Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“You risked your life for me,” I whisper. I’m enveloped in his embrace, with my head resting on his bare chest.
“I’m not alive, Wren.”
“You know what I mean. You put yourself at risk. For me.”
“Why wouldn’t I? You are exquisite.”
I close my eyes, feeling so much for him right now. “And you say I’m a risk taker. The demon could have taken over.”
“I wouldn’t have let it.” He kisses the top of my head. “If the choice were to hurt you or to walk into the sun, I’d already be burning.”
Stretching my arms over my head, I wipe away the sweat that’s dripping down my face. I’ve been lying outside tanning for the last hour or so, and I’m about ready to call it and go in. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to lay out like this. After all the excitement and stress from the last few days, lying still is almost boring.
And something is bothering me, even though I’m trying really hard not to let it get to me. It’s like putting together a thousand-piece puzzle and realizing you’re missing one piece. Yeah, the thing overall is complete, but it’s gonna drive you insane until you find it.
The demon is dead. Gone. An entire day has come and passed and there’ve been no mysterious deaths blamed on overdoses. The Camp Dogwood massacre is being attributed to ‘cult fanatics’ and the police are looking for leads that don’t exist. It’s the why that’s bothering me, and it’s something I need to just accept. We don’t always know the reason or even understand it when it comes to demons and their motivation.
The only thing worse than missing one piece of a puzzle is having that one piece be from a different puzzle and you’re left holding it, trying to jam it into place. Which is how I feel when I think about the homeless people here in Charlotte dying from demons using their bodies.
What were they doing? Why did the demon burn through so many bodies? Xavier suggested that the demon tried to access the Ley line here—in town—but couldn’t so it moved onto somewhere else, where it was secluded and the line was easier to access. His theory makes sense, and accessing different parts of the Ley line could have created a power surge, giving all his minions a boost.
But the Order? Why would they cover this up? Why recruit people just to feed them to demons? Why refuse to look into Camp Dogwood unless they already knew exactly what was going on?
The demon is gone. Dead. We watched it burn into nothing, falling to the ground and mixing with the soil to never be seen or even thought about again.
I make it only a few more minutes before I start to get overheated. I get up, wrap my towel around my waist, and go inside. Stepping into the air conditioning feels so fucking good, and I make a beeline to the kitchen to get something cold to drink.
Xavier comes out of the office as I’m walking down the hall to go upstairs. He catches me around the waist and pulls me toward him.
“You’re so warm,” he groans.
“It’s freaking hot out there. I’m really surprised you don’t have a pool. It would be nice on a day like today.”
“If you want a pool, we’ll get a pool.” He nuzzles his face into my neck, kissing my sweaty skin.
“We can do moonlight swimming together.”
His fangs brush against me and his cock starts to get hard. “I like the thought of that.”
“Want to help me shower?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows. “I am injured.”
“What kind of husband would I be if I let you shower alone?” Pulling the towel from around my waist, he drops it to the ground and runs his hands down the back of my legs. Then he picks me up and carries me upstairs.
We only make it as far as the entrance to our bedroom before we’re both naked, and I use magic to close the doors. Xavier fucks me against them and then he really does help me wash my hair since my left hand is still out of commission. I feel like an idiot for cutting myself so deeply, but I don’t regret it. Seeing Xavier on the ground, motionless and not healing was terrifying.
If I never see a man I care about injured and bleeding on the ground again, it will be too soon.
Xavier dries my hair for me as I sit at the bathroom vanity, which is so goddamn sexy. He runs the brush through my hair with so much care. He ends up fucking me right here on the vanity chair as well.
“I don’t want you to go,” I say as he carries me into bed. We tangle together and I’m so relaxed and satisfied, I could fall asleep. “But I know you have to.”