Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
I stood there, unsure what to do. It was nice to have company, to dispel my solitude, but the tension prickled my skin so hard. The heat from the fire was hot on my skin. My throat was dry even though I was far from parched.
He returned moments later, in pants that seemed to be made of wool, and his tunic was replaced by a shirt with no sleeves. Everything looked soft and comfortable, like it was meant to be worn in the house and nowhere else. The pants were low on his hips, and the shirt hugged his muscular torso. He took a seat and brought the glass to his lips for a deep drink. “You want something to sleep in?”
“I’m okay.”
He took another drink and kept his eyes on the table.
I finally grabbed the other glass and took a seat across from him. Once I had a drop on my tongue, I was taken back to that night, a night that felt pure and magical. Sneaking around with the son of a duke was wrong, but it felt so right at the time. “Where did he bite you?”
His eyes lifted. “She.”
“Oh…”
He gripped the neckline of his shirt and tugged it down, revealing the deep scar on his chest. It was almost a perfect circle, the outline of the mouth distinct, the teeth marks still visible. After he gave me a good look, he released his grip, and the shirt bounced back to how it’d been before.
I was so disturbed I felt my face go pale. Felt my fingers go numb. Felt everything hurt. “I’m so sorry.”
He took another drink of his wine. “Don’t be. I’m fine.”
“You’ll have that scar the rest of your life.”
He gave a shrug. “If you aren’t covered in scars by the end of your life, did you really live?” He swirled his glass, made the dark liquid spin in a circle, and then took another drink.
“Still…I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about me, sweetheart.” He seemed to realize his slip, because he quickly looked away and took another drink. His stare was focused elsewhere, like if he pretended it didn’t happen hard enough, I would think it didn’t happen at all.
But I couldn’t pretend it didn’t happen—not when I loved the way it sounded. “Will anything happen to you?”
His eyes shifted back to me.
“Now that you’ve been bitten?”
“The bite is nearly a week old, and I don’t feel different. So, I don’t think so.”
“I hope so. I just wonder…how does someone become a Teeth? Are they born that way? Born with all those teeth…?”
“Good question. I have no idea.”
“There’s a whole world down there, and we don’t know anything about it.”
“Yeah.” His glass was empty, so he set it down and relaxed farther into the couch. His knees were far apart, and his arms were crossed over his hard stomach. He spent most of his time staring at anything else but me.
“Look…it’s not that I don’t like you.”
His eyes shifted back to me.
“Because I do. I still do…”
His eyes watched me without blinking.
“I just…” I’d put myself in this situation, and now I didn’t know how to get out of it. Any time I was with him, these feelings were there, still there despite what his father had done. He was part of the ruling class that believed their inferiors deserved to be sacrificed so they could continue to live. We were worthless. Expendable. But my heart still pounded like the hooves of a racing horse. “It’s hard.”
He sat up, his forearms moving to his knees. He had such a cut jawline that it cast a shadow under his neck. Handsome, strong, brave…he was unlike most men I knew. When the jokes were cast aside and he looked at me like that, I felt weak in my knees, felt weak everywhere. “What can I do to make this right?”
“You already made it right when you saved us.”
“I mean between us.” His palms came together, a single one bigger than both of mine together. “Because I want there to be an us.”
My knees grew weaker. If I had to stand, I’d probably just crumple to the floor. “I don’t see how there ever can be.”
“I told you I don’t agree with my father’s policies. No, I’m not drawing my sword and threatening to kill him unless he stops, but—”
“That’s not why. I need to start over somewhere, far away from here, and you’re here. Not to mention, you’re going to have to marry soon, and I’m not having an affair with a married man.”
“Marriage isn’t high on my list of priorities right now.”
“But it will be soon.”
His eyes darted away for just a moment. “None of that stuff matters right now. Do you want to be with me or not?” He looked at me with that authoritative gaze, his green eyes exuding power, not from his birthright, but what he earned on his own. “Because I will make it work. I will be loyal to you. I will be faithful to you. I travel to the Capital regularly, and we can be together during those travels.”