Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
“You’re right,” he said, exhaling roughly. “I have. And my bones will have turned to dust before I forgive myself for that.”
I took another step back, a little dazed by the honesty of his words. He spoke the truth, but…
But truths were meaningless when I knew I could bend them to my will, shaping my own reality.
As could he.
“Do you…?” Glossy waves tumbled over his forehead as he curtly shook his head and took a deep breath. “Do you remember how I hurt you before?”
A hundred different words rushed to the tip of my tongue, only to vanish before I could speak them. I couldn’t answer him. Pressure clamped down on my chest. How could I not answer that?
Did it even matter?
Yes.
No.
My stomach churned with hunger, and my chest squeezed with uncertainty.
“Okay.” He drew in another breath, this one stilted as he came closer without me realizing he was moving. “Let’s start over. Your name is Poppy. You’ve probably already gotten that.” A brief, wry grin appeared. “My name is Casteel, but I…I love it when you call me—”
“Cas—” The word burst from me, coming from somewhere deep within.
“That’s correct,” he said softly, the aura behind his pupils intensifying at my sharp inhale. “What is the last thing you remember?”
Shadows and gold flashed before me. Gold bars. I opened my mouth, but the only word that came out was, “Pain.”
He flinched again as the taste of icy agony gathered in my throat. It wasn’t mine.
My eyes widened as I stared at him. It was his pain—the kind that went deeper than physical wounds. It shocked me that he allowed me to feel it. That he would allow himself to be so vulnerable. But I didn’t want to feel that. I couldn’t.
I shut myself down.
It was like closing a door. All at once, his pain disappeared, leaving only the feeling that I should be surprised by how easy it had been. Like I had struggled to do it in the past. But why would I have struggled with something so simple? I was a Primal god.
“What pain do you remember?” he asked, several inches closer now.
I couldn’t answer that either. An image flashed in my mind: crimson and dull-white—blood and bone.
“Okay.” A muscle flexed along his jaw. “We’ll figure it out together.”
Together?
“But first, you must be hungry,” he said.
An ache rippled across my jaw. I was.
“So very hungry,” he murmured, his gaze never leaving mine. I didn’t even think he blinked. “Right?”
I stayed silent, but my hands opened and closed. It hurt to speak. It hurt to breathe. My head ached, and when I thought too hard, all I saw were crimson-laced shadows in my mind. All I heard was instinct warning me not to trust him. To… Get out before he grows even more powerful. Take him down. Do it—
“Stop,” I hissed, pressing my hands to the sides of my head.
“Stop what?” Concern colored his tone. “Poppy?”
I lowered my hands and saw him eyeing me like he could see right into me. It made me squirm. I lowered my hands the rest of the way. I needed to focus. I needed to…
Do it now. Do it before it’s too late. Don’t be—
“Weak,” I whispered as the beautiful man across from me watched.
“You’ve always been so weak and fragile,” he whispered. “I love that about you.”
“W-what?” A tremor ran through me. “I’m…not weak.”
His eyes widened. “I didn’t say you were.”
“Yes.” I drew in a ragged breath. “Yes, you did.”
His dark brows furrowed. “I asked if your head was hurting you.”
I stared at him, my stomach shifting. I’d seen his lips move. I’d heard him whisper—
“Poppy?” Was he closer? I thought he might be. “What did you hear?”
“I heard…” I folded an arm over my stomach and glanced at the doors.
“No.”
The sharply spoken word drew my attention back to him.
“The result of what you’re thinking will be the same as before,” he warned softly. “And there’s no reason to run. I won’t hurt you again.”
Don’t trust him.
His lips pressed together as he fell silent. Several heartbeats passed, his eyes searching mine. It really was like he could see right into me, and I didn’t like it.
Then, he did the strangest thing.
He grinned, one side of his mouth tipping up. It didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
His statement caught me off guard. “You don’t…scare me.”
“Is that so?” A tinge of satisfaction filled his voice. “Then why do you keep backing up?”
I wasn’t…
Reaching back, I felt the cool stone wall.
He lifted a brow and crossed his arms. For a moment, I was distracted by how the simple movement caused the skin of his biceps to tighten and the muscles of his chest to flex in the most fascinating manner. Heat crept into my cheeks.
Honest to gods, it was the very last thing I should be paying attention to. I could almost hear a weathered voice telling me to focus. The voice that belonged to…