Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
I’ll do what I need, and anyway, Cooper is here. Dion, as much as we don’t like each other, I know he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. I hope.
I stop when I’m within arm’s reach of him, leaning my hip against one of the stools. “All three of you?”
The muscle in his jaw jolts. It was one of the first features I noticed on him. His jaw. Strange thing to notice, but that’s how prominent his is.
“Yeah.”
Brushing his shoulders back, he stands straight, finally looking directly at me. I almost wish he didn’t. The pigment of his eyes darkens, and in this second, they kind of remind me of the moss that grows on coral. Like nature fighting to survive. They feel almost safe.
“I know you’ve got Cooper, but while we’re gone, a couple of people will be coming over too. Just to house-sit, so you don’t have to do anything.”
I fold my arms in front of me. “Okay.” It’s not like I can say no. It’s not my house, and I’m not ready to go back to mine yet. I may never be.
“That’s all?” He does that head tilt thing again, and I silently want to slap myself for finding it attractive. For finding everything he does attractive. Sparrow Dixon isn’t mine to pine after. I know this. Someone like him would never want a kid like me.
“Sure, why not? They’re not serial killers, are they?” I joke, tying my hair into a high pony.
Sparrow doesn’t flinch, but the corner of his mouth curls up in a slight smirk. “Not them, no.”
I roll the ring on my forefinger. The closer he gets, the more I begin to wonder if the longer we’re around each other, the harder it becomes to breathe. I’ve tried ignoring the way each of them makes me feel. Trapped in a haze of confusion. Lust. Need. And hate. My mind hates them, but my body isn’t getting the memo.
I sidestep away from him, needing to keep myself on track. I just want to go out and ride, and not the one who looks delicious in a suit. A hand touches mine, and heat sparks from the connection, sending off a riptide through my veins.
I turn over my shoulder, annoyed at myself for not pulling from his grip before he could let me go.
The muscles on the edge of his jaw bounce before he shakes his head. “While we’re gone, I need you to call me if you need anything. No one else, do you understand?”
“Yeah?” I swipe my hand down my thighs to wipe off the sweat. Why the fuck does he make me nervous? “Just you or any of you?”
He blinks, leaning on the counter. His fingers tap against the marble, and I don’t know if the wind picked up or if it is the way his eyes move over my body, but a shiver rolls down my spine. “When you say any of us, are you asking me if you can call any of us three?”
My eyes fall to his chest tattoo before coming back to his. “I guess so, yes?” What the hell else would I be asking him?
Moments pass until I think he’s not going to say anything else.
“What do you think has happened up until this point?”
I see movement out of the corner of my eye and look up to see Malyk leaning against the wall. He’s dressed in all black, with heavy combat boots on his feet and a scarf covering half of his face.
Even with him covered from head to toe in all black, I swear I can feel his eyes on mine. Beneath the shadows of the corner and the dim kitchen light, I can feel him, and just like Sparrow, it entices me in a way that I find myself chasing. Kind of like kissing your crush for the first time—and then finding out he’s not who he seems. There’s an air of danger that dances between the steps of Malyk, and I’m not sure if I’m brave enough to see what exists there.
“I think—” I say, looking back down to Sparrow.
The fact that Sparrow didn’t move at the new intruder in the corner means that he knew it was Malyk. Someone like Sparrow isn’t someone who can be surprised. He either knows you’re going to be there or eats you upon arrival.
“I think that I participated in a weird game that seems to be part of the new stories being whispered about this town and have blanked out a lot of whatever this is.”
Sparrow shifts, casting a quick glance over his shoulder before resting back on me. “That’s about right.”
I shift on my other foot. “But then you sent me on a mission that led to an island I thought had been abandoned since, I don’t know, the 1500s—”