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)
All I can think about is how I’m going to get away.
“Well, look at you,” a low voice says. “Fae Barbie.”
I shake my head. As upset as I am, the vampire can still make me smile. He might be the only thing I halfway understand in this strange world. “You have Barbies, too?”
“Oh, yes,” Dante confirms. “My sister filled the house with them. I used to have my soldiers take them hostage. She had to pay me to get them back. It was my first business. The consort Barbies come with bite marks on their necks. I bet yours don’t have that.”
“No,” I reply and sort of wish Dante was the one I’m tied to. I’m bouncing all over the place emotionally, but I can’t help it. At least he has a sense of humor, and apparently, his plane has things I’m used to like running water and indoor toilets.
“Hey.” Dante brushes a tear off my cheek. “None of that. It’s going to be all right. You’ll see.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” It will be perfectly fine once I get the hell out of here. Someone will be willing to help me. I don’t buy that no-going-back crap. If I got here, I can get back.
Dante’s perceptive eyes narrow. “Don’t run. It won’t go well for you. There are things in that forest you can’t imagine. Promise me you won’t run until you meet Cian. Please, give him a chance to be less of an asshole than Beck has been this afternoon.”
“If he’s anything like his brother, there’s no point.” I can’t help the bitterness that pours out of me.
“But he isn’t, sweetheart. That is the point. Cian is the intellectual half. He’s also the more romantic half,” Dante muses. “It’s odd how they split. Beck is all the hard and pragmatic bits. He’s all about responsibility and honor, while Cian is playful and instinctive. Sometimes I think Beck got the short end of the stick. Of course, Beck is not the one who lies down from time to time and decides to fade because the world is too much for him. It’s all very dramatic, trust me.”
I huff and begin to pace. “You are seriously telling me that this Cian person isn’t really Beck’s brother, but the other half of him.”
Dante looks thrilled. “Her human brain works! Yes, that is what I’m telling you. Two bodies, one soul.” Dante gently touches a finger to my forehead. “You bridge the two right here. They balance through you. You complete them.”
“And if I don’t want to complete them?”
The vampire smiles sympathetically. “Just meet Cian. You can’t begin to understand Beckett until you meet all of him. And he wasn’t disappointed in you, sweetheart. He was upset with himself.”
“Sure he was.” I’ve heard that one before. It’s not you, Meg. It’s me.
“He was,” Dante says seriously. “He has odd ideas about how a bondmate should be treated. On his plane, a bondmate, especially one of royal blood, expects to be treated like a princess. It took my mom years to relax and learn to take my father in stride. Right now, Beck sees you as a perfect little possession, and he wants to take good care of you. Watch him. You’ll see. He won’t let you do anything. He’ll wait on you hand and foot.”
I’ve worked since the day I turned fifteen. No one has ever accused me of slacking off. Of course, I didn’t have much of a choice. “I’m not asking him to do that. I’m not a princess.”
“I know that. You know that. Teach him. You’ll all be happier if you’re a fully functioning member of the team rather than a porcelain doll they take down and very gently make love to, but only after asking politely.” Dante shudders as though the thought makes him ill. “You’re the best thing that could have happened to him. Work on Cian first. He’s the openly passionate one. He’s the one who never wanted that polite bargain where he loved you from afar because he was worried his passion would be too much for you.”
“Beck doesn’t love me.” I’m utterly certain of that truth. “He just met me.”
“He won’t be able to help himself, and neither will you.” The vampire picks up a small satchel Cara filled. He settles it over my shoulder, giving me a sharp slap on the back. It moves me forward a little. “Be careful out there and remember what I told you.”
“And just what did you tell my mate, vampire?” Beck’s eyes are a glacial gray as he stands in the doorway.
I freeze, but Dante merely rolls his eyes. “It’s always Dante or my cos, when he wants something. And when he’s pissed off he calls me vampire. He says it like it’s a bad thing. I’ll have you know that vampires are the most advanced of all the races. Come to my plane sometime, sweetheart, and I’ll show you. We’re launching a mission to test a deep space shuttle. Vamps in space. It’s going to be awesome.” Dante jauntily slaps his cousin on the back. “See you at the village. I’ll give Cian your greeting, but I’ll keep my mouth shut about her. It’s better if she’s a surprise.”