Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
The clerics and their angel had marked Naomi for death. They’d targeted her multiple times. They’d attempted to take her from this world—from him—on four separate fucking occasions . . . and he’d known nothing of it until tonight.
Only one need overrode the urge to hunt the fuckers. The need to tuck Naomi away somewhere safe. His protective instincts were on fucking fire, and the flames weren’t going to die down any time soon.
He felt his skin stretch; knew his demons were again pushing at it as they writhed in fury. Could he blame Naomi for keeping them in the dark, though? Intellectually, no. Not when he understood exactly how important it was that she preserve her secrets.
On hearing that Lou was her father, shock had reverberated through his very bones. Many times he had contemplated what she could be keeping from him. He’d internally chewed on many theories. But not once, for even a single fleeting moment, had he considered this.
It explained a lot, though. Such as why she hesitated to get close to people, why she spoke so little of her biological father, and why said father wasn’t around much. It was safer for her that way.
As for her need to drink blood . . . yeah, that had been another shock. And again, it was only natural that she wouldn’t easily share that with others. Still, a part of him was pissed at her for keeping it from him. Because this woman had some-the-fuck-how come to mean everything to him.
He’d been well aware when they first started their fling that burning off the sexual chemistry would be no quick or easy feat. But he hadn’t even suspected that he might come to care for her, or just how fucking encompassing the feeling would be.
He’d known he was in trouble when he felt driven to come inside her. He’d willfully ignored it, not wanting to examine all he felt for her too closely; not wanting to see that other emotions were interwoven in the carnal need and primal possessiveness that gripped him tightly.
Bonding didn’t come naturally to Luka. He wasn’t good at letting people close. And the slight disconnect between him and his deeper emotions—which was no doubt a by-product of his upbringing—made it even more difficult.
He had always known that there was a high chance he’d spend his life alone. He’d just never imagined he would claim a woman, and he’d been unable to envision a scenario in which all three of his entities would be on board with it. So he’d prepared himself for a life of relative solitude. He hadn’t prepared himself to be someone’s partner. Hadn’t thought there’d be a woman who’d put up with the ways in which his father’s lessons had shaped him.
What he felt sure of was that he wouldn’t make an easy mate. He knew how proprietary he could be of anything he formed an attachment to—his father had never been able to quash that tendency, despite his best efforts. When Luka became that firmly attached to something, he would hog and obsess over it . . . much as he did with Naomi.
“You’re serious,” she marveled, cutting right through his thoughts.
“Utterly,” he confirmed.
She continued to stare at him in disbelief. “Luka, I just tossed some heavy shit at you. I fed from someone in front of you.”
“You did. And I can’t lie, it all came as a fuck of a shock. But none of it changes what I want or feel.”
She spluttered. “Maybe not right now. But what about later? What about when the full impact of it hits you?”
“It already hit me. Even if it hadn’t, my response would be the same when it did. I’ve never once struggled to walk away from a woman. Maybe that makes me an asshole, but it’s how it is. Leave you, though? It isn’t going to happen, Naomi, it’s just not. Would you walk away from me if it was the other way around and I’d landed all that stuff on you?”
Her brow creased. “No.”
“Then why do you find it so hard to believe that it doesn’t change anything for me?”
She clenched and unclenched her hands, her breathing speeding up. “I thought maybe you could accept it, but I would never have expected that at the same time you’d declare that you wanted to claim me as your mate. I wasn’t sure you’d ever do the latter. I figured the best I could hope for would be that you’d be prepared to try a relationship.”
“Well, you were wrong. And it’s a relief to hear that you were hoping I’d want a relationship, because it means we’re on the same page. I know you generally avoid them, though I didn’t know why exactly until now.”
She swallowed. “It isn’t just that I have secrets to guard. My relationships always went south. Guys inevitably reached a point where they couldn’t deal with how my song snatches male attention. It isn’t something I can control, but they came to resent me for it sooner or later. They were asses to me whenever other guys ogled or came on to me—as if I like that shit—and they’d even get paranoid that I was snapping up those offers and cheating on them.”