“Stop moving, please, baby,” I whispered.
She lowered her hand back down as her brows furrowed. “You would cry for me?” The slightest curve graced her lips.
I shook my head with a dry laugh.
“Nova, I would do anything for you.”
54
NOVA
“Imissed your birthday,” I said to Wes as we listened to music on my couch. It had been two weeks since the Winter Wonderland party from hell.
Inara, rudely, had taken up residence in Wes’s lap, essentially making me the third wheel. Wes currently pet the calico with one hand and me with the other, his fingers raking through my hair as I gazed at him.
He nodded. “You also missed Thanksgiving.”
I flashed back to how I spent Thanksgiving and immediately shuddered.
“Wasn’t a fun holiday for me either,” Wes said softly. “I have much higher hopes for Christmas.”
Every so often, Wes’s gaze lingered on my shoulder, where a reddish-pink scar cut across my skin. The official story broke a few days after the incident. Roman had died in a boating accident. It was a fabrication that wouldn’t ruffle shareholder feathers, a clean cover-up and an open-and-shut-case.
“As far as getting shot with a gun goes,” I said, “I’d say that was the best experience I could’ve asked for.”
Wes rolled his eyes. “Too soon, Nova.”
“You’re not the one who got shot with a gun,” I said indignantly. “I’m allowed to joke.”
“Are you, now?” Wes asked, a dark edge in his voice. “Last time I checked, you weren’t the arbiter of what you are and are not allowed to do.” His fingers skimmed my cheek before gripping my chin. “Isn’t that right, baby?”
I nodded slowly, warmth pooling in my stomach. He so easily put me into a trance, a headspace I never wanted to leave.
My email pinged. I reached for my phone immediately.
Alas, I may have been Wes’s sub, but I also had other roles to play in this world. And Wes encouraged me to take up as much space and power as possible outside of our dynamic.
“Is it from her?” he asked, his demeanor shifting instantly from Dom mode to boyfriend mode.
I nodded, scanning the email as my smile grew and tears welled in my eyes. “She finished it. She loved it.”
I read and re-read the long, thoughtful email from my alpha reader. She’d already sent me a few updates, apologizing again for taking a while to start reading. Every update had been glowing. While she left suggestions throughout the document for plot points to clarify or improve, her overall assessment was wildly enthusiastic and encouraging.
My body let go of a long, soothing exhale. Wes gently lifted Inara off his lap to pull me there in her place. She trilled and hopped down from the couch in protest.
He beamed at me. “I told you, Nova. This is it. This is the one. Enjoy it, baby.”
I’d finally allowed Wes to read my allegorical version of our love story, played out by different characters with different aims and characteristics. The soul of the plot was the same, though, a parallel of the story Wes and I had written together.
“It’s not like I didn’t believe you…” I said as he held my face in his hands. “But you’re biased. And also not my target audience.”
“I read romance,” Wes defended, kissing my forehead. “But I understand. Soon, you’re going to have more proof than you know what to do with. Have you decided which publishing path you’re taking?”
I shook my head. “I never thought I’d say this, but I think I’m leaning toward a fully indie launch. I don’t want to wait. This needs to come out as soon as possible, and I…” I felt a surge of confidence flood my system that was foreign to me. After all these years of striving and working and reaching for a dream that always felt out of reach, I could see it now. Taste it, feel it somewhere deep inside me. “Ibelieve in this book, more than I’ve ever believed in a book before.”
“As you should,” Wes said. “You’re going to make the right call, no matter what you decide. I’m here to help with whatever you need.”
“You’ve already done more than enough,” I whispered, tracing his jaw with my fingers.
