Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107652 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107652 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Are you so sure about that?” He leaned forward a little, his gaze landing on my throat.
“No, I’m not sure.” I shuffled away and placed my hand on Whisper’s head. The panther chuffed happily just as Lucien’s eyes snapped to where I touched his panther.
Uh-oh.
His glare crawled up to mine and stayed there. “You might have fooled that dumb beast, but you won’t fool me.”
I pressed both hands over Whisper’s adorable flicking ears. “Don’t call him dumb.”
“Just stating the truth seeing as he fell for your tricks.” Inhaling hard, he snapped, “Tell me. How did you earn his loyalty enough for him to drag me here?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Liar—”
“Are you always this argumentative?” I snapped.
“When dealing with people who want to harm me? Yes.”
“Oh, my God.” I punched the blankets. “Have you not been listening? I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you. That’s the truth and no matter how much you suspect me, it won’t change!”
Silence fell, letting our argument fall and fade away.
Nodding once, he grabbed the hem of his black shirt and brought it to his mouth. A glimpse of his bare stomach had my insides clenching. Watching him bite the edge of the fabric and tearing a strip off it made me shiver with unexplainable things.
I couldn’t look away as he tied the makeshift bandage around his still bleeding wrist.
Everything he did made me feel tight and tangled inside.
He was the sort of beautiful that made common sense take a running leap out of the window—an ancient, untamed heritage of blended beauty and lethal edges. The sweep of his cheekbones, ink-dark eyes, and blue-black hair, made wickedly indecent thoughts come to mind. Especially with him on my bed.
My gaze dropped to his lips, hating the perfection.
His mouth was utterly indecent for a man who took pleasure in death—it looked as if he should take pleasure in other things. Carnal things.
“You’re looking at me again,” he said icily.
My cheeks flared as I focused on his hands as he finished tying the makeshift bandage. His skin was flawless. The way he moved reminded me so much of his panther, that I once again struggled with fantasy overlapping reality, wondering what sort of fairytale I’d fallen into.
With a curse under his breath, he planted his palms behind him, kicked out his legs, and crossed his ankles—lazy as the feline behind him. Every line of him said calm but his eyes sparked with sultry warning just waiting for an excuse to hurt me. “Alright then.” He tipped his head, hair sliding across his collar. “I’ll play.”
I swallowed hard, blinking away whatever spell he’d cast on me. “Play what?”
“You haven’t heard of Brimstone Industries?”
“Nope.” I frowned, searching my mind and all those years I’d worked in Snowflake Corp before I couldn’t. “At least, I don’t think I have.”
“You haven’t heard of the Ashfall dynasty?”
“If I’d come across an article with you in it, I would’ve remembered.” I rolled my eyes. “Believe me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Oh, God.
Rook...you idiot.
My cheeks flamed.
If he truly had spent the last twenty years in here alone, I doubted he would have the social skills to see my embarrassment and deftly grant me another question.
Instead, he never looked away from me, rage building with every breath.
“Eh, you know...” I waved at him as if it was obvious. “Give me some self-respect so I don’t have to say it out loud.”
“Say what out loud?”
“Oh, come on, really?”
“Come on?” He scowled. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“I mean...”
Ugh, fine.
Sucking in a fortifying breath, I blurted, “You have to know what you look like?” I rolled my eyes, finding it far too easy to talk to him, despite the fact that each night he went hunting and each morning more bodies were dragged out.
“What I look like?”
Okay, this had gone on long enough.
He hadn’t killed me yet. He’d actually saved me—somehow. I felt better than I had in ages. He’d come at the behest of his panther and for some inexplicable reason, I didn’t want this conversation to end, even though my heart pounded with nerves.
I was drawn to him despite myself.
Highly aware of him in every part of me.
Yes, he was a killer but...hadn’t that all been in self-defence?
“Alright, don’t murder me for this, but...” I inched closer to Whisper and scratched his scruff, hoping he would come to my rescue if my honesty backfired. “I would’ve remembered you if I’d ever seen an article about you because you’re gorgeous, okay?” My mouth ran away with me, my filter completely gone. “You’re not just gorgeous, you’re...” I blushed so hot, I could’ve roasted marshmallows on my cheeks. “Obscene. You’re the sort of beautiful that should come with a hundred hazard labels and a two-hour safety briefing. There. I said it. Happy?”
He stared for the longest moment before saying dryly, “Is this you trying to get me to have sex with you?”