Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 96(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19157 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 96(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Something possessive and primal roars within me at the thought of other people seeing my brand on her. Me staking my claim.
"You feel so good, Em. So fucking good around my cock."
"Harder. Please, Alex, harder and deeper."
Her wish is my command, and I drive into her with more force, taking her with hard, merciless thrusts. The sound of skin slapping skin mixes with the shower spray and her continuous moans.
Emily, apparently, knows to give as much as she's getting.
She tightens her arms around me and circles her hips once, twice. My rhythm falters because I can feel the jolt in my spine. Fuck me. My woman has claws.
Emily takes that as encouragement, and she starts bouncing on my lap, riding me and doing something magical with her hips.
I'm hanging by a thread, so I grind my teeth and stop moving, giving her all the control. It doesn't even take more than a minute when she stiffens in my arms and bites my shoulder.
"Alex, I'm—"
Her inner muscles clamp down around me as she comes, shattering in my arms in a torrent of cries and spasms. At the same time, an explosion of sensations tear through me, blinding sparks lighting the darkness behind my eyes.
I thrust once, twice more, then bury myself deep as my orgasm hits, my body responding to her in thick, liquid pulses.
"Emily," I groan, hips stuttering as I empty myself inside her.
We stay locked together, catching our breath, and she clings to me in shuddering spasms. I keep her supported, afraid her legs won't hold her. Finally, I ease out of her and set her down gently, steadying her when she wobbles.
I kiss her forehead and reach for the soap. "Okay, we're taking a shower for real this time."
Emily gives me the sweetest smile and plants a kiss on my mouth. "That was the plan before you attacked me."
"Excuse me? I attacked you?”
“Neanderthal, remember?”
After the shower, Emily wears one of my t-shirts and a pair of boxers. Something warm and unfamiliar spreads through my chest at the sight of her in my clothes. "I'll walk you next door."
She laughs. "It's literally ten feet away."
"Still walking you."
The hallway feels cool after the warmth of my apartment. Emily's bare feet pad silently on the worn carpet, but the sound of heels clicking on the stairs makes us both turn.
Another tenant from the ground floor appears, the one always trying to talk to me and couldn't take a hint. She has blonde hair, and that's pretty much the only thing I remember about her.
"Oh, hey Selena! Good morning," Emily says.
Ah, so that's her name. I always tune her out when she talks to me, and I never really bothered learning who she is.
Selena's gaze takes in everything—Emily's damp hair, my t-shirt hanging almost to her knees, the boxers peeking out beneath. The marks on Emily's neck that I deliberately left.
Her smile looks tight. "Morning, Emily. Alex."
I nod once in acknowledgment but don't smile.
Something about Selena has always set off warning bells. Can't pinpoint exactly why, but I trust my gut. She's tried approaching me multiple times—in the lobby, by the mailboxes, in the elevator. Always with that fake smile. I shut it down each time with monosyllables, silence, and distance.
Selena rakes her gaze along Emily's outfit and laughs. "Cute outfit, Em. Very ... borrowed."
Emily laughs too, but it sounds uncomfortable. "Yeah, we went running, and I didn't have clean clothes, so—"
"You went running? That's so unlike you. I mean, you usually avoid exercise. Your only favorite physical activity is walking from your bed to your fridge."
The comment lands wrong, and at first, I'm not even sure I heard her right. Something in Selena's tone makes it less of a joke and more of a nasty comment.
"Although I guess you earned it. I saw you at the bakery earlier."
Emily shifts beside me. "Yeah, Alex bought me some pastries."
"Why? You can't afford them now?" Another laugh that doesn't reach her eyes. Emily's smile falters. "I'm kidding, obviously. You can eat whatever you want. It's not like you're trying to impress anyone anymore."
Emily's laugh sounds forced. Nothing like her rich laughter with me. "Right, yeah."
"So you got her to run?" Selena asks me. "I'm impressed. Emily usually can't make it around the block. Did she actually finish, or did you have to carry her?"
"She did fine," I say, voice flat. "Even if she didn't finish, I could have easily carried her with one arm."
"That's generous of you to say. She's lucky to have someone so ... patient and understanding with her. Anyway, I have to run. Just came to say hi and ask about your Valentine's Day, Em, but I now have my answer. You two have fun."
Silence hangs in the air after she leaves. My vision went red for a few seconds back there, and I'm still trying to cool my anger down. I walk Emily to her door and wait as she unlocks it. "You shouldn't let her talk to you like that, Em."