Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Robert shakes his head. “You don’t need to worry about that,” he says.
“Why?” I frown. Evan had denied even seeing the man.
Robert shakes his head again. “I just get the feeling he’d know better, that’s all.”
I’m not sure that’s enough to base my safety on, and how does Robert know about the man, when Evan said he only saw bears. Didn’t they arrive in the same truck? There’s a nagging feeling inside me, like a tiny splinter invisible to the naked eye. There’s a whole lot more to this weird experience than meets the eye. Or my eyes, at least!
“Where are your brothers? Don’t you guys always travel in a pack?”
Robert chuckles gently. “Not a pack, no. They went home.”
“So Hunter could chew on a bone?”
Robert’s expression is priceless before he snorts with laughter. He doesn’t explain his brother’s strange rabid behavior, and I don’t feel comfortable enough to ask, so we stand awkwardly for a moment. How did they get home if Robert took the truck? I could ask but I doubt he’d give me a straight answer. His eyes linger on mine then slide to my mouth. I stop breathing, anticipating a kiss but instead, he rests his coffee on the counter and drops to his haunches before me.
7
ROBERT
Goldie’s ankles are hurt. She hasn’t realized because the adrenaline is still coursing through her veins. Her panic smells like sour cherries. I lift the fabric of her loose pants while she stands frozen on the spot.
The anxiety radiating from her is like a sonic boom in my head. Inside, I’m riled up enough to split my skin, but I fight to control myself.
I glance up into her pretty blue eyes, finding them wide and scared. If I hadn’t already dealt with the reason for her fear, I’d be hunting him down right now. “Do you have a first aid kit?”
She blinks, confused, then seems to come back into herself. “Behind the counter.”
I rise, looming over her once again, searching out the supplies I need. My skin feels like it’s vibrating from our proximity. My lips are restless, wanting to claim hers. My hands itch to touch her in all her softest, sweetest places.
This is nothing I’ve ever experienced before.
Hunter’s words spin in a loop in my head.
She’s our destiny.
He’s right—these things can’t be disputed—but now she’s here, handling her is where we’re clashing. She’s nothing like I thought she’d be, and everything I could possibly want. Goldie’s a gift I’m too scared to unwrap because what’s underneath the pretty paper is more exciting than I ever imagined.
I kneel before her and roll up her pants so I’m free to work. She lets out a shuddering breath as though my gentle touch is affecting her. Seeing her cuts and bruises fills me with rage. We should have been there to protect her. We arrived too late.
It won’t happen again.
I take some antiseptic on a cotton pad and gently clean away the dried blood and mud. Goldie winces but mostly stays still. Her ankles are dainty, the bones frail beneath her skin, so different from my own brawny hands. I could easily span her calves with my fingers to restrain her. The thought sends a thrill through me, but I bite my lip. The girl’s wounded, and I’m having depraved thoughts.
After the antiseptic, I find Band-Aids to cover the worst gashes. When I’m almost done, I look up to see her watching me with her pretty pink lips parted and soft golden curls resting like a halo around her face. She’s an angel, and I’m a devil—a beast who’s struggling to control himself.
With the last Band-Aid in place, I don’t have a reason to stay at her feet, but I can’t bring myself to rise. Not yet. I rest my hand gently against her skin, and the thrum of her blood beneath my hand is like a lullaby.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
Her body calls me like the charmer’s music to a mesmerized snake. I want to lick her skin, taste the salt of her sweat, find the sweetness between her thighs, and drink it up. I want to open her like the pages of a book and get lost in all her stories.
She’s a drug. Intoxicating. Everything.
“Robert?”
Her questioning tone jolts me from my reverence.
“Yes.” I rise, immediately stepping back to put a few feet between us.
Her eyes appear as glazed as mine feel, the usually clear blue of them swamped with wide, dark pupils.
“The cuts will heal just fine.” I sound like I’ve swallowed gravel.
“Okay.” She lifts her mug to her lips and gulps noisily. My throat closes to the width of a matchstick.
“So, did you lock the room?”
Her question comes out of nowhere, and I grimace before I have a chance to moderate my expression.
“Your new lock worked perfectly.”
Goldie’s shoulders droop. “I… I wish you didn’t feel like you had to.” She fiddles with a curl while I shift my feet.