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)
Talon’s voice faded into the background, and my entire existence narrowed to the woman. The thrum of her delicate heartbeat, the soundless steps of her ballet flats on the sidewalk as she came closer, and the dulcet scent of freesia, peonies, and citrus—mixed with something alarmingly sweet—wound me instantly tight.
What a fucking stunner.
Her gaze jolted, colliding with mine, and she flashed a smile that had me slamming down every mental shield I had, grasping onto control to fight the instinct-driven descent of my fangs.
“Umm…thanks?” Her nose even crinkled with her grin as she paused a couple feet in front of me.
Fuck me, I’d said it aloud.
Smooth, Ajax. Smooth.
“Sorry,” I said to her. “My mouth ran away with me.”
“Don’t be.” Her gaze raked down me and her cheeks tinged pink with an instant blush as she fidgeted with her keys. “You’re not so bad yourself. That whole Aquaman vibe you have going is totally working for you.”
“Aquaman…” My brow knit. “That’s Marvel, right?”
“DC,” she answered, fumbling her keys.
I was off the bench, catching the bundle of metal before I could think not to, my movements supernaturally quick.
“Whoa. Those are some great reflexes,” she said as I stood to my full height. Her neck craned as she looked up at me.
She barely came to the level of my pecs, and yet I knew that if I were to lift her against me, that beautifully curved frame of hers would fit just right, and the peaks of the creamy breasts that rose with every breath under her blue top—
Stop thinking about her breasts.
“Here you go.” I handed her keys back, dropping them into her open palm and keeping my fingers from so much as brushing hers. If I touched her once, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop. The irrational thought flitted through my mind and I grasped onto every shred of control I had and held tight.
“Thank you…” She looked at me with expectation, lifting her brows.
“Ajax,” I answered, mirroring her smile with one of my own.
That scent…shit, what was it?
“Ajax,” she repeated. “Like the ancient Greek warrior.”
“My mother was a fan.” I grimaced. “Well, of one of them, anyway. Ajax the Lesser lost her with the whole assault thing.” Snapping my mouth shut, I found myself tongue-tied for the first time in a thousand years. Why the hell did I just say that? “Shit, that must sound creepy as fuck.”
“No.” She laughed, the sound as musical as windchimes. “Don’t worry. I know what you’re talking about. The Trojan War. The priestess. The temple. I get it. You’re more of an Ajax the Greater.”
“I think I’m in love.” My eyes widened. She was as smart as she was beautiful.
“If all it takes is a girl acing her test on the Iliad to impress you, then just wait until I tell you the grade I got on the Odyssey in college,” she whispered like it was a secret. “It was nice to meet you, Ajax.”
Yeah, I was more than into the sound of my name on her lips. “You too…” I paused just like she had.
“Grace,” she answered.
“Grace,” I repeated, then stepped aside, making sure she didn’t feel trapped.
She offered me another smile and then passed by, headed for the parking garage and taking her incredible scent with her.
I watched until she got behind the wheel to see that she was safe.
“We need to get back to the war room,” Talon said from my side. “If you’re done staring at the terminal.”
I’d completely forgotten he’d been there. That’s how focused I’d been on Grace. “Right.”
We walked behind the nearest tree, a massive oak where no one could see us, and then wended back to the residence, folding time and space and stepping through the ice-cold barrier. Wind and night ripped at my skin for the instant it took to arrive in the courtyard at the residence.
That’s when it hit me.
Talon had called Grace terminal.
That overly sweet note in her scent was death.
My heart clenched at the knowledge that someone so full of life would soon lose it.
Talon and I turned our back on the Domum, the formal portion of the palace, and walked into the residence, the mansion that housed the royal family, the Onyx Assassins, and their mates.
Well, their talem—dedicated servants—too. But the five of us who’d been awakened had yet to accept a talem. We’d never had them in our time, either.
We passed through the house, the marble foyer with its sweeping double staircase, and then walked by the kitchen, and the living room, where Lyric, the queen of the vampires and Alek’s mate, sat with some of the other females, including Avianna, who finally had some color back in her cheeks after her kidnapping.
They waved, and we nodded on our way to the staircase down to the war room. Stone rose on both sides of the steps until we reached the tunnels that ran beneath the compound and took the one straight ahead that led to the vault-like door of the war room.