Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“I’m glad I’m not alone in that.” I drag a fingertip down the bridge of her narrow nose. “You have an open invitation to touch me whenever you’d like, Luciana.”
She tips her lips in a soft smile before pressing them to mine. Just as it was before, I’m swept up in lust so thick and all-consuming that all I can do is breathe her in and surrender. Her heartbeat is strong under the palm of my hand as I cup her breast and tease the already tight nipple. And when she shifts in my lap and straddles me, I’m certain I’ll go mad from wanting her.
She opens her gown and lets it fall down her arms to the floor, then crosses her arms and lifts her shirt over her head, exposing her naked torso. The firelight dances over her skin, casting her in a glow so magnificent that I swallow hard.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” I breathe, leaning forward to taste her.
Lucy’s fingers dive into my hair to hold me to her, and her hips move instinctually, pushing against my hardness.
But suddenly, Nera begins to bark, pulling us out of our haze.
“Nera,” Lucy hisses as she slides off my lap and tugs her gown around her. “Stop that.”
But he doesn’t. He jumps at the door and snarls until Lucy places her hand on his back.
“He’s terrified,” she whispers, turning her frightened green eyes to meet mine. “What is going on?”
“I don’t know.” My voice is grim as I shake my head. “You two back up. Nothing can hurt you here. I’ll take a look around. Perhaps it’s a deer or something.”
“Deer can get in and out? I mean…of the boundary?” she asks.
“Yes. Just another piece of this that’s confusing. Sit tight.”
I open the door slowly and peek my head out, but the night is still. I don’t sense anything in the darkness.
But Nera doesn’t overreact. So, I walk outside, close the door behind me, and reach out with my mind.
Nothing and no one is about. The townspeople are all tucked safely in their homes.
But when I walk a few houses down from mine, I see Alistair coming out of his house.
“Oh, Jonas,” he says with a sigh, closing his eyes. “You startled me. I could have sworn I heard a dog barking nearby. I was just going out to investigate.”
“I thought so, too,” I reply and shake my head. “But there’s nothing out here. Perhaps it was a little thunder.”
The other man looks up to the sky. “It has been awfully stormy lately. You could be right. Well, have a good night, then.”
He returns to his home, and I breathe a sigh of relief that he didn’t press for more as I return to my cabin.
“There’s nothing out there,” I say as I walk inside. Lucy has redressed and is sitting with Nera by the fire. “Perhaps Nera is just on edge because of what happened earlier.”
“Maybe,” she says, but I can see by the look on her face that she doesn’t think so. “Also, that’s the second time we’ve been interrupted.”
I cup her face and brush my thumb over her cheek. “It’s been more than three hundred years, Lucy. What’s a few more hours or days?”
Her eyes widen. “Wait. You haven’t had sex in three hundred years?”
“Three hundred and thirty years, six months, and a few days, but who’s counting, right?”
She blinks and then tips her head back and laughs. “I have so many questions. I thought people waited until they were married in 1692.”
“I don’t believe that witches have ever subscribed to that way of thinking,” I reply with a smile.
“I don’t think I want to know the answers to the rest,” she says thoughtfully. The smile is still in place, but she shakes her head with certainty. “Definitely, not.”
“Anyone I once had a physical relationship with has been dead for centuries,” I reply and then raise an eyebrow. “Can you say the same?”
“So, they didn’t live here, then? You haven’t had an affair with someone spanning over three centuries?”
I slowly shake my head. “No.”
“Well, that helps the jealousy factor. Which is another new thing for me, by the way. And before you ask, the answer is no. I have no one else in my life.”
“Of course, you don’t. You’re too loyal. You wouldn’t be here with me if you were in love with someone else.”
“I don’t even know why I feel jealous,” she continues, not meeting my eyes as she pets Nera’s head. “I mean, it’s not as though we’re in some kind of exclusive relationship or anything.”
“Look at me.” My voice is hard, and the look in her eyes is surprised as she turns to mine. “We may not have said the words, but I think it’s clear that this is, without a doubt, an exclusive relationship. You don’t feel jealous, you feel territorial. And I can confirm that I feel the same way. If a man put his hands on you, I’d have to kill him.”