was surprised by the pinch in my chest at that thought. Did I want people to know?