Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
“I think we found a good job for Raine, something that will make her feel very useful. It will force Rush and Rainier to give her back her laptop. She can ensure the senator doesn’t attempt to carry out his threats against you.”
“That would make both of us very happy, Wilder. Thank you for thinking of it.”
“We’ll get you a different phone. I think it best to keep this one so the senator, when he gets a secure line, can call again and rant and rave.”
“He does a lot of that if he doesn’t get his way.”
She was especially happy that Wilder hadn’t identified himself.
“Let’s get some sleep, Harlow.” Wilder held out his hand to her. He led her back into the house and indicated the guest room. “This room or yours?”
Her heart stuttered. “Wilder?”
“Sleep. That’s all.”
She took the plunge, indicating the guest room. She didn’t want his scent all over her sheets and pillows if things went sideways between them.
“Don’t look so scared, mon rêve, I’m just going to hold you so you feel safe. That nonsense with the senator is just that, but you’ll have nightmares if I’m not here to stop them.”
That could very well be true, so she didn’t argue with him. It was strange to slide under the covers and have a warm, hard body wrap itself around hers. One leg tangled with hers, his thigh over hers. His arm circled her waist, pulling her into him.
“Sweet dreams, baby,” he whispered, and settled his head close to hers.
At first, her heart beat too fast, and she was far too aware of every inch of his body that was tight against hers. He breathed evenly. Rhythmically. She found that soothing and began to relax. He didn’t attempt to speak again. In fact, she didn’t know if he had fallen asleep or not.
Misha had curled up at the end of the bed rather than go into the primary bedroom without her. She found the presence of her dog nearly as comforting as being held in Wilder’s arms. His body was warm. His heart and breathing, steady. Once again, he was right in that she felt safe. So safe she drifted off to sleep and didn’t have a single nightmare.
Chapter Nine
Alek Donovan, owner of the local Grill, wandered around Harlow’s studio studying the various prints she had displayed on the wall. Her process was to place prints where she could look at them in different lights. She could catch any flaws or find ways to improve the photograph before deciding whether she would send it to one of the galleries that sold her work.
“Thanks for letting me come,” Alek said. “I repainted the walls in the restaurant area, and they looked bare. Totally bare. I didn’t like the metalwork I had up before and didn’t want to go in that direction again. I had the bright idea of displaying some of the local artists’ work. Stella saved my business by putting the Grill on the map with her customers. I thought I could help out some of the locals by displaying their work, not that you need much help, Harlow.”
She laughed at his suddenly embarrassed expression. Clearly, he was worried he’d offended her. “Every artist can use help, Alek,” she reminded. “Especially when they’re first starting out. I don’t paint; I take photographs. People have amazing cameras on their phones now and don’t have any idea of the amount of work I’ve done to the photos I send to the various galleries willing to display my work.”
Alek stood in front of the studio display wall looking up at her latest project. “Frost and Venom. Cool title. I actually love this one, Harlow. I wouldn’t want to sell it, even if I got a commission.”
“It isn’t the final artwork, Alek. There are a couple of things I want to do to enhance the frost on the barn and ground without compromising the shadowy rattlesnakes. I want people to have to look for them.”
He stepped closer to the wall to examine the photograph. “I see them. In the shadows there. That’s amazing. The spiderwebs in that light are the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Alek added, staring up at the photograph. “They contrast so well with the barn, the way the barn is slowly falling to pieces. It looks like the spiders are trying to hold it up with silk. I don’t think I ever appreciated spiders more than I do just looking at this.”
“I purposely tried not to highlight the snakes in the rocks, which is where the title of the art came from. Eyes are supposed to be drawn to the spiderwebs. I need something to justify blatantly using the term venom.” She couldn’t help her frustration. She wasn’t certain how to overcome that flaw, or even if she wanted to. She knew it was a beautiful and unusual photograph and would sell well. She really wanted to keep the rattlesnakes a shadowy secret the viewers would have to discover. It would be nice to have another focal point for anyone viewing the photograph to believe she’d named the art piece Frost and Venom for that reason and not the partially hidden snakes. Not until they were discovered.