Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Sorry, I’m late,” she said. “Had to avert a crisis.” The hairs on her neck stood on end when his eyes met hers, utterly vacant. “What’s wrong?”
He very slowly angled his head. “Why would you think something is wrong?” he asked, his voice flat.
“Because I’m not stupid.” It was easy to tell that all the shutters were down right now. Still, she raised her hands and said, “We don’t have to talk about it.” She had no right to push him to share things with her, given that she wouldn’t return the favor if he ever pushed too hard. “Just don’t insult my intelligence by expecting me to believe you’re not working through something in your head right now.”
He let out a low hum. “What was the crisis you mentioned?” he asked, though he didn’t sound particularly interested.
She plonked herself on a bulky chair. “To cut a long story short, Delilah pissed off a demon. He and a bunch of his lair turned up at the cottage looking for her. All is well, nothing happened; they were buying more potions when I left.”
His gaze returned to the window. “It must be strange for demons to have to coexist with an entity that differs from them in many ways. There would surely be a struggle to find balance.”
Her skin tingled, because there was something about the way he’d spoken … as if he was fishing for something. Testing her, even. “I guess.”
“Have you ever been around a demon when their inner entity surfaced and took control?”
“Quite a few times since coming here, yes. They’re intrigued by dark magick. They like to ask questions about runes.”
Cain’s eyes bore into hers. “And you answer? As if they are a being in their own right?”
“Of course. They are a being in their own right. Just because something is the epitome of inhuman doesn’t mean it should be feared or loathed or seen as ‘less.’ It’s simply different. I’ll only have a problem with such a being if it means me harm. Otherwise, I’m all about ‘live and let live.’”
There was a flicker of … something in the depths of his dark eyes, and then a warmth steadily filled them. “Come here.”
That bedroom tone made her pulse spike. “I like this chair. It’s comfortable.”
“But it can’t make you scream with pleasure.”
“You do make a good point.”
He set his glass down on the window shelf. “Come here.”
Huffing, she pushed out of the chair. “It really is a good thing for you that you’re a master orgasm deliverer,” she began as she crossed to him, “or the whole demanding routine would not work for you.”
His hands slid up her sides, over her breasts, and up to cup her neck. His eyes drifted over her face, glimmering with heat but also something else. Something she couldn’t quite name.
Once more, her skin prickled. “Is this where you tell me we’re done?” she asked.
“I should, for your sake. I’ll never be good for you.” It wasn’t said with self-loathing. It was a mere statement of fact.
“Okay, let’s be clear on something. I don’t need someone to be good for me. I take care of me. I’m pretty good at it, actually. What I really don’t need is someone giving me the brush off with a modified version of ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’ If you want this to be over, well, it’s not like it’ll be a shock. I figured you’d get bored fast.”
“So did I, but I’m not bored. Nor do I want you to go anywhere. I simply wish to be transparent about this one thing—having me in your life will not make it better. That really is the most I can say.”
Wynter had never thought he would be a positive contribution to her world … mostly because she hadn’t expected him to be any kind of contribution. She would have originally thought that he’d have turned her away by now. She wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that he hadn’t. “Okay.”
He dipped his head. “Never say you weren’t warned.” Then his mouth was on hers, feasting and consuming. Not taking her over, but demanding her participation; demanding she give as good as she got—which she did. He ended the kiss with a nip to her lip. “Make me one promise.”
“What?”
“If there ever comes a time that you’re so afraid of me you want to run, don’t run.”
She blinked. He’d said it as if running would be the absolute worst thing she could do in such a situation. Like it was a matter of life or death. Which confused the shit out of her. But then, so did many of the things he said.
Unable to imagine herself ever being so scared of him that she’d flee—something she generally never did in the face of danger—she nodded. “Okay, I promise.”