Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“Pay him no heed, miss.” Cara looks at the vampire, shaking her head as we enter what looks to be a private booth. It’s like a living room from medieval times. The chaise I’m offered is plush and covered with a tent of ornate fabric that keeps the fierce late-afternoon sun off our skin. “Vampires are not known for their manners.”
“Is that blood?” I hope it isn’t. There are pockets of red dotting the arena floor. Groups of gnomes work hurriedly to shovel out the offending sand.
“Damn.” Dante sinks down beside me. “They already got rid of the chopped-off limbs. That’s my favorite part.”
“They’re really going to fight?” It’s ridiculous, but I feel such a strong connection to Beck. I can’t stand the thought of him getting hurt, much less dying. Stockholm syndrome. Or maybe it is because he gave me the first honest-to-goodness, real live, no-double-A-batteries-involved orgasm I’ve ever had.
“Yes, miss,” Reeve answers, taking a seat next to his wife. “Your tournament is the last of the day. It is also the largest. The rest of these females are simple mates. You are very rare.”
And I’m super confused again. I rein in a sigh of frustration. At least now I have someone to ask who I don’t think will gloss things over. The vampire seems to be an upfront guy. He wouldn’t have a problem telling me the painful truth. “Why? Why do all these men want me?”
His sunglasses recede, sliding away now that he’s out of the direct sunlight. His green eyes sparkle in the shade. “The vamps or the Fae?”
“Both.”
His manner takes on a distinctly academic tone. “The Fae are interested in you as a bondmate. Certain Fae have psychic abilities that are greatly enhanced in the presence of a female whose brain is tuned to theirs. In Beck’s case, it’s more urgent. Beck was born with a symbiotic twin, Cian. Think of them as halves of a whole. Beck is the practical half. He’s the warrior. Cian is the intellectual half. When symbiotic twins turn twenty-five years old, a bondmate is found for them, if they aren’t already contracted. The female forms a triad with the males. She bridges their minds through hers, and they’re able to function together. It makes all three stronger. When Beck’s uncle took over Tír na nÒg, he closed the plane. He did this for several reasons, but no doubt one was to keep his nephews from finding a bondmate. They’ve been forced to look elsewhere.”
“So Beck is twenty-five.” He seems older, but perhaps it’s his regal authority that makes him seem that way.
“My cousin turned thirty nearly three months ago,” Dante replies, all teasing gone from his attitude. “Cian is fading. The intellectual half is in desperate need of the bond. It is killing him to go without. If Cian fades, all that will be left is the warrior with nothing to balance him. Beck will likely go mad. If that happens, he’ll have to be put down.”
I don’t understand completely, but I hate the idea of someone putting Beck down like he was a rabid animal. “That’s horrible. But how can he be sure I’m this bond thingy?”
A slow smile curls the vampire’s lips. “There’s only one way to know for sure. Tell me, sister, was it good for you?”
Embarrassment flashes through me as I realize what he means. The scene in the tent was Beck’s way of telling if we’re compatible. He even told me what he was doing, but the thought of everyone knowing what he’d done makes my skin turn hot pink. The vampire throws back his head and laughs.
“You are so rude.” How long will this take? When will they start?
Dante shrugs, but the grin doesn’t leave his face. “I don’t see what’s rude about it. It’s a simple fact of life. We all like to get fucked, sweetheart, and from what I’ve heard, old Beck there knows how to do it right. Of course, it would be slightly different with a bondmate. Even without the full bond, during sex, you would have a connection with him.”
“I would feel what he felt.” I can’t help but think about that odd, erotic moment when I’d been able to feel his hard-on, feel my pussy gripping his fingers as I came.
“Congratulations,” Dante says almost sweetly. “You’re a bondmate. I’ve heard it’s the most intimate connection a being can have.”
I’m not here to fall in love. I shouldn’t be here at all. When I have the chance, I’m going to get away, and no intimate bond is going to stop me. “Okay, that explains the Fae. How about the vampires?”
Dante leans in, fangs showing beneath his wide smirk. “Darling, the vampires are here because you taste really fucking good.”
Cara leans over my lap and slaps the vampire. Dante takes it with good grace, merely leaning back as though he’s slapped by females on a regular basis. “Stop teasing the girl. Miss, the vampires are looking for what they call a consort. You have to understand there are two types of vampires, the peasant and those of royal blood.”