Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 140780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
I didn’t bother tapping him to see if he wanted any more.
If he got drunk onboard who the hell knew what would happen?
Turning back to the airhostess, I whispered, “No thanks. We’ve had enough.”
“Would you or Mr. Ashfall like anything else or shall I turn down the bed so you can rest?”
“Turn down the what?” Twisting in my luxurious leather recliner, I looked down the back of the cabin. “There’s a bed?”
“Of course.” She straightened and pointed at the door that I’d assumed led to a bathroom. “There’s a full suite at the back. You’re welcome to use it. Feel free to retire whenever you’d like.” Shifting the dew-covered bottle of champagne in her hands, she added, “We’ve been in the air for two hours with another nine to go. I’ll close the blinds so the sunrise in a few hours doesn’t disturb you.”
Turning on her heel, she returned to the front and set about shrouding the cabin in darkness for a peaceful rest.
Unfortunately, Lucien missed the memo about finding peace.
Glancing at my very old and very dead cellphone resting on the small table across the aisle, I wished I’d brought my charger so I could tell Dillon I was alright. That I knew what I was doing and I wasn’t worried at all about being flown across the world—with no documentation or destination—at the mercy of the man who’d decided I now belonged to him.
Sarcasm.
And that isn’t even the worst of your problems...
Snowflake.
Lucien’s reaction when I’d asked if he’d ever heard of Snowflake Corp replayed on a vicious loop—the way his brow had furrowed for half a second too long. The way his eyes had gone distant as if trying to recall something old and buried in his mind.
He’d almost recognised it.
Hadn’t he?
My stomach twisted as I glanced at him.
Was he ignoring me because he’d remembered something?
Was he plotting how to kill me even now?
As if sensing I was looking at him, his fingers curled tighter around the armrests. His head tipped back against the seat, throat bared, eyes tightly closed as if he was afraid of what might happen if he opened them.
The odd chill inside me chose that moment to swell.
While his body exuded heat, my body snuffed it out.
The longer I stared at him, the more the coolness spread, slow and deliberate, as if my bones wanted to hollow themselves out to make room for his excess heat.
Lucien suddenly exhaled, shuddering with relief. His shoulders dropped an inch, the edge of his tension smoothing out.
I stiffened as the cold kept blooming outward, webbing through my veins as if something that’d always lurked inside me had finally woken up and yawned—
PAIN.
It smacked me right in the face—a violent, blinding bang.
My hands flew up on instinct, fingers digging into my temples as if I could massage out the misery.
A sandpaper tongue licked my wrist as I drew my legs up and buried my face against my knees. I turned to look at the pitch-black panther. His glowing eyes were luminescent in the gloomy cabin, gleaming brighter than the pinprick stars glittering in the ceiling.
“I’m okay.” I trembled as fresh agony scraped through me. “I’m fine.”
He tried to push past me to get to Lucien, but I kicked out a leg and stopped him.
“Don’t disturb him. I’m okay.”
He sneezed in frustration but slowly dropped to his belly. Rubbing his silky side with my foot, I gave him a grateful smile before drawing my leg back up and pressing my face into the cradle I made of my own body—trying to disappear, to slip into sleep so I could hide.
Beside me, Lucien let out a low, broken sigh.
The frantic edge of his warmth dulled as his breathing finally evened out. His grip loosened on the armrest, hinting he’d slipped into unconsciousness. As his tension bled free, he leaned slightly toward me as if seeking whatever pain relief I offered.
I scowled at the unfairness of it.
I soothed him, yet he didn’t soothe me.
Why did I have such a power over him when he was obviously definitely not...human.
Fear pooled low in my gut.
Had Snowflake Corp meddled in his past?
Had they done something to me?
Because I shouldn’t have this kind of influence over another person.
Which meant something was going on that was far, far bigger than either of us and...I should tell him.
I should tell him who I was, where I came from, and why I was running away.
I should tell him what I’d overheard the other girls whisper.
I should tell him absolutely everything so he couldn’t accuse me of betraying him because things had the habit of spontaneously catching fire whenever he got emotional and I really didn’t fancy being burned at the stake.
I glanced at him again.
Whatever relief he’d found seemed to have worn off already. Heat wafted off him as if he held back the fire through sheer force of will, even while asleep.