Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
“That toxin should’ve lasted hours more!”
“Feeling’s returning all over. I’m a mated demon, remember? All my new strength is meant to protect you.” He glanced down; blood rushed back to one area especially. “And to pleasure you.”
That sight made her melt. “I thought demons only got stronger after claiming their mate.”
“Ah, I like how your merc mind works. You want me to claim you so I’ll be a better asset in our future battles. If I must . . .”
“Don’t put words into my mouth.”
“Gods, don’t remind me of putting things into your mouth.” His erection strained in his jeans.
She absently asked, “Are you trying to distract me from my concerns?”
“You’re staring at my cock like a vampire eyeing an artery, so I’d say it’s working.”
“We do have unfinished business.” She dragged her gaze away from his crotch. “But your injuries . . .”
“Forgotten.” His emphatic tone made her grin. He managed to swing his legs around. “Are you sure the visitors are done?”
She nodded. “For now.”
Rök stood, testing his muscles and stretching his limbs. With long, surefooted strides, he retrieved his sword and sheathed it with one try.
As he returned to her with his shoulders back and his blue gaze focused on her face, she regarded him with a new eye. Was that magnificent demon truly . . . hers?
Sitting beside her on the divan, he grew serious as he said, “I only stayed away from you because I wanted what’s best for you.”
“And you suffered for that.”
He didn’t deny it.
“You told me you knew I was yours during our date,” she said. “How?”
“I’d sensed something different about you even before then. Your scent got me strung tight, and competing on jobs against you felt wrong. First time in my life I was pulling for a competitor to win. Then I realized that seeing you was the only highlight in my life, the one thing that got me going,” he said, making her heart clench and filling her with elation. “During our date, suspicion turned to confidence.” He canted his head. “When did you know about me?”
She blinked. “Know?”
“Smart-ass.” Lightning flashed, the storm still raging. He glanced around the eerie ballroom then back to her. “I thought we were done for. I really did. And I had so many regrets. I wished I’d been spending the last two years with you. I don’t want to waste another minute.”
“Me neither.” We might not have as long as we’d hoped. Time to go out with a bang? “I want more. I need all of you.”
“For good?”
She cast him a saucy look. “For now. Earn it, demon.”
Eyes lively, he said, “Oh, fuck me, witch. I like these challenges.”
I know. She leaned forward and nipped his bottom lip.
SIXTEEN
Rök groaned when Poppy released his lip, but he couldn’t quite settle in.
With each flare of lightning, the draped statues seemed to creep closer. The faces in the portraits appeared to sneer before shifting back to grim disapproval. “For our first time, I imagined taking you to a nicer place.”
She removed her bag and jacket. “Oh, really? You would’ve screwed me in that restaurant parking lot, and don’t you deny it.” He had to grin. “Besides, I’m a witch, you’re a demon, and it’s Halloween. If two mercs like us were ever going to get it on, it should be in a place with flickering chandeliers, wandering-eye portraits, and Casper-like dust covers. The setting isn’t romantic. But it fits.”
His mate had a point. “Never dull with you, Poppy. Though shouldn’t we be searching for the castle’s battery so we can get the hell out?”
“It might not even be here, but gateways to other realms could be. What if we stumble across one? I mean, something happened to the previous explorers.”
Another good point. Those Loreans had been strong and skilled, yet some circumstance or enemy had bested them.
She checked her watch. “I vote we stay here until closer to moonset, then exit the castle the way we entered.”
At least here they had a clear vantage.
“Which gives us some time.” She made short work of her boots and jeans. When she peeled off her top, all his protests were forgotten.
This is the vantage I want, he thought as she removed her bra to uncover a bounty: pert, creamy flesh tipped with coral-hued nipples. Fondling and kissing those breasts in the attic had been just a tease. He reached forward to cup her, learn her. He leaned in to bury his face between the mounds, inhaling her scent.
Poppy. Breathe her in.
Neanderthalian? He felt like it. He wanted to pin her down on furs before a fire and rut her like an animal.
Yet at the same time he needed to cherish her. He faced her again. “Poppy . . .”
“Your eyes are ablaze.”
As smoke drifted from his skin, he admitted, “Lust is about to overwhelm me, and yet my feelings for you are infinitely stronger.” When the visitors had captured him, he’d had no thoughts of self-preservation, only fear for her. Suddenly, he’d become more than himself. Rök had assumed that would happen as he claimed his mate; instead, it’d happened as he’d been about to lose her. “I’ve never experienced anything like this.”