Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
My pride kept the gulp from climbing all the way up my throat.
Some women were attracted to six-packs made up of strict diets and three-hour gym sessions.
I’d always had a thing for a brawny, muscular build. In my imagination, the more I could grab onto, the better. The thicker the thighs, the better the prize—andddd that was nothing I needed to focus on.
If I wanted a big, beefy guy to ogle, I could pick a football game to watch. Or a rugby match. Not the man I used to call Fluffy who didn’t exactly seem all that pleased to have me here, even if he had the exact body type that would’ve caught my attention in a crowded room.
“You injured?”
I knew he could see me, so I shook my head. “The only thing hurting right now is my ego if you saw me bust my ass.” The words “help me, I’m dying” had come out of my mouth, mostly because I liked Duncan’s attention as he climbed all over me, making sure I was fine… and because it had stung like an SOB.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be running around in the dark, Cricket,” he suggested, even closer now.
So we were back to “Cricket” again, huh?
And was that a joke?
I snickered, not sure how I felt exactly about this hot-cold thing we had going on. He had going on. I’d offered a hug. Offered to let him smell me up close. I was trying. Sure, he was teasing me now, but he’d thrown me under the bus hours ago.
I needed to talk to him about that. The sooner the better.
“I can see in the dark just fine,” I told him; there was no point in keeping that a secret. “I stepped on my shoelace, it’s my fault.”
Henri kept coming, not commenting on my explanation. But the man beside him made a sudden rough sound. He stopped, and I watched him take a deep breath.
Henri hadn’t given me back my bracelet after the meeting.
I touched the spot on my wrist where it usually sat, missing its weight. Missing what it meant. It’d been almost two decades since I’d begun wearing it full-time.
Henri gave the man a sharp look for some reason; it drew his eyebrows down flat. “Both of you can go home. We’ll search again in the morning.”
The small group whispered to each other, and the man and the woman changed direction when their chitchat was over. They headed toward the homes behind the main building. So many of them still had light coming through their windows, making the whole place even dreamier than during the day. It reminded me of something out of a postcard. The moonlight, the woods, the houses… all it needed was snow covering the ground. I bet it looked surreal during the winter.
I hoped we were here long enough to find out.
Unlike the two strangers, Henri kept coming toward us, stopping when he was a few feet away, so close his amber eyes reflected when he crouched.
He didn’t look very happy. He didn’t look very anything if I was going to be honest. I smelled different, but I was still the same person, just bigger and a little more mature most of the time.
I smiled at him. “Nice to see you again, Fluffy.”
The only reaction he had to the childhood nickname was the slightest flick of his left eyebrow. He didn’t say a word, which also meant he didn’t tell me not to call him that either.
It also reminded me that he and I needed to talk. “Sorry I bit you,” I apologized, hoping he could sense my sincerity. It seemed like a good place to start. The obsidian Duncan and I wore only helped keep our magic a secret; it didn’t do anything against feelings or facial expressions.
His eyes swept toward Duncan, who was watching him like a hawk, his small body still on edge. He had tried to take this man down for me. He had risked his life. I was going to need a private moment so I could cry over that at some point soon, I decided. He was going to get whatever he wanted for the rest of his life, dang it.
For now, I focused on Henri. “Sorry if it hurt,” I added.
That got him to snicker. “I’ve had stubbed toes that hurt more than that.”
Was that another joke? I guess I’d expected him to pretend he hadn’t heard me. But I could work with this. I’d rather have a joking Henri than a Mr. Rules and Regulations Henri. And that’s why I said, “All right. Next time I know to bite harder.”
That got me his undivided attention. “Excuse me?” he asked in that rumbly, commanding voice that I needed to get used to.
I laughed. “You heard me.” Did he expect me not to mess with him back?