Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“What have you already done is the more fun question,” Annika said, her youthful voice joyous and intrigued. She leaned her elbows on her knees, drawing closer with wide, green eyes. “Was it mind-blowing? He’s terrifying, but I’d bet my inheritance he’s a monster in the sack.”
A laugh ripped from my lips, heat blooming on my cheeks as I shook my head. “We haven’t…”
His rough hands on my thighs.
His tongue in my mouth.
His fangs sinking into my neck and sucking.
Lava bolted through my veins, leaving knots of aching need in its wake.
“You haven’t slept with him?” Annika asked.
“Annika,” Olivia chided, but there was a mischievous smile on her face.
Annika gave her an incredulous look. “What? You of all vampires know what it’s like with a mate. You’re telling me you waited with Ransom?”
Olivia arched a brow at her sister, then rolled her eyes. “We’re not talking about me.” She turned to face me. “My life is not nearly as complicated as yours.”
“Everyone’s life is complicated,” I argued, but she pursed her lips at me. “Okay, fine. It’s really complicated and I’m…conflicted. Majorly conflicted.”
“Talk,” Olivia demanded.
And so I did. I told her everything, from the moment I knew Hawke was my mate to the world-shattering kiss we shared a few nights ago and how the broody bastard had been nearly invisible since.
“Against the bookshelves?” Annika asked, a wistfulness to her tone. She leaned back against the couch, her eyes holding a dreamy sort of look.
I couldn’t help but laugh a little. The young vampire was absolutely a hopeless romantic, but that wasn’t what this was. Not between me and Hawke. He wasn’t some pompous hero in a fairy-tale, tossing his hair about and charming people with smiles. Everything about Hawke was hard, edged in a ferocious sort of madness that I loved. And I was far from the simpering princess some of my kind viewed me as. If only Hawke could see just how much alike we truly were…
“All of this,” Olivia said. “And you still agreed to marry Samuel?”
I tucked my legs beneath me, nerves coiling around my heart. “I did. And I’d do it again.”
“Even though your mate is over six feet of pure-alpha-terror-assassin vampire?” Annika asked.
“Even,” I answered. “You said it yourself, Olivia. The Sons have been one step ahead of us for too long. Our kingdom is suffering. This marriage not only saves my family, but it could turn the tides in our war against the Sons.” I slipped my glove back on, unable to look at the black ink for too long without my heart aching, begging me to hunt for Hawke and tempt him into feeding from me again. Tempt him into more than a kiss. Anything to feel alive while I still could. “Saint has aligned himself with the Sons,” I continued. “Marrying his brother could very well lead to Saint delivering us the vital information we need to stopping the Sons once and for all.”
Olivia nodded, the wheels turning behind her eyes. “I understand and respect your choices,” she said.
“But?”
“But,” she continued. “I know the pull of the mating bond. And now I understand why Hawke has been off lately. One of you has to reject it or you're both going to suffer.”
A searing bolt of pain speared my heart with the idea of rejecting the bond. I loved Hawke. I always had. I loved his ability to see me, even when I was invisible. I loved his passion when others sometimes feared it was too much, that he was too much. I loved his ability to be terrifying to everyone but me, loved that he often bent to me without even realizing it, like when I’d taken one of his beloved daggers. I loved the way he perceived everything, but rarely divulged anything unless he deemed you worthy enough to do so.
“You know that, right?” Olivia pressed when I hadn’t said a word. “All you have to do is speak the words and reject the bond to free you both from the pain.”
“I know,” I said, my voice weary.
“But you don’t want to do that,” Olivia said, shifting on the couch as she read the truth in my eyes. “Not right now, at least,” she said instead of laying my truth bare before her sister.
“Hawke doesn’t want the bond,” I admitted. “When he first saw his mark…” I shook my head, flinching as the reaction replayed in my mind. “The only reason he hasn’t rejected it yet is because he knows it’s my get out of jail free card if I want to end this agreement between Samuel and me. If it weren’t for that? He’d have already spoken the words.”
“I wouldn’t want to reject the bond if I were you either, Avianna,” Annika chimed in. “You’re not bound to any vampire during this betrothal business. Nothing is official until the wedding. If I were you, I’d climb Hawke like a tree. As many times as I could before the wedding.” Olivia gaped at her sister, but Annika just shrugged. “What?” Annika asked. “There’s no shame in it. Especially if they’ve both decided they’re going to reject the bond before the wedding. Might as well have fun with it until then.”