Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Oh, right. Three months.
“Did you just get bad news or something?” I asked as I headed toward where I’d parked my car. “Do you need someone to sit and listen? Is that why you’re following me? Because we can sit if you need to.” I paused, motioning toward the bench I’d seen him at the night before.
Ajax shook his head, so I kept on walking.
He followed me every step of the way, all six-foot-seven, with muscles for days and smelling like a dream.
I stopped near my car, folding my arms over my chest, my mind flipping back and forth between the shock of the news and the utter acceptance of it.
Die. I was going to die. And it could be any moment, any next breath I took.
“Ohmigod,’ I said, laughing. “I get it.” I looked him over once more, noting the black leather pants, the black ink, his endless eyes, and the general aura of darkness around him. “You’re an angel of death, aren’t you?”
Ajax’s eyes widened, something like amusement flickering there.
“Well,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re just going to have to wait. I was promised three months, and I’m sure as hell going to spend them wisely.”
“I’m not an angel of death,” he said, then shrugged. “I mean, not technically.”
I arched a brow at him. “Okay, then,” I said. “Have a good night—”
“Wait,” he said, stopping me with a gentle grip on my elbow.
Heat lashed up my arm and across my chest, my lungs expanding like they’d been allowed to take in more oxygen. The smell of cedar and moss swirled my senses, and I swear my knees shook. I should’ve jerked my arm from his grasp or smacked him with my keys. I should’ve been doing anything other than turning into a puddle from an innocent touch.
A slow, almost dangerous smile shaped his lips as he released me.
“What do you want from me, Ajax?” I asked, finally giving voice to the name we’d joked about the other night. “You followed me for a reason, and if it’s not to take my soul, then I’d love to know what.” My shoulders dropped. “You’re not selling something, are you? Because I’m all up to date on extended warranties.”
Amusement danced in his eyes again, and shock, like people rarely surprised him. “Not selling anything,” he said. “I just want to spend the evening with you.”
“With me?” I asked suspiciously. He was gorgeous, like movie-star-level gorgeous. He could literally spend the evening with anyone he wanted.
“Yes,” he said, taking a step closer to me, the heat from his body wrapping around me like a blanket. God, that felt good. How long had it been since I’d had any physical contact with another human?
Too long.
It’d been way too long.
And now I didn’t have much time left.
I grinned up at him, my pulse spiking at the idea of sharing any kind of contact with this stranger. A thrill shot through me. “Sure,” I said, shrugging as I pointed behind me to my car. “This is me. Hop in.”
“Just like that,” he said, sliding into the passenger seat of my car.
“Just like that?” I teased, pulling out of the parking lot. “You’re the one who just got into a complete stranger’s car. How do you know I’m not going to lock you in my basement and force you to put lotion all over those insane biceps you have?”
Ajax didn’t look at me like I was crazy. He looked at me like he was trying not to laugh.
“Don’t think I could take you?” I asked, and he shook his head.
“I’d love to see you try,” he said. “Still, you’re the one who invited the stranger in. Doesn’t that make you a tad more reckless than me?”
I focused on the road despite wanting to meet that deep, churning gaze of his, and shrugged. “I mean, why not, right? It’s not like you’re going to kill me.” I laughed at the notion, a sudden rush of adrenaline soaring through my veins. There was something freeing about the three months I’d been sentenced with, something that stripped fear from my body and left me feeling nothing but free and wild and ready to experience everything I’d hidden from in my life—including taking up a complete stranger’s offer for quality time.
“I hope you like amusement parks, Ajax,” I said, taking the highway that would lead to Edgemont’s pier.
“Amusement park?”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s where I’m headed. I’ve never ridden a roller coaster before because I was always too afraid of the cart flying off the rails.”
“And you’re not afraid anymore?” he asked as I drove.
Something pricked the center of my chest, a pesky pang of sadness that I batted away like the annoying fly it was. I smiled, flashing him an appreciative look where he sat dominating the passenger seat of my car. “Hard to be scared when my angel of death is sitting right next to me.”