Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 159420 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 531(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159420 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 531(@300wpm)
“You’re fine, all right?” I tell him. “You’re gonna be okay. We’re going to help you.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be okay,” Reverie adds. “Do you… do you know where you are?”
“Yeah, do you know what happened?”
Was it the man with green eyes and the scar? And if so, what did you do?
I’m completely focused on the man, and yet, I don’t see it coming. I don’t see him, now freed and more aware of his surroundings, breaking into action and lunging at me. I scream as he grabs me by the arm and pulls me toward him. I go crashing into his hard and bloody body and start struggling. I twist my arm in his grip while trying to kick him at the same time. But even injured, he’s stronger than me. His grip is brutal, and there’s violence in his eyes. Violence and lust. The kind that makes my belly churn and bile rise up in my throat.
Just then Reverie hits him in the head with the wooden slat. He instantly lets me go and grunts in pain. But my relief is only momentary because in a flash, he’s upon Reverie. He pounces on her and takes her down. He pins her to the floor with his disgusting body and the rage that rises up in me at that, the terror for my best friend, makes everything blurry. I get ahold of the wooden slat and swing it at him. Once, twice, three times, maybe. When that doesn’t slow him down, I jump on his back and try to get him off my friend. Somehow he manages to throw me off and I hit the floor hard. I blink up at the ceiling, trying to get my bearings back, my breath, as Reverie screams from the other side of the room. I tell myself to get up, to go to Reverie, save her, but I can’t make myself move.
And then, somehow, I see the last thing I was expecting to see: Arsen. He is here.
He’s pulling the man away from Reverie and beating the shit out of him. I don’t know if it’s real or I’m dreaming. But soon, from out of nowhere, a pair of hands appear to help me as well. They grab me under the arms and pull me up. They’re super gentle about it, too, handling me with care, careful to support my throbbing back, my buckling knees. Even so, for a dizzy second, I’m worried I won’t be able to stand on my own, but I shouldn’t have. Because those arms then go ahead and wrap themselves around me, one across my chest and the other securing my belly and pinning me to something.
A body. My back to a chest.
Large and hard. So warm that I breathe in my first full breath and the scent of leather and spices explodes around me. My lips pull up in a small smile and my eyes flutter closed. It’s him. It’s my Phantom. Somehow, he’s here, too, and I know I’m safe. I settle my pounding head in the crook of his shoulder and my throbbing back against his hips. Then I wrap my own arms around his and to my surprise and delight, he squeezes me to himself, giving me a reverse hug.
“Phantom,” I sigh.
I feel him stiffen behind me, his arms tightening and becoming bands. And I stiffen, too, as my relief evaporates. Reality crashes over me and I finally realize what’s happening here: We’ve been caught. Somehow, someway, they knew where to find us and they have. Never mind the fact that they also saved us in the nick of time. Whoever this man is, that Arsen is still beating up in a corner, attacked both Reverie and me. And if they hadn’t come when they did, I don’t even want to think about what could’ve happened.
“Arsen, stop,” Radisson growls from behind me.
And I try to break out of his hold, but all he does is tighten it even more and keeps me plastered to him. Arsen doesn’t listen to his friend’s command; he’s in a trance, in a world of his own. I’ve never seen anyone so focused on destroying something. So driven, so furious, and I don’t blame him for that. In fact, I’m happy. I want this strange man, whoever he is, to get what he deserves for attacking Reverie. And something tells me Arsen feels the same, only a lot more intensely. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who’s able to stop him. Despite Radisson calling out for Arsen to stop several times, it’s Reverie’s voice that at last reaches him.
In the sudden silence, Radisson snaps from behind me, “What the fuck happened?”
I flinch and once again try to get out of his hold but to no avail. The harder I struggle, the stronger his hold becomes. I still keep trying, scared, my heart almost pounding out of my chest. But it only makes him angrier. I know that because he growls, his chest vibrating at my back, and I immediately stop.