Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
“Then you came along and he claimed you in a matter of months. Alethea had known him for centuries. To her, you’re an imp, a Wallis, someone completely beneath her. She can’t understand why he could possibly want you when he could have her. Knox giving you something he’d never given to her – especially the ultimate commitment – is something she feels insulted by. She’s tried to intimidate and manipulate you into leaving him, but nothing ever worked. That only makes it worse for her.”
“So you don’t think she wants Knox?” Harper wasn’t so sure she agreed with that.
“I think she wants him,” said Tanner. “But I think she also knows it’s not going to happen. Still, that doesn’t mean she’ll ever accept you as his mate. She’ll hurt you however she can just because it makes her feel better.”
Harper thought about it a minute. “It’s like she entered us into some kind of imaginary competition. Knox wasn’t really the prize, though, was he?”
Knox sighed. “I’m right here, you know.”
Levi’s mouth quirked, but he responded to Harper’s question. “No. She might have ‘won’ Knox, but the real prize was that she’d then feel like the goddess she believes herself to be. Alethea’s kind can enchant and seduce any human. That’s why she spends so much time around them – it makes her feel powerful to be the object of so many fantasies, to be able to manipulate and control people that way. For her, the ability to make any man want her equates to power.”
Tanner nodded and threw Harper a brief look over his shoulder. “She’s not used to being turned down. It makes her feel like she’s without that power that she’s become so used to. But Knox chose you, not her. You took away her power, you made her feel weak – just as it would make you feel weak if she took away your ability to fly or strike out at people with soul-deep pain. She’ll never let that go.”
Harper tossed Knox a look of irritation. “Did you really have to shake the sheets with such a fucking egotistical nut job?”
Knox chuckled. “I sincerely regret it, and I’m sorry that she tries so hard to hurt you. I’d offer to kill her, but you’d just tell me that you would rather deal with the matter yourself.” He pressed a soft, apologetic kiss to her mouth. “Forget about her. She’s not important. Never was.”
Tanner grinned. “Aw, that was cute.”
Knox shot him a scowl. “It’s really no wonder that Devon wants to kill you.”
Tanner’s grin widened. “The little hellcat wouldn’t do that.”
Harper snorted. “You persist in believing she’s some cute little kitty that you could easily handle. One day, that attitude’s going to come back and claw you on the ass – literally.”
That didn’t seem to bother Tanner at all. In fact, he looked like he’d enjoy it.
Twisted.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Leaning against the doorjamb of Knox’s home office a week later, Harper waited as he finished his call. He’d begun to spend more and more time at the mansion, doing meetings via teleconference whenever he could. She knew it was because his protective instincts were becoming harder to deal with, and she was guessing that his demon was also more at ease when she was around. Her own demon certainly preferred being at home and having Knox nearby.
As he finally ended the call, she arched a brow. “You busy?” He didn’t just stand; he sort of… gracefully uncoiled from his seat, and she had no idea why she liked that so much.
“Never too busy for you. You know that,” said Knox. The baby’s mind lightly touched his – it often responded to his voice that way, and it got to him every time. Rounding his desk, Knox tilted his head, tension mounting inside him as he took in her nervous expression. “Something wrong?”
“No. I just have something to show you.”
He smiled as realization dawned on him, and the tension in his muscles fell away. “You’re finally letting me see it?”
She pushed away from the doorjamb. “Yes. It’s ready.”
Knox draped his arm over her shoulders. “Lead the way.” She hadn’t let him in the nursery even once since she’d began painting it, wanting it to be a surprise. She’d let him do a few things, such as assemble the pretty dragonfly mobile – and he suspected that was because she wanted to be sure he felt involved to some extent – but that was pretty much it.
He hadn’t complained. He’d sensed that she’d made it her project and that designing it meant something to her. Since he wanted her happy, and since Meg had explained that it was a “nesting” instinct that was perfectly natural, he’d given Harper that.
Once they reached the closed door of the nursery, she said, “Don’t forget; if there’s anything you don’t like, we can change it.”