Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
“Why not?” He was naked. She could be naked too with a little effort.
“Because you’re just going to turn around afterwards and sentence me to die.”
“All I know for certain is that I don’t want to lose you, Sky. You are the one I want. But that doesn’t mean I want Willa to die.” He kept hoping he’d find a way to talk Cimil out of this ridiculous, cruel game.
Sky drew a breath. “Do you love me?”
Damien knew he did, but admitting it also felt like sentencing her to death. “Bad things happen to the people I care for, Sky. You know that firsthand.”
“If I’m going to die by the end of the day, then I deserve to hear the truth.”
Tell her, you pussy. Tell her and then fuck her and then kill her.
Damien wanted to tell the beast to fucking die already, but it was pointless. He was never going to leave or change.
“Sky, I do love you. Deeply. And I regret that it might not be enough.”
She stroked his wet cheek. “Thank you for the truth.” She kissed him hard and then left him in the shower alone.
Damien felt like he was being torn in two. Why was he so intent on saving Willa when he knew in his heart he was in love with Sky?
It makes no sense, he thought. Why can’t I let go of Willa? The only answer he could come up with was his loyalty. Willa had died in his arms after losing the baby and being poisoned. Her final words to him were a curse, that he would be destined to live his life alone, and that the people around him would all die, too. Turned out not to be a curse but merely a fact. On her deathbed, she’d seen his future. So far, she’d been right.
Maybe that was the root of it all. He believed if he chose Sky, she’d die anyway, and it would be his fault again.
Letting Cimil do the deed was the easy way out.
He exhaled sharply. “I know what I must do.” He was ready to choose.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“You were not making light when you called that store gross. Why do humans consume things that nature did not provide?” Maxton stared at MF’s counter cluttered with all the bad stuff—ice cream, doughnuts, cookies, potato salad, those mini pizzas she loved, and a ton of candy.
“Because they taste delicious.” She patted her stomach. “And I’m full.”
“You only had a few bites.”
“Of fifteen different things.” She smiled, staring at Maxton’s large frame in her kitchen.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
She shrugged coyly. “I just like seeing you here in my apartment.” She liked seeing him in her life, too.
“Well, do not get used to it.”
MF tilted her head. “Why? Where are you thinking we should go after tonight?”
He gave her a stern look. “I am returning to my lair.”
“Maxton,” she laughed, “I’m not going to live in some damp muddy cave in the middle of nowhere. Plus, I can’t abandon Damien and the demons. Not without finding a replacement, and even then, they’re my friends. I’d like to see them once in a while.”
“I am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, MF, but I did not mean that as an invitation.”
MF jerked her head back. “Wait. You’re-you’re just planning to turn me and go?”
“Did you think I would remain here in this cesspool of a city to enjoy the scent of stale human urine in the air? Or the constant noise?”
She couldn’t argue with that, but he wasn’t even willing to take her with him. Not that she’d go, but still. “I don’t know what to say.”
Maxton took her hand. “Do not look so disappointed, MF. I have agreed to change you. Is that not what you wanted?”
She blinked. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure. “If you go home, I’ll be all alone.”
“You have your friends, as you just said.”
But that wasn’t the same as being turned by an ancient vampire who could truly teach her to be the best damned vampire ever. One who had complete control over her urges and powers. Without Maxton, it would be like reliving the nightmare from the first turning.
MF swallowed hard. “I need time to think, Stewart.”
“Stewart?”
She shook her head from side to side. “Sorry. I meant Maxton.”
“Who is Stewart?”
“The first selfish bastard who turned me and left. Guess I confused you with him for a second in my head.” She drew a breath. “I’ll get you a ride to Damien’s.”
“You want me to leave? But what about putting my pen—”
“No. No sex. And I need time to think things through.”
“Do not wait too long, MF. I only have until the end of the day.”
“What are you talking about?” MF frowned.
He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “Go ahead. Look.”