Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“What’s going on?” I ask, throwing the blankets back. “Where the fuck are my pants?”
“You okay, babe?” Easton asks with a laugh. “I think you’re still half asleep.”
“No, we were just…just…” I blink a few times again, trying to think back. Where were we? Something is wrong, I can feel it in my bones, but what?
“I told you that second glass of merlot before bed might not be the best idea.” He gets out of bed, dressed only in boxers. I watch him go over to the window, stretching his arms over his head. He’s tall and muscular, and my eyes go to his left shoulder blade, looking for a scar that isn’t there. I get a flash of it before my eyes and remember reaching out and touching it.
“You were clawed. In the back. By…by…something big.” I shake my head and the memory is gone.
“Your dream was bad then?” He picks up his phone, tapping the screen, and then comes over to the bed.
“I, um…I don’t remember. Something is wrong.”
“Babe, it’s fine.” He pushes my hair back and goes to kiss me, but I turn my head and hold up a hand. “No. I can feel it.”
“You’re just nervous about the presentation but you have nothing to worry about.”
“What presentation?” I stand up and look down at myself. “Why aren’t I wearing pants?”
Easton laughs. “I’d be more concerned if you were wearing pants.” The humor leaves his face when he sees how rattled I am. “Hey, Cal, come here.” He holds out his hand and for some reason, I reach out and take it.
Because I’m supposed to. I want to.
“Are you feeling okay?” He tugs me forward, pulling me into his lap. The feel of his warm skin against me is wrong.
This whole thing is wrong.
But I have no idea why. Easton is right. I’m nervous about today because I have a lot on the line. I’m presenting what I think could be the next break-out best seller to the lead editor and know I have my work cut out for me because the author is unpublished. But the story is so good and I just know everyone is going to want to read about the heroic witch who saves the world from demons by day and goes home to her sexy, brooding vampire-lover at night.
“Yeah. You’re right. Two glasses of wine are way too much for me.” The words feel funny coming out of my mouth. “And as much as I love the story, you know I don’t do well with horror. Freaks me out.”
“Happens to the best of us.” Easton wraps his arms around me and lays down, moving over top of me. I’m supposed to want him, it’s supposed to feel good when he runs his hand down my thigh. Yet something inside of me is recoiling, and I turn my head, closing my eyes when his mouth goes to my neck.
A clock alarm sounds, and with a sigh, Easton moves off me. “Neither of us can be late today.”
“Right,” I say, feeling like I’m a puppet and someone else is in control. “You’re meeting with Scott today and it should be interesting.”
“Interesting is one way to put it.” Easton gets back on his feet and plows a hand through his hair. It’s shorter than I remember—no, it’s been that way for a while. “It wasn’t that long ago I had an internship with your dad and now I’m campaigning for the opposite party.”
“Well, you know I’m proud of you for standing up for what you believe in. And now that Abby made her opinion known, the next family dinner will be interesting as well.”
“We can be civil, I’m sure,” Easton goes on, crossing the room. “No political talk at the table.”
“We’ll be sitting in silence then.”
He gives me a look but then chuckles. “You better get up and get moving so we’re not late.”
Nodding, my feet move on their own accord, taking me through the bedroom. I open the door and step into a small living room. The decor is more contemporary than my liking, but it’s familiar and when I look at the black leather couch, I remember going to the store with Easton to pick it out. I pick up a remote off the coffee table and click a button, making the blinds go up.
I stand there, looking out at the city. Something feels so off. It’s like there’s an electric charge in the air or I’m stuck underwater. Maybe I’m coming down with something? A cat meows and I whirl around.
“Binx?” I ask out loud when a black cat comes trotting to me. The cat meows and I pick it up. It’s wearing a pink collar with a purple name tag. “Princess,” I read out loud. “Why did I think you were…you were…” I shake my head, unable to remember what I had just said.