Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Besides, I’m really hungry.
So I dig in and oh my God, it’s so good. Even better than last night’s feast, I think.
The tea is perfect after I stir a few sugar lumps and some cream into it. The croissants melt on my tongue. The honey tastes like flowers and sunlight, which is weirdly emotional for me, since I’m sitting in a vampire’s bedroom wondering if I’ll ever see the human world and any version of the Sun again.
All this luxury doesn’t mean anything, I tell myself as I spread honey on a slice of toast. This is just…hospitality. Manipulation. A strategy—Lucian’s way of keeping me happy and content so I don’t want to leave.
But all the same, the rich surroundings…the satin robe…the cozy chair by the fire and the amazing food…it all feels good.
And I hate that it feels good.
I will not be bought for a piece of buttered toast and a slice of smoked salmon, I vow to myself. I will still find a way out of here, back to Mr. Mittens and my Book Club friends.
Still, I keep eating because I’m hungry and because it steadies me. By the time I’m finishing the last of the berries, my body is warmer and my hands have stopped shaking. My brain is still spinning, but at least it’s spinning with fuel.
I’m just beginning to lay another set of escape plans when the door opens and Lucian steps inside.
He’s wearing another immaculate tailored suit—dark and severe and expensive-looking—the kind of suit that probably costs more than my car and makes you feel underdressed just by existing near it.
His thick black hair is perfectly styled and his face is calm. His eyes are that reddish gold this morning and so intense they make my stomach flip, which is annoying because my stomach should not be flipping for the man who kidnapped me.
He looks at me in the chair by the fire, wrapped in the red satin robe, eating off his silver tray like I live here. I feel the immediate need to stand up and start demanding that he should let me go home…but it feels almost silly to start yelling and shouting after everything that happened between us last night.
His eyes go half-lidded as he looks me over. Then he speaks, voice steady.
“Making yourself at home, I see. How are you feeling this morning?”
I swallow some tea to get rid of the lump in my throat before answering.
“Like I woke up in Dracula’s penthouse suite,” I say. “Which I guess is accurate.”
The corner of his mouth twitches, almost a smile.
He seems happy enough—or what passes for happy with a vampire Mafia boss, but I know he can’t be. I’m waiting for him to say something about last night. About me running…and stealing his signet ring. And about how I made him come after me and deal with the Demon Don, who is clearly his mortal enemy.
But surprisingly, Lucian says nothing.
Eventually the silence gets under my skin like a splinter, and I can’t wait any longer.
“Aren’t you mad at me?” I blurt out and then wish I could take the words back. Too late though—they’re out there.
Lucian frowns, looking honestly confused. “
Why would I be mad, little one?” he rumbles.
“Well…because I ran away and you had to come save me,” I say, wishing my voice sounded stronger, instead of like a little girl admitting something naughty she’s done.
Lucian shakes his head, frowning.
“You’re mine now, Julia—my responsibility. Which means whatever you do, reflects on me. I’m not angry because I should have been more specific with those idiotic guards who let you leave the Crimson Spires last night. I should have told them no one but me was to leave, no matter who they claimed to be or what they said.” He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Of course, I had no idea you’d have the ingenuity to steal my signet ring and pretend you were going by my leave. I must admit—I’m impressed by your creativity.”
My throat tightens. Impressed. Like this is some kind of twisted performance review.
“But…but the Demon Don—Kael—he made you give him a vial of your blood,” I protest. “What will he do with it? Will it give him power over you?”
Lucian shakes his head.
“No, little one. Not unless I entered the Carnal Bazaar again—which I don’t plan on doing ever again. We Dons of the Shadow Realm have ultimate power within our respective realms. As for what he’ll do with it…who knows? Probably use it to brew extremely strong lust potions. What flows through my veins is both potent and cursed.”
This does not make me feel better.
“So…you’re really not mad at me?” I ask again. “You’re not going to…to punish me?”
His eyes are suddenly heavy-lidded again.
“What kind of punishment did you have in mind, Julia?”
Suddenly, I remember the sex dungeon I saw yesterday during my escape—the one that’s right down the hall. Crap.