Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
In that moment, I realized she had never told me her name. How odd it was that she’d been so nice when I first met her, but now no longer wanted to talk.
Regardless, I put on the gown and devoured the food at a quick pace, happy no one witnessed the debauchery. I even licked the bowl and searched the tray for crumbs.
With my stomach full and body clothed in the soft gown, I crashed onto the bed, exhausted even though I’d napped in Xander’s arms earlier.
I turned off the lamp.
Only the moons’ light illuminated the room.
The gentle rhythm of a violin drifted up from the bar. Every now and then, I caught the sound of couples talking as they exited the hotel downstairs and dawdled outside my window.
Soon that will be me.
I closed my eyes and attempted to imagine my husband, Ethan.
Instead, Xander’s chiseled face emerged. His scent still lingered in the room, even though he’d been gone for hours.
No one will know if I think about Xander. It will be just my little secret.
For a few seconds I allowed myself to imagine how it would feel to have Xander’s searing-hot fingers tease my flesh.
No wonder his hands are warm. He’s a prince.
I bit my lip and sank deeper into those guilty thoughts, telling myself it was okay to dream about him just once. My husband Ethan had a small frame and stood only a few inches above my height. Next to Xander, Ethan would look like a boy.
They’re night and day.
During violent storms, when thunder and lightning struck the land, Ethan cuddled under the covers, his head resting on my bosom as I raked my fingers through his hair and soothed him.
What would Xander do?
I got the feeling Xander would seize the opportunity of our time in bed to make love within the background of the lightning’s threatening flares and the thunder’s fierce echoes.
Stop that. It’s not fair to compare them.
Suddenly, the room’s door opened.
Light seeped in from the hallway.
Xander stumbled in, closed the door, and ambled to the other side of the bed. He collapsed behind me, making the mattress bounce a little.
My body tensed.
I kept my back to him.
Soon, his deep voice filled the air. “I’m sorry, Camille.”
I swallowed.
“I shouldn’t have come into the shower with you. Ambi knows I shouldn’t even be lying in this bed next to you.”
Not knowing how to respond, I remained stiff, pretending to be asleep.
“I know you’re awake. I hear your heart beating fast. And I know how it sounds when you’re asleep. I listened to it the whole time I carried you in the sewer.”
I gritted my teeth. “Fine. I’m awake.”
“Do you mind me sleeping in bed with you?”
“I don’t mind as long as you don’t touch me.”
His laughter filled the space. “A vampire lies next to you and all you’re worried about is him touching you?”
“I’m used to sleeping with a vampire,” I confessed. “Once a month, the Quiet King slept in my bed to help me adjust to him.”
Xander’s voice came out in a low growl. “He never touched you, right?”
“No. He would just say a few things in my mind. And goodness, I hated his voice in my head. It was like sandpaper scratching against my brain, so rough and menacing.”
“I’ve never heard his voice. I don’t think he can get inside my mind.”
“You can’t hear him at all?” I quickly twisted around to face him. “I thought he mentally spoke to everyone in Capitol City.”
“Not me.”
I’d attended many of the Quiet King’s public speeches. They’d all been surreal. The King always mentally communicated his messages. Thousands of vampires and humans would gaze up at the king as he lounged in his wheelchair. No one said anything. Everyone just silently listened to the King’s words as they flowed through our minds.
Xander placed his head closer to my pillow.
Our eyes met.
His gold eyes glowed within the darkness. “We need to talk.”
“Do we?”
“You know I’m a prince. This information can get me executed and the people who kept me alive murdered.”
“You’re a prince.” I tried to calm down my anxiety, but my nerves still flared on edge. “That’s why your eyes get bright and your body is warm like the King.”
“You’re the only one to ever notice my body temperature.”
I scrunched my face in shock. “Only me?”
“And an old mage man I helped free long ago. He’d been the King’s prisoner.”
Mage?
I knew they existed and had seen pictures of the dark-skinned people in books and magazines, but I’d never seen one up close. The Quiet King forbade mages to cross over into our land. Likewise, the mages killed any vampires who entered their territory.
“Tonight,” Xander interrupted my thoughts, “I sat in the bar downstairs for an hour and debated on whether I should kill you or not.”
“What?” I froze and forced myself to breathe. “And what answer did you come up with?”