Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 44666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“Please, I need…” Biting back a whimper, I move to the pace of his hand, my hips straining for release. His skilled digits guide me to the peak, where I cling to the edge for what seems like an eternity before I finally…
Let go.
It’s an endless fall, an inevitable surrender, an agonizing renewal. My second climax of the night is more earth-shattering than the first, the waves trapping me in the throes, making speaking impossible.
Liam is not so silent.
“I’ll love you until I die, and then some.” His mouth presses against my cheek as he wraps his arms around me, shifting us onto our sides.
I’m still humming with aftershocks, but as the fire in my blood cools, I struggle to keep my eyes open. The landscape of my mind is blissfully empty, my limbs sated and heavy with exhaustion.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers. “Sleep, my sweet girl.”
7
Harsh, unrelenting light penetrates my lids, sending jabs to my temples. Even before I open my eyes, I sense the absence of melancholy grey beyond the windows. As sleep fades, the cloudless sky and snow-covered trees come into focus, and I blink against the glare, shifting under a royal blue comforter.
This isn’t my suite in the House of Aries.
The thought sinks in as my hand drifts to the other side of the bed. The sheets are cool to the touch, the space beside me empty. I sit up, clutching the blanket to my chest, and scan the room for Liam.
He’s slouched in a chair in the corner, head buried in his hands, elbows braced on his knees. Tension simmers in his motionless shoulders. For several seconds, I watch, silent as the morning, while fragments of last night take shape.
I almost jumped.
The memory slams into me like a wave, stealing my breath. Sleep dulled its edges, but now awareness washes over me.
What they say about the cold light of day?
It’s true, and brutally cruel in its honesty. A small part of me wishes I’d gone over that cliff after all.
“Liam?”
He doesn’t move right away, and the silence curdles something sick in me.
“Are you okay?” I say, though it’s an absurd thing to ask after what I put him through.
With a sigh, he lifts his head, and our eyes meet. His are bloodshot, rimmed with heartache and exhaustion. “I have no idea what I am.” A frown pulls at his brows. “How much do you remember?”
“More than enough.” Nausea rolls through me as I fold my arms over my midsection. The memories are blurred, softened by alcohol and sharpened by grief, but I remember the cliff. The bite of the wind, the sting of snow, the second I chose to let go. The moment he yanked me back.
And then later, when he made me unravel in a different way entirely.
Another kind of shame takes hold, heavier than the first, because what happened in this bed wasn’t just blind hunger—it was a betrayal to the man who will always have my heart, even though he’s…
Gone.
Liam and I stare at each other, the same unsettling memories hanging between us.
Fear. Anger. Desperation. Then finally…
Acceptance.
With every kiss, caress, and thrust, he’d launched me to the highest summit of grief.
The final stage.
And then, somewhere in the middle of it all, he’d dropped a revelation on me.
At the time, I let it slip by, too consumed with need to register his words. But now, with sobriety clearing my mind, they echo with clarity.
Marrying you is back on the table.
“So you’re back in the auction?” I force the question out before I lose my nerve.
“Yes.” Liam leans back in his chair, chin resting in one hand, revealing nothing.
“How?”
“As a proxy for the House of Sagittarius and…” Glancing away, he lets the sentence hang.
A jagged pang rips through my chest. “What does Landon think?”
Liam’s gaze snaps back to me. “What do you think?”
Even if I wanted to, I can’t respond. Nausea rises, unstoppable, and I shove the comforter aside to sprint to the bathroom. My bare feet slap against the cold marble floor before I fall to my knees and grip the toilet. The retching comes hard and fast, each heave leaving my stomach raw.
I feel him before I see him, his presence grounding me even as my body purges last night’s mistakes.
“That’s it,” he says, gathering the short strands of my hair, rubbing soothing circles on my back. “Get it all out.”
Minutes pass as the waves subside, leaving me drained and trembling. Purged of pride, composure, and strength, I sag into his waiting arms. I should move, put some distance between us, especially after last night, but I don’t have the strength.
“I don’t know how to do this,” he says, breaking the quiet.
“Do what?”
“Let you go for the next three months. It was hard enough doing it the first time.” His sigh drifts across my hair. “Now it’s unbearable.”