Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
The lover and the killer.
The two halves of the same impossible love.
Pinned beneath the weight of their gaze, my breath went shallow. My heart hit my ribs hard enough to bruise. My skin warmed everywhere at once, like every nerve had risen to the surface to be witnessed.
I had never been looked at like this in my entire life.
Studied like a sacred thing.
Guarded like a treasure they would burn cities to keep.
Held by two sets of eyes that were really one set of eyes, because the man was the beast and the beast was the man, and both of them belonged to me.
They were both mine.
And I was theirs.
The dragon-shadow lowered its enormous head closer until I could feel its presence as cool weight against my chest, settling there like a guardian. Its breath, if shadows breathed, was the breath of a creature too vast to fear anything alive.
And it was breathing for me.
Watching for me.
Waiting for me.
Meanwhile, the Dragon's mouth was a careful line, but his eyes held a hunger I recognized now.
The hunger to protect.
The hunger to keep.
The hunger to make sure his Tiger would never know terror again unless he was the one giving it to her.
I felt the obsession of it. I felt the worship of it. I felt every second of being chosen by a creature whose every choice carried the weight of fate, and a man who loved beyond measure.
A tremble started at the base of my spine and rolled all the way up.
I was wanted.
Watched.
Owned.
Adored.
By man and beast.
By Kenji and the Dragon.
By love and fire.
And underneath the fear of what he might still decide to do—a deeper, more dangerous truth settled inside me.
I had never felt so completely, dangerously safe.
I cleared my throat. “There. . .won’t be many times where I ask you to. . .kill anyone for me.”
Kenji remained silent and his face gave away nothing. Yet, the dragon-shadow peered even closer and the glow of his gold eyes intensified.
I chose my words carefully. “For you. . .for. . .your world. . . the solution is usually death. I understand more and more each day. But for me. . .I would always want to find solutions that do not deal with death. And. . .when I tell you I feel a certain way about a person. I would like you to brainstorm with me on ways that don’t involve burning them alive.”
The dragon-shadow tilted its huge shimmering, wispy head to the side.
Was it taking note?
Or did it think I was crazy?
Then, Kenji tilted his head to the side, matching the dragon-shadow completely. “So. . .”
I quirked my brows.
“This means no torturing either?”
I widened my eyes. “Well. . .I mean. . .obviously if the person is pregnant no. And I’m not a fan of torturing women because I’m about that feminist life. But you know. . .I would want to probably find much healthier ways to deal with the situation.”
“Sometimes drawing blood is healthy for all parties involved.”
My throat went dry. “Well. . .I believe you.”
“But for now you want me to look at more diplomatic solutions to solve your problems?”
“Yes.”
“Then, we would include Reo in the discussion. He is the one to still my finger when it wants to press on a trigger.”
“I love Reo, so I’m always a fan of that.”
The dragon-shadow rose back to the ceiling and began to scan the room. Some of the pressure of its intensity left my chest.
“Hmmm.” Kenji nodded. “At the party last night, Reo took me to the side and brought up another option in dealing with Kiko.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“He said this at the party?”
“He did.”
“Why do you think he was even thinking about Kiko and the situation?”
“Trying to figure out the Roar’s thinking is like trying to solve a puzzle with 40% of the pieces missing.”
Yet, I thought about why Reo brought Kiko up last night and guessed that. . .he knew Kiko and her crew tried to crash the party. He was the Roar after all. Before I got any security breach, he would have received it.
I was just glad he didn’t tell Kenji or Hiro that. If he had, I might have smelled her crew and her burning bodies this morning.
I let out a long breath. “What option did Reo bring up?”
“He thinks we should break the rules of our way and get the DNA test before she has them.”
I widened my eyes. “Oh.”
“He knows the doctor and we have a lab in the small clinic on this island. He believes we would have the results within 24 hours.”
“Oh shit.”
“Would that calm you?”
“Yes. It would at least stop everything from being up in the air. Then. . .if the twins are yours. . .I can mentally prepare for that and maybe even figure out how we can all. . .co-parent in peace.”
“Then, I’ll tell Reo to put that in motion.”