Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 92507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Nicola’s back in the kitchen, pulling something that looks suspiciously like homemade bread out of my wood-burning stove. Her hair is wet, twisted in a knot high on her head and a few tendrils curl around her face. Her clothes are different, but I can still see the swell of her breasts through the material. She beams at me, all smiles as I come in. “Hello again.”
My cock immediately responds to her voice and I shift on my feet. “Gonna sleep outside,” I bark at her. “You get the bed.”
She holds the bread for a moment longer, a curious expression on her face. “I don’t want to take your bed, Emvor—”
Kef, now she’s saying my name and my cock’s responding. This is unbearable. I ignore her, storming toward my room. I snatch the extra blanket off of the lid of my trunk and head back out, mumbling something about how it’s a nice night. Sure, let her think that.
Just don’t let her notice the front of my trou.
4
NICOLA
Emvor’s quiet over breakfast. He scarfs his food down quickly, if neatly, and doesn’t talk. He told me he’s not much of a talker, so I’m fine with that. It’s the fact that he won’t look at me at all that bothers me. I think about last night, and how he practically raced out of the house to avoid me, and I worry. I didn’t sleep much last night, and I know I’m going to bake up every bit of food in this kitchen with panic if he doesn’t speak to me, just a little.
So I wait for him to take a big bite of food, one that’ll take a moment for him to chew, and I clasp my hands. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
He has a startled look, like a deer in headlights. It’s kind of cute. I don’t know why he thinks he’s so hideous. There’s something so appealing about the way the mesakkah look with their strong faces, and he’s got lovely features. His horns are big and arching, his shoulders broad and his neck thick. It doesn’t matter to me that one side of his face is a little torn up from scars and the corner of his mouth is twisted down a bit. It means he’s got a story behind that, a past that he’s fought through. He’s a survivor.
I can appreciate that. I like that a lot, actually. I just wish he liked me.
“What is it?” he says, and his voice is gruff and unyielding. It makes me want to twist my hands or run away and hide.
“I know you’re angry at me.” I resist the urge to grab the nearest bowl and start throwing ingredients in it. “I realize that what I did was unfair to you. I wasn’t thinking about how you’d feel at being deceived. I was only thinking about how to save myself. It’s much easier when you don’t know the person on the other side of the problem. Now that I do, I know that what I did was wrong and I really do apologize—”
“Stop,” he says, and I flinch. That makes him scowl all the more. “I may not be the friendliest man,” he begins. “But I’m also not a heartless ass. You did what you had to do. Don’t apologize to me.” Emvor pauses, then continues. “I can’t keep you, though. I need a pa—”
“A partner, I know.”
“Someone else is gonna want a bride.” His tone is gruff but kind. He meets my eyes and his gaze is steady. “I’m not sending you back. You don’t have to be scared.”
“I’m not scared,” I bluff.
“No? Must’ve been me that was crying last night.” His tone is mild with rebuke, and he takes another bite of his breakfast.
Did he hear that? Oh great. Now he’s really going to think I’m a wimp. “I’m fine. Just emotional. It’s all the hormones I’ve been on recently.”
“Hormones?” he asks, shoving another mouthful of breakfast into his mouth. I’ll say one thing for him—he’s got a strong appetite, or he loves my food. Makes me feel good about that, at least.
“Yes, hormones. So I can get pregnant.”
He freezes, mid-chew. His gaze flicks to my body and then he flushes, his cheeks becoming nearly purple with color. “Right.” His voice is strangled and he shoves one last big bite of food in his mouth and gets up from the table, then heads out the door.
I watch him go, curious. That’s an interesting sort of reaction. Is he a virgin, I wonder? This place is very remote, which is precisely why it’s perfect to hide out. But Emvor can’t be attracted to me…can he? Maybe because I’m the only female around. I feel a stab of guilt. He’s lonely and I stomped on his dreams of having a bride by showing up and lying to him.