Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“At the risk of knowing the timeline of my own death…” I put my hands on my hips. “Do we have to figure the curse out before we run out of time, or is it more of a case of we have to figure it out before we lose our minds to sex and you eventually stop my heart?”
“The latter,” he grumbled.
“So, we just stay apart until we can figure it out.”
He snorted out a laugh. “She’s got jokes.”
I glared. “What? Did you have a better idea?”
“Fae from the Spring Court are the most seductive of our kind. They need sex the way you need air. They feed off people’s emotions the same way you feed off clam chowder at the inn. Trust me when I say it’s only a matter of time before your need for me is so all-consuming that you’d rather die than stay away.”
“I have self-control.” My voice was small, even to my own ears, as his powerful legs propelled him toward me. He was menacing and sexy, every wicked fantasy come to life, and without even opening his mouth, he made promises I knew he was good for.
Promises for pleasure.
Wrapped up in the painful truth of my own death.
Of a repeated history I knew nothing about yet felt down to my core was true.
He continued his stalk in my direction and finally stopped inches away from my face, his breathing labored, mine embarrassingly matching his as my heart pounded against my chest.
“Tell me, Luna…” His voice was like silk. “What do you want most in the world?”
I couldn’t look away from his ember eyes as they seemed to see into the depths of my soul, uncovering every secret, every fantasy, every hidden moment.
“You,” I rasped, shocking myself. I leaned in for his kiss. My brain told me it was a bad idea. My heart felt like it was stretching between us, covering the chasm of space separating our bodies in an effort to join with its mate.
He leaned down, his lips grazing my ear. “Exactly my point.”
I sucked in a sharp breath when he pulled away and gave me his back. “You should return to the inn.”
“I’m staying.” I lifted my chin. “If you need help breaking the curse, then that’s what I’ll focus on. You can even draw a line down the middle of the library so I don’t cross it—but I’m staying.”
“Fine.” He didn’t sound fine. “But do me a favor and take a shower before you come back down here.”
“Are you saying I smell—”
“Intoxicating…” His eyes flashed again. “I can smell your arousal just now, and all I can think about is licking you from head to toe. Go shower, and when you get back, I’ll attempt not to seduce you into my bed.”
I let out a snort. “Fine, which bathroom?”
He sighed like I was annoying him. “Any bathroom, pick one, just go.”
Eyes wild, his chest heaved as he stared me down.
I didn’t move.
“Go!” He shouted it louder this time.
I nearly tripped in an effort to make it to the library door. I was halfway up the stairs when the sound of glass breaking filled the air, right along with the agonizing shout from Benjamin downstairs.
He didn’t see the tear of rejection that slid down my cheek.
Or the second tear of sadness for the life he’d lived.
And the third and final tear? That was for me, for my mom, for my bloody future—I would break the curse to free Benjamin, but I would also break the curse to atone for our lives.
I had to.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Benjamin
She didn’t see my hands shaking.
She didn’t hear the painful beats of my heart as I stared.
All she saw was the anger on my face. All she felt was the sexual tension and the pulsating need that drove me—to have her, to make her mine.
I wondered how long I’d lasted in the past.
Minutes? Days?
At this point I was ready to fuck her against every hard surface of my house—twice. And some of the soft ones too. My lips quirked.
How had I survived this so many times?
No idea.
Aengus strolled into the library and made a face. “It smells like—”
“I know what it smells like,” I growled. “Back off.”
His grin turned sinister. “My turn to seduce her yet?”
“Never.” I tried not to look like they affected me, his words because all bets were off. What the hell did that even mean for this time around?
Hope sprang to life. If it was different this time, we could find a way to break it.
“Speaking of which… where did our little moon go?”
“Shower,” I snarled, and she was mine, not ours. “She smelled delicious, and I nearly took several bites off her neck and then begged her to straddle my face.”
“Graphic.” Aengus grinned. “I approve.”
I slammed one of the books down; dust went flying. “It’s all the same stories of the Fae and the Matchmaker. Nothing new, nothing that can break her magic or any sort of spell.”