Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 147734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
I don’t mean merely looking at him, but full-blown creepily observing him, noting every goddamn detail about him as if it’s an assignment.
Just kidding, I never work this hard on an assignment.
Studying Vaughn, though? My brain puts every ounce of its power behind it, recording every scrap of visible detail.
And I’m not talking about simple stuff like how his thigh muscles stretch against his shorts or how long his legs look or how his calves are full of small cuts from when we were running.
I don’t mean the enchanting color of his eyes that look darker now or the way he tends to frown when he’s stressed—more than usual.
No, it’s not that.
It’s how now that his hair is disheveled, it looks longer, more…wild and untamed and beautiful, framing his forehead and falling over his ears.
It’s how all that running and adrenaline has made his natural scent overwhelm the clean, sharp-smelling cologne he wears. Like cold metal warmed by skin and smoke, then trapped in silk.
It’s strong, heady, and has kind of been fucking with my head since earlier, because I have to stop myself from getting closer and sniffing him.
Or biting him.
I would totally bite him if given the chance. Find out if he tastes as mouthwatering as he smells.
Not that I should be wondering what he tastes like.
Seriously, what the fuck, brain? Get your shit together.
“You think they were all killed?” he asks, and I’m looking at his lips because why wouldn’t I?
Why would you? that little voice of reason asks.
Shut up. It’ll be nightfall soon, and I need to soak this in.
Vaughn’s frowning at me, and I realize I’ve been having that conversation with my alter ego while staring at his lips.
Surely, he thinks it’s because I’m sick and not that I’m shamelessly ogling his lips.
“Who? The guards?” I pretend to be the dumbfounded airhead and the resident dumbass in the Dimitriev Bratva.
“Yeah.”
“Probably. Otherwise, they would have come for us.”
He stares at the cave entrance, then at the ground, where there are a few wrappers from the protein bars we ate. Because, yes, Vaughn brought those, a flashlight, and all the tools he used for Operation Frankensteining Yulian.
He starts pacing again. “Who do you think is behind this?”
“Who cares?”
“I do. And so should you, considering you were targeted.”
“If I cared about everyone who targets me, I’d be in a mental institute by now.”
He stops and frowns, this time tilting his head as if I’m this badass puzzle he wants to solve.
I like that.
Fucking hell.
I love that.
“You think it could be one of the people who tried to kill you before?”
“Could be.” I lift a shoulder. “Let’s talk about something fun, because I don’t want to think about depressing things if I’m gonna die.”
“You’re not—”
“Have you lost your virginity yet?” I cut him off, grinning, and yeah, maybe that’s not the best conversation starter, but I really need to distract myself from this thing.
You know, the big-deal shit that’s happening in my brain.
My question definitely catches Vaughn off guard, because he freezes, and I’m almost positive he blushed, but the dim light doesn’t offer a definitive answer. “Uh, why do I need to tell you that?”
“Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“No.”
“Okay, I’ll go first.”
“You don’t have to tell me—”
“I had my first sexual intercourse with a badass bartender about a year ago and have had a few others since.”
“How the hell were you allowed in a bar, let alone having sex with the bartender?”
“I look about twenty, so my fake ID worked.”
“Why am I not surprised you have a fake ID?”
“Everyone does.”
“I don’t.”
“You don’t count. Anyway, it was fun with her, and she gave awesome head. It took me a long time to come, though, which is apparently not normal for teenage boys.”
“I don’t need those details.”
“Loosen up a little and talk, would you? We need to make the cold pass by quicker. A question each, yeah?”
He muses for a bit, biting his lower lip, then releases a sigh and sits down in front of me. “Fine.”
“You still didn’t answer my question.”
“Not yet.” He seems visibly uncomfortable with the subject, shifting slightly. “I’ve made out with girls a few times and went further, but there was no actual sex.”
“Why not?”
“Eh, I’m still fifteen, Yulian.”
“Old enough.”
“I just…never mind.”
“Come on, tell me.” I shift forward and grunt when pain explodes in my side.
Vaughn pushes me back down. “You’ll just make fun of me. Forget it.”
“I won’t. Promise.”
He narrows his eyes, then blows out a breath. “There’s a girl I want to ask to be my girlfriend. I want to have sex for the first time with someone I like.”
“Very boring, indeed. On brand, really.”
“Very reckless of you to have sex with someone older than you after lying to them about your age. On brand, really.”
I lift a shoulder. “I wanted to fuck her, so I did it.”