Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
“Not much. I pointed out that I’d warned Lailah there’d be consequences to her exiling me. He got pissed that I suggested she had some hand in her own demise, and then he started ranting about how he’d make you and me pay; that he’d enjoy hurting me. And then my monster surfaced. By the time it retreated, he was gone.”
Cain flexed his fists. “He shouldn’t have touched you. I already had plenty of reason to loathe him, given he helped build this cage and almost killed Seth during the war many years ago. Still, I might not have planned to drag Saul’s death out too long if he hadn’t tried to take you from me.”
“In his mind, he’d have merely pissed you off a little. He thinks I’m your toy.”
“You are.”
She barked out a surprised laugh. “Oh yeah?”
“When we’re in bed, yes, you often are.” Cain took her hands, pulled her to her feet, and drew her close. “You are many, many things to me, Wynter.”
But he was greedy for more than what they had. Greedy for everything. Which made him remember . . . “I told you this morning that I had something to run by you.” They had been interrupted by one of his aides, so they had agreed to table the discussion.
Humming, she slid her hands up his chest. “Yeah, I remember. So what is it?”
The simple feel of her fingers splayed on his bare skin was enough to make his cock twitch, but he wouldn’t do anything about that yet. The conversation they needed to have was too important. He cuffed her wrists to ensure her hands didn’t wander any further and said, “I want you to agree to be my consort.”
She squinted, wary. “And what would that mean for me? The word ‘consort’ carries a different definition depending on what preternatural race we’re talking about. And I was under the impression that Ancients generally don’t take people as their consort.”
“It is the truth. Lilith was the only exception, though her consort died long ago. To my kind, consorts aren’t simple companions who share our bed. Although they don’t rule alongside us, they’re our equal, our partner, our mate.”
“So this is no small deal for you.”
“No small deal. That’s why it’s rare for my kind to go down this path.” He palmed her neck. “You’re already mine, but I want us to make it official. I want this relationship locked down. Tight.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Cain, there’s still a lot that we don’t know about each other.”
“Which is why this is the perfect time for us to do this.” With his thumb, he tugged her lip free of her teeth. “We’d be effectively saying that, despite knowing we may later learn things about each other that won’t be easy to accept, we still want to take this jump; we’re still one hundred percent committed to each other.” He needed this from her. His creature needed it.
“It’s not that I don’t want that—”
“Then agree.”
“You’ll want other stuff if I do. Like for me to move into your Keep. I can’t yet. Not until I feel that my coven is fully settled here.”
He’d already anticipated that she’d make such a point. “If you think I won’t respect that, you’re mistaken. I’m aware that they need you close for a while. I’d never interfere with the responsibilities you have as a Priestess. I’m proud of who and what you are.” He dropped a soft kiss on her mouth. “We can hold off on you moving in here for now. So long as you continue to sleep in my bed each night and be here each morning when I wake.”
“And I wouldn’t be expected to, you know, develop airs and graces all of a sudden, right? To become some sort of pretty ornament that arranges fancy parties and all that boring jazz?”
“I’d only ever want you to be you. The fierce, loyal, vengeful woman who put a curse on my cock so that it would wither and decay if I betrayed her.”
A delightful, embarrassed blush heated her cheeks. “I still don’t understand why that makes you smile.” She shook her head fast, as if trying to dislodge the memory of what she’d done from her mind. “So what you’re saying is that nothing would really change if I agreed to be your consort? We’d simply be cementing what we are to each other?”
“Exactly.” He pressed another kiss to her mouth. “Say yes.”
She melted into him as he trailed kisses along her neck. “You’re making it hard for me to think.”
“Good. You don’t need to think. You just need to agree. Say. Yes.”
She gasped as he sent out a light wave of power that vibrated against her skin, making it break out into a shiver. “Keep doing that and I’ll definitely say yes.”