Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“Come here,” I ordered quietly, taking her hand.
I fell to my ass and pulled her into my lap on the floor.
“Where does it hurt when I go?” I asked, brushing her hair away from her face.
Her eyes fell closed. “Everywhere.”
“Here?” I asked, kissing her shoulder.
“Yes.”
“Here?” I asked, moving to her neck.
“Yes.”
“Here?” Her jaw.
“Yes.”
As I stripped her shirt and bra off, I kept asking. Her answer was always yes. When I asked about the places that my mouth couldn’t reach, I smoothed over them with my hands instead. Eventually, I stopped asking, but I knew if I’d said the words, what her answer would be.
Taking my time, I touched every part of her, apologizing silently for what she’d been through and what I knew she would go through again.
When I finally shoved my trousers down far enough that she could sink down over me, both of us let out a sigh of something between relief and pleasure.
That was where she belonged. It was where we belonged. Locked together in a quiet room, sharing breath, our scents mixing until they were indistinguishable from each other.
The taste of her blood as I came was like coming home. It was life and death and every sunrise and sunset I’d ever seen.
I’d barely lifted my head when her teeth sank deep into the meat between my shoulder and neck. Jerking in surprise, I held the back of her head as she sobbed silently and came. When she let go, she shuddered and raised her face to mine.
“Let me see,” I whispered, using my thumb to gently raise her top lip.
Her canines had elongated. Not enough for the average person to notice, but long enough that she no longer needed me to nick my skin for the blood exchange.
“I think it happened today,” she said, kissing the tip of my thumb. “Do you think this means I’m immortal now?”
“Yes,” I replied roughly, staring at her mouth.
“I’m still not going with you, am I?”
I stared into her eyes, unable to get the words past my throat. I knew the moment she realized what I wasn’t saying.
Her gaze shifted away in disappointment.
Chapter 11
Rosemary
Running my tongue over my sharp new teeth, I watched from the edge of the bed as Daniel got dressed. He’d dug a pair of black utility pants out of his duffel bag and paired them with an equally dark thermal shirt. As he sat down to pull on a fresh pair of socks and his boots, I tried to find something to say.
I’d known before I asked that he wouldn’t let me leave. The most ironic thing about the entire situation is that it wasn’t like he was forcing me to stay. He knew that I could leave the property when he wasn’t there. I wasn’t a hostage. But knowing the way that fear would tear him up inside if I left was enough to hold me where I was. No matter how angry I was with the situation, I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that I could leave the safety of the property without repercussions, especially if I wasn’t careful.
“What do the tattoos mean?” I asked finally, eager to break the silence between us.
“I don’t think we have enough time for that conversation,” he replied with a small smile.
His brother Chance was waiting out in the living room, and they expected Uncle Dalton and Ian any time.
“Tell me about one of them, then,” I pushed.
“Which one?”
“The bird.”
He frowned at me in consternation. “It’s an eagle.”
“Well, excuse me,” I joked. “What’s the eagle mean?”
“My dad had nicknames for all of us when we were kids. He called me Arne because he said I saw everything.”
“Arne means eagle?”
He nodded.
“Did all of you have names like that? What did he call your brothers?”
“Ulf, Bjorn, and Happ.”
I watched as he laced up his boots and then rose to slide his belt through the loops.
“Who is who? You’re missing one.”
“Zeke didn’t have another nickname,” he said, glancing at me. “My mother named the rest of us, but Zeke was named after an old friend of my father’s.”
“Ah, gotcha.”
“He didn’t feel the need to improve upon a name he chose,” Daniel said with a huff of laughter. His head jerked up. “Dalton’s here.”
My stomach twisted.
“Walk me out?” Daniel asked softly.
I nodded and stood from the bed, taking the hand that he held out.
“I’ll make this as fast as I can,” he assured me, wrapping his other hand around the side of my throat. “Stay here with Gary. Even if it takes longer than we think, remember that if anything happens, someone will call you.”
“I know.”
“Remember it, baby, so you don’t freak out.”
“I won’t freak out,” I promised.
“I won’t be back in three hours. It’s going to take longer.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to fucking do this.” He leaned closer, our noses brushing. “You know that, right? I want to carry you back to that bed and stay there for a week.”