Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Clearly, I’d slipped a rung on my mental ladder.
She could’ve given me hell for it too. Could’ve used it as verbal fire in the game we liked to play.
But she hadn't.
Instead, we’d endured another long-suffering night with her mother until finally she was able to sneak away. Cassandra had changed into a loose-fitting cotton dress, a black bikini beneath it, and ventured into this sweltering jungle that seemed dead set on killing me.
The heat was stifling, even at night. It felt like the sun bore down on us from every direction possible.
“Here we are,” she said just as the ground leveled out, her hands pushing apart thick green leaves to reveal a breathtaking view.
I padded up to her side, the feel of magic crackling all around the area. The vegetation gave way to a cerulean blue patch of water, the roar of an accompanying waterfall sliding down a mountain across the way. The sky was clear behind it, the stars and moon shining enough to coat everything in silver.
Cassandra took another step forward, hissing slightly as a shiver ran down her body. She turned to me. “You can shift back now,” she said, and I tilted my panther head.
She motioned to the body of water behind her, then the mountains and the waterfall and all the green vegetation in between.
“This is where my father liked to bring his mistresses when he couldn't get away from the island. Not to mention all the business calls he made. He had it completely warded against my mother and any of her talem. No one is going to find us here. We're completely safe to be ourselves.”
I padded over the threshold, feeling the zap of magic sear down my spine. I immediately shifted. I hadn’t known we were coming on this little adventure, so I hadn't brought sweats. I wasn't a modest male, but I certainly didn't want to make Cassandra uncomfortable.
But it looked like that was the last thing she felt, her eyes widening as they trailed down the length of my body, lingering on my lower half before she came back up to meet my eyes again.
She smiled while digging in the bag she had slung over her shoulder. “I always love it when the reality ends up being something so much better than the fantasy,” she said, then chucked a pair of swim trunks at me. “You can wear those if you want. Or not,” she teased before hurrying down to the bank, dropping the bag and lifting the cotton dress over her head and dropping it into the bag.
My mouth went dry at the sight of her body covered only in thin strips of black fabric, the bikini tied with strings on the side. All it would take is one tug and she’d be naked and bare to me.
I cleared my throat and tugged on the swim trunks, the blood turning hot in my veins as she dove into the water, swimming a bit before popping back up.
“Oh, it's fantastic,” she said, dipping her head back into the water as she treaded.
I made it to the bank, hesitating as I watched her, the pulse thrumming in my veins with every instinct firing to bite and claim and fuck.
“Are you coming?” she asked. “Or are you just going to stand there and analyze my intentions?”
The female could certainly read me, which was refreshing since I’d never had that kind of understanding with a partner before.
Not that she was my partner.
I slowly walked into the water, sighing as its coolness hit my flushed skin. “I suppose this wouldn't be such a terrible place to die,” I said as I made my way over to her. “If you were to try and strike.”
“Try being the optimal word,” she said, her hands moving back and forth lazily through the crystal blue water. She glanced down, shaking her head. “I could barely fight Archibald off. I wouldn't stand a chance against you. Not that I would ever try.”
I studied her, wondering if she spoke the truth.
All my instincts said she was, that deep intrinsic feeling inside of me that was likely half the connection I’d created between us and half something else I couldn't explain. I’d absolutely despised her when I first met her, just because of what she had done and what she represented. A spoiled rich female vampire from a traitorous family who had tried to trick the king into thinking she was his mate.
Now that I’d gotten to know her a little bit and spent time with her—hell, even tasted her blood, I knew she wasn't any of those things. She may have made a mistake with Alek, but her heart wasn’t a traitorous one.
“I'm starting to believe that,” I finally said, swimming closer to her so that I could tip her chin up to meet my eyes. “After all, you couldn't even stand it when I was hungry,” I continued, referencing the first time I’d thought of her as anything but selfish. “You didn't like seeing me in pain, so you fed me.” That action had spoken volumes about who she was at her core. “I'm starting to think you're warming up to me.”