Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Him and me and the feel of weightlessness as we hurtled through the sky, shooting downward toward that glittering water, the silence in my head so peaceful, I almost moaned from the relief in it.
And in those moments, right before the bungee jerked us to a stop and hauled us back up into the air, a glorious laugh ripped from my lips. A sense of joy and freedom overwhelming me to the point of tears. Because at that moment, I wasn’t dying, I was flying, and even death couldn’t catch me.
“You haven’t stopped smiling since the jump,” Ajax said an hour later, standing outside my house, where he’d insisted to see me home.
“I think I’d be really great at flying,” I said, unable to wipe off the smile he’d brought up. I was still riding that high—even more so since Ajax had followed me home, his Range Rover following behind me the whole way like some dark guardian.
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” he said, eyes flashing to my front door behind me.
He stepped a little closer, inhaling deeply as if he was as captivated by my scent as I was his…though, I suddenly wondered what the hell I smelled like to him since my perfume no doubt wore off after the jump.
I tilted my head, locking eyes with him as my heart hammered in my chest. He wouldn’t have driven all this way if he didn’t want to come in, right? Hell, he’d tucked my sleepy ass into bed the other night. Surely, he wanted to come in. And he knew my story now, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have all the facts. And even if I didn’t know all of his story, I knew what my body was begging for, what my heart was begging for, and it was to be touched and consumed by this mysterious, gorgeous man.
“Ajax,” I whispered, as he leaned down, so close to my mouth that his warm breath hit my cheek. My lips parted, my blood already racing at the idea of reaching up and brushing my mouth over his—
“Get some good rest tonight, Grace,” he said, his voice low and rough as he took a step away from me.
The air deflated from my lungs as I watched him back up to his car, some kind of battle playing out over his features as he opened the door and slid in.
I watched him drive down my street, my lips parted and still tingling from how close he’d been, how easy it would have been to break that distance between us.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to turn around and go into my house. I couldn’t really blame him for running away. It wasn’t like there was any future with me, but for just a second, I thought he wasn’t interested in a future and only interested in the present.
I’d been wrong.
Well, the smile I’d worn all night was now most certainly gone.
5
AJAX
For all the aggravations that came with living at court with the royal family, at least it was entertaining. I peeled my apple at the counter in the busy kitchen and watched the scenes of early evening play out in front of me like a live television screen.
Valor, Lachlan’s mate, was currently telling Lachlan to shove his concerns about her caffeine consumption up his ass while she poured herself a second cup of coffee. Lucky for him, the growly Scot knew when to retreat, because I wouldn’t have put it past the human redhead to hurl that mug at his head.
I grinned as they took their argument into the living room.
“And that’s why I thank God every day that I’ve never mated,” Zachariah said, grabbing one of the muffins off the counter.
Saint grunted in agreement next to Zachariah. He might not be saying much these days, but at least he was feeding. He’d filled out a little more, so his cheekbones didn’t look so sharp they could cut people anymore, but the fact that the room felt about twenty degrees colder standing next to him told me that his mind wasn’t healing as quickly as his body. I slammed down my mental shields, and the temperature rose.
“Never mated a human, anyway,” Talon muttered, coming to stand on my opposite side. “That’s why he’s such an overprotective simp. He’s constantly stressed that her frail little body is going to give out on him.”
Right. Because humans were delicate. Just look at Grace. She looked completely healthy, and yet she’d be dead before fall. The dagger I’d been peeling my apple with slipped in my hand at the thought, and I barely kept from nicking my thumb.
I’d been too busy to see her last night, but damn, every fiber of my being demanded I make time tonight. Every part of me craved her, which was exactly why I’d walked away before kissing her a couple of days ago. With vampires, sex and blood went hand in hand.