Total pages in book: 208
Estimated words: 207002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1035(@200wpm)___ 828(@250wpm)___ 690(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 207002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1035(@200wpm)___ 828(@250wpm)___ 690(@300wpm)
Neri would be finishing class by now and coming home to me.
I better hurry.
I’d ordered a few toys.
I’d hidden them in our wardrobe.
I’d been trying to get up the guts to give her what she wanted for months now, still terrified of letting myself fully go in case I couldn’t stop. But last night, I’d read the book she’d been devouring, and had to admit, some of those scenes were fucking hot. As long as I could keep the monstrous part of myself tamed, I could give her what she wanted.
I could tie her up.
I could bind her, blind her, and treat her as if she was nothing more to me than a wet, willing possession.
I gritted my teeth as my cock reacted.
Heading toward the sliding doors, I yanked the curtains tightly, blocking out the darkening twilight. I needed to set up a few things before she got home. I wanted all the curtains closed, all the windows locked, and candles lit for illumination.
I needed a shower and to attach the cuffs to the ceiling in our bedroom.
If she wanted to be fucked by a lion, she would get mauled by one tonight.
My cock thickened again, picturing Neri with her arms up and bound, tethered in place with leather cuffs in the middle of our bedroom. Naked and begging, skin flushed and legs parted—
Fuck.
Grabbing myself through my work-dirty shorts, I hissed between my teeth.
You better jerk off in the shower.
I wouldn’t have the stamina to give the full bondage experience if I didn’t. I was on the cusp of coming just thinking about her ass blooming red and my cock sinking inside her wet, tight—
Fuck, shower.
Now.
Unbuttoning and unzipping, I stalked down the corridor to the bathroom.
Wrenching down my shorts and boxer-briefs, I yanked off my t-shirt and opened the glass door to turn on the water—
Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
“Fuck,” I huffed as my phone had a meltdown where I’d left it in the lounge.
The temptation to ignore it was strong. The images of what I’d do to Neri tonight made me slightly insane. But the ever-present fear of something happening to her dampened my lust with ice, making me march back, butt naked, to the table and snatch up the vibrating device. “Yeah?”
“Aslan, hey. Was worried you weren’t going to pick up.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t have time for this. I needed to deal with my hard-on, prepare the apartment, and ensure I pounced on my hot little wife the moment she stepped through the front door. “Griffen. Hi. Everything okay? I’m a little pressed for time at the mo—”
“I’m not calling about rents or tenants. I, eh—” He cleared his throat. “I’m at the hospital.”
My head snapped up. “Shit, are you okay? What happened?”
“It’s, um...it’s not me who’s hurt.”
“Nerida.” The ice in my veins turned into a raging blizzard. “Please tell me she’s not—”
“I was on campus when her class returned from a research trip on the reef. She was stung by a glaucus atlanticus.”
My knees wobbled as adrenaline drenched me. I had no idea what that was, but if it lurked in Australian waters it was fucking deadly. “Kafami sikeyim, is she okay? What hospital? I’m coming right now.” Racing to our bedroom, I yanked open the wardrobe.
“She’s coherent and doing much better. She, um...she told me to tell you not to come. That it’s probably best you don’t—”
“What hospital, Griffen? Tell me, or I’ll waste my entire fucking night looking for her.”
“Shit, okay, fine. But just...be careful. She’ll kill me for letting you—”
“Where the fuck is she?!”
“Townsville University Hosp—”
I hung up before he’d finished.
Not wasting time with underwear, I yanked on a pair of jeans, shrugged into a black t-shirt, and bolted out the door.
Chapter Fifteen
*
Aslan
*
(Heart in Filipino: Puso)
“NERIDA...”
My heart finally stopped smashing itself against my ribs as I found her. Striding into the private room where she lay on a bleached-white bed, I stumbled a little in sheer fucking relief.
Her crystal-blue eyes found mine. “Aslan. Oh my God, what are you doing here? You shouldn’t have come.” Her gaze shot to Griffen, who stood beside her, his bald head gleaming with the fluorescents above. “I told you not to let him come. He can’t be here. It’s not safe.”
Griffen shrugged with a grin. “You told me not to call your father too, but I did. And besides, we both know Aslan would’ve found you, with or without my help.”
“You called my dad?” Neri scowled. “This has all gotten completely out of hand. I’m fine!”
“You weren’t fine when I drove you here. Professor Mazen told me you threw up six times on the voyage home. You were doubled over in pain and passed out—”
“She passed out?” I choked as I stopped by the side of her bed, drinking her in. She looked pale and drawn; shadows existed under her eyes, and she kept wincing as her legs moved beneath the sheets.