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)
“I’ll bet he does. He likes to inflict pain on others—particularly those who are weaker than him. And he took great delight in killing Abaddon’s son. Fatally injured, my uncle was helpless to do anything but watch. His ex-consort and teenage daughters were also decimated in the war. If he were to wake, it would feel to him that that all happened just yesterday. He would want vengeance at any cost but, trapped in Devil’s Cradle, there would be no way for him to get it. That might drive him mad.”
Seeing that there were no more carvings, Wynter blew out a long breath. “Well, that was a history session unlike no other.”
“You don’t have to act as if you’re taking all this in your stride. I’ve given you a lot to process. Some of it has to be hard to swallow.” There was a distance in his eyes that plucked at her heart. “I would understand if you told me you needed a little time and space,” he added.
“Time and space?” Wynter rolled her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic.”
His head drew back. “Dramatic?”
“It’s not like you told me you’re a cherub—Aeon, sorry. You carry the blood of one, but I can overlook that. It’s not like it’s your fault or anything.”
He was silent for a long moment. “I can’t tell if you’re struggling so much to absorb everything that you decided to simply gloss over the dark details I gave you . . . or if you genuinely aren’t repulsed by any of it.”
“I’d never be repulsed by you or anything about you.”
“No?”
“No.”
He didn’t appear to believe her. “You heard everything I told you about myself, yes? About what I am? About who my father was?”
“I did. And did it come as a shock? Yes. Fuck, yes. But none of it changes anything. None of it changes what I feel for you. Which is ‘love,’ in case you’re interested. You didn’t treat me any different when you found out I was a revenant. You’re not weirded out by the fact that I should be dead. I’m nothing natural, but you accept me. Did you think I’d do anything less for you?”
An intensity gathered behind his eyes, boiling and darkening. Resting his forehead against hers, he framed her face with his hands. “I meant what I said,” he began, his voice rough, “I’ll never let you go. You’re something I can’t lose.”
She gently cuffed his wrists with her fingers. “You won’t have to lose me. I have no plans to go anywhere.” Before he could dominantly state that she had no choice in the matter, she added, “Although I appreciate how honest you’ve been with me, there are still some things I can’t tell you yet. Kali won’t allow—”
“It wasn’t a quid pro quo, Wynter. You already told me plenty about what you are and how you came to be a revenant anyway.” He gave her a soft kiss. “The rest will come in time. Kali assured me of that.” He curled an arm around her shoulders and began leading her to the temple’s exit.
“Does your creature have its own form? Does it shift?”
His mouth curved into a mysterious smile. “I suppose you’ll one day find out.”
“You’re not going to tell me?”
“A man has to have some secrets.”
“No, no, he really doesn’t. Not when his consort is super curious.”
Cain put his lips to her ear. “He’s more interested in fucking his consort into oblivion than he is answering her questions.”
Wynter’s belly did a little flip. “She wouldn’t be opposed to that.”
*
Kneeling above his consort, Cain licked his wet lips, lapping up her taste. She lay limp on the mattress beneath him, panting and trembling from yet another orgasm. Her mouth was swollen from his kisses, her nipples were taut, a pretty flush stained her skin, and the imprint of his teeth could be found in several places on her body.
A vision. She was a fucking vision.
More, she was a marvel. She now knew the truths he’d concealed from her for so long. She knew every dark secret. And yet, she wanted him anyway.
Back at the temple, she’d rolled with every verbal punch, and she’d let none of it change a thing between them. Without any reservations, Wynter accepted not only him and his creature but their claim on her. It was more than Cain could have hoped for, but he’d have settled for nothing less—even if it took years to wear her down.
He flipped her onto her stomach, earning himself a soft grunt of surprise. “Don’t move,” he said when she went to elevate her hips. “Stay there like that. Good.” He draped himself over her, giving her the full weight of his body; bracing his lower arms either side of her and pressing her firmly against the mattress.
He wanted her to feel enclosed. Trapped. Overpowered.