Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 118860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
“There was evidence of Justice being in the temple. I am very familiar with the few tracks he leaves behind. But he wasn’t alone, or someone else was in the temple before him. Lojos and Mataias are insistent that Justice is the mastermind behind organizing an attempt to kill Prince Mikhail and Gregori. I still think we need to reserve judgment. What do you think?”
Tomas needed her to focus on solutions. He had little time to convert her and get them both in the ground so they could follow Justice and hopefully figure out where the second piece of the weapon would be. With all that, the most important thing to him was getting her to realize she had no blame for the weapon getting into the hands of the enemy.
He had talked it over with the others, and they hadn’t wanted to draw attention to the temple by going there. Had they recovered the weapon, they would have had to leave the area immediately, and he couldn’t leave without converting his lifemate. The Carpathian ancients had all agreed they would go to the temple after the women had their party. If they were able to recover the weapon, Luiz would carry it to the Carpathian Mountains, and it would be guarded until they figured out a way to destroy it.
Blaming herself wasn’t going to help, especially since it wasn’t true that she had anything to do with the fiasco of them arriving too late. Sarika had been pulled back in time, thrown into the abyss of the worst times in her life cycle, yet she’d done it to aid the Carpathian people. She had to do so selflessly, letting go of her present self in order to access the past, and she’d done so knowing what she would be facing.
“I’m proud of you. Proud that you’re my lifemate. Proud of your strength and courage. The way you allow yourself to be vulnerable, that you trust me enough to show that to me.”
Tomas nuzzled her neck, sliding her hair out of the way so he could brush kisses down the side of her face, from her temple to her delicate jaw. “We can do this together. We’re good together, Sarika. Come into my world. Choose me of your own free will.”
He wanted to be her choice, when she really didn’t have one, not if he were to survive. But still, he knew she was his choice, and he wanted her to feel as strongly about him as he did about her. He’d claimed her in the way of his people. He hadn’t even tried to fight the compulsion, and he knew that had upset her. She was human and a shifter. Neither would understand his society and the strict rules they had to follow. The code of honor that dictated their lives. Or how a Carpathian would feel about the woman who was nothing short of a miracle to him.
Sarika turned in his lap, both hands framing his face. Her tear-drenched eyes stared directly into his. “You will always be my choice, Tomas. Always. I know it took time for me to come to terms with what you are, but I have. I’m determined, as long as Coh will be okay, to go into your world.”
He kissed her. He couldn’t stop himself. He felt her sincerity. She wasn’t saying she’d chosen him because she felt she had no other choice. His mouth wandered down to her chin, his teeth nibbling, his tongue tasting her skin. Everything about Sarika appealed to him.
I’ve checked with your jaguar multiple times after each blood exchange. Even after you exchanged blood with my brothers and Luiz. She seemed content and unafraid, he assured her.
His mouth moved over her pulse point, that temptation, beckoning to him. A siren’s call. He sank his teeth deep, connecting them, feeling the rush of heated pleasure sweeping through his body. Only Sarika could make every nerve ending come alive. Her blood was his aphrodisiac, solely for him. He craved her taste. Craved her soft skin and curves. Her kisses. The sensation, the wonder, of physical desire was a new experience and one very profound.
It took discipline to only take the amount of blood needed for a true exchange. She moved on him continually, her soft body grinding into his as she sat on his lap.
I’m doing the clothes thing, Sarika.
It would be nice if you could hurry.
Her soft little plea sent heat rushing down his spine. He lifted her carefully, turning her to face him.
Straddle me.
He did the clothes thing while she put her legs over his. Without clothes, it was much easier for her body to slide over his, engulfing him in heat, surrounding him with tight, silken fire. She didn’t even hesitate. Her body had to work to allow him in, and twice he whispered to her to relax.