Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Now no man will lay his eyes on her unless I allow it. If I wish, I will lock her in my tower and keep her as one of my treasures.
I’m tempted to do it now… but no. I am committed to winning Tabitha’s affections. Her love. Although I’d prefer to lock her in a cage, allowing her out only when I wish to breed her…
A delicate clearing of the throat calls my attention to the door, where Buttons, my butler stands, impeccably dressed, as always, in his coat tails and cumberbund.
“Forgive the intrusion, sir, but Mr. Hess says you have a meeting scheduled with him.”
I don’t wish to tear my gaze from my sleeping bride, but Buttons is right. My head of security awaits to be briefed on how I plan to keep Tabitha safe. It’s important.
“Thank you, Buttons. I will be right there.”
I allow myself one more touch of my treasure’s silky hair and leave.
Tabitha
My face is pressed to a silken cloud. Did my bed become extra comfortable last night? Even the sheets feel softer. The mattress embraces me like it’s molded to my form.
I crack my eyes and try to move. I feel like I slept for a couple of years.
The room around me is dark, but automatically, I know it's not home. I’m not in my cute converted train car where I live in Taos, New Mexico.
Where am I? My brain is slow to come online. Why can’t I remember how I got here?
The bed is huge. My bed back home is way smaller, and it’s not surrounded by a thick brocade curtain that cocoons the king-sized bed in shadow. The drapes hang from a four-poster frame and even cover the top. It’s a rich red and gold tapestry the likes of which I've seen in antique auctions that I frequent.
Is that gold thread? I sit up to examine it and pull open the curtain to peek out. I’m in a massive stone room with more red and gold Turkish rugs. The thirty-foot-high ceiling has thick wooden rafters like some sort of medieval great hall.
Did I hit my head? Am I in some sort of hotel, and I don't remember checking in?
I was on a road trip headed to a jewelry show. I had a few antique auctions to stop at along the way.
My head is muzzy like I took a sleeping pill. I rub my face. There's something I was supposed to do...
I reach for my phone, but it’s gone. I’m wearing my peasant skirt and a loose white blouse, but my well-worn Birkenstocks are missing.
My hair is down and in a smooth sheet. Not in my usual braid, but it’s unsnarled for once. I must have slept solidly, with no dreams or thrashing around.
My heart starts to pick up speed when I can’t figure out how I got here. I mean, sometimes when I travel it takes me a minute to remember where I am, but this time it’s just not coming back.
What happened to me?
The last thing I remember, I was headed to a special estate sale in my pink VW bus. The directions took me to the middle of nowhere.
The rest is all muzzy.
I pull back the curtains in preparation to swing out of bed. My legs are wobbly and weak, so I give myself a second.
On the far left wall is a bank of ancient-looking windows. I can’t see anything more than sky–the glass is old and warped and looks bounded by lead. Between me and the windows is a space that would fit my whole Taos home. Instead of bean bag chairs and lava lamps, there are antique chairs upholstered in red velvet and a massive stone fireplace decorated with snarling gargoyles.
This hotel’s really going with the medieval gothic theme. All that's missing is a suit of armor in the corner.
Everything is clean at least. And warm–there’s an actual fire in the fireplace. A bluish flame dances along modern-looking sculpture, but faint black scorch marks on the stone tell me this was used as a fireplace long before it was updated to a gas-fed fire.
To the right of the bed is what looks to be a bathroom. I stumble into it on shaky legs. The bathroom is just as cavernous, and they kept the medieval castle theme with the exception of modern plumbing. The pool-sized bathtub is set into the stone floor. Even more tempting is the steam shower, a wonder of technology with so many buttons and nozzles I might need an engineering degree just to figure out how to turn it on.
I settle for splashing water on my face. The towels are a dream, white and plushy. Four out of five stars. Minus one for the weird castle vibe.
There’s a door off the bathroom. Soft overhead lights go on, revealing dresses, blouses, skirts, and jeans hanging in neat rows between floor-to-ceiling shelves holding pairs and pairs of gorgeous shoes. Whose?