Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Honestly, it seems like we could share it, she thought. I’m not worried about him hurting me and there’s plenty of room—even considering how big he is. We could each take a side and have plenty of space left in the middle.
Though honestly, when she pictured the two of them in bed, she imagined herself curling up close to the big Kindred’s side and feeling his arm wrapped around her. Just the thought made her feel warm all over. Maybe too warm, because now she was picturing her dream again, of him stroking himself and calling her name.
Keep your mind out of the gutter, Molly! she lectured herself. Maybe it would be better to leave the bedroom and go see the rest of the bungalow.
In the kitchen—or food-prep area as the Kindred called it—there was a human style refrigerator and freezer. But there was also a Kindred-styled wave cooker as well as a rehydrator and a whole cabinet filled with tiny, sugar-cube-sized meal cubes, so they didn’t have to cook if they didn’t feel like it. Molly liked that—she didn’t mind cooking but it was nice to have the option not to do it.
On the counter were some special perks—a big bouquet of flowers in a crystal vase and a bottle of wine, chilling in a bucket of ice. There was a note from whoever kept up the guest bungalows wishing them a “Happy Honeymoon” and a book that had a list of local restaurants and different activities to do and how long it took to get to each one both driving and flying. The nice thing was that no place in the whole state was too far to get to since the Kindred shuttles were able to fly so fast.
Molly looked in the cabinet and found two wine glasses. She opened the chilled bottle of wine and poured two drinks, noticing as she did so, that the wine had a kind of pale peachy-pink color that was unusual.
It smelled amazing—fruity and sweet. She wanted to wait for Torus, but she decided just to take a sip and was surprised at the flavors. Fresh strawberries…ripe peaches…and something slightly salty and buttery at the end. What was that? Molly took another sip and then another, trying to identify the elusive flavor. Whatever it was, it was delicious, she decided.
“Well, I see you started celebrating without me.” Torus’s low, rumbling voice came from the kitchen doorway, which he only had to duck a little to get through.
“Oh!” Molly jumped and then hiccupped. “Sorry! I wanted to make a toast to the first night of our honeymoon but then I took a sip and I couldn’t figure out what the last flavor is so I kept drinking to see what it was,” she said.
Which was definitely a run-on sentence. Was she drunk? From only one glass of wine? Two was usually her limit.
“I see—it smells familiar somehow.” Torus inhaled deeply. “Smells really good, too,” he remarked.
“It is! Here, try some.” Molly poured herself another glass and handed him his. “A toast!” she exclaimed. “To finally having a vacation where I don’t have to worry that the man I’m with will pinch me or pull my hair or shout at me or throw things at my head!”
Then she put a hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide. She was definitely tipsy.
“Oh…did I say that out loud?”
“You did.” Torus put his glass on the counter and cupped her cheek. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, little bird,” he murmured. “What a bastard your ex-Mate was.”
“Let’s forget about him,” Molly said quickly and took another large sip of wine. “Come on—try it. It’s really good!”
He nodded and picked up his own glass again. He sniffed it, then took a sip.
“Hmm…I taste several fruits and at least one salty note. You know what this tastes like? It tastes like…” Then his silver-gray eyes went wide. “Gods, wait a minute…”
“What? What’s wrong?” Molly felt his anxiety through the TET link.
Torus didn’t answer. He had picked up the bottle of wine and was scanning it rapidly.
“Mother of All Life,” he muttered. “Molly, put that down—don’t drink another drop!”
“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” Her own anxiety suddenly soared and she nearly dropped the half-full glass in her haste to put it down and push it away from her. “Is it…is it some kind of poison?” she faltered.
Torus looked at her with worried eyes.
“No—it’s not poison. This is Bonding Fruit wine! How much did you drink?”
25
MOLLY
“Bonding Fruit wine?” Molly repeated stupidly. What was he talking about? She was feeling slightly less tipsy now—maybe it was the concern coming from the big Kindred that had sobered her up, but now she was worried.
“How much did you drink?” he repeated, looking down at her. “How much, Molly?”
His tone made her flinch and her anxiety began to spike.