Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
She was making a strong argument. “Alright. I’ll take you.”
She smiled against my mouth and squeezed my forearm. “Thank you. I’ve always wanted to go.”
I lay back against the blanket and patted my chest, directing her to lie next to me.
She moved beside me, taking the same position she did when we were in bed together. My arm circled her waist while the other rested on her knee. My thumb brushed the soft skin of her knee, and the scent of her hair flooded me the second she was against me.
We couldn’t see the city anymore, but the sky was a beautiful sight. Mixed with bright colors from the sunset, it was a wonder to behold. The stars slowly started to emerge, bright lights in the dark background of infinite space.
She trailed her fingers down my chest. “Thanks for bringing me here.”
“I didn’t bring you here. Carbine did.”
“You know what I mean,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s beautiful… I love lying in the grass with the breeze in my hair. I didn’t realize how much I loved being outdoors until I came here. Now, I couldn’t imagine spending my life anywhere else.”
Anywhere else in the world? Or anywhere else without me?
Why did I even care?
“You didn’t miss New York when you were there?”
“Not really,” she said. “I enjoyed my time living there, getting tacos in the middle of the night when I was studying, and riding the subway when I needed to get uptown. It’s beautiful in its own way. But now that I’ve experienced something like this, I’m not sure if I could go back. I’ve had some bad experiences here, obviously. But the good far outweigh the bad.”
“Do those experiences have anything to do with me?” I stared at the sky and watched the colors change slightly, shifting from splashes of orange and pink to blue and purple. The question came out of my mouth on its own. If my logic had been quicker, I never would have asked the question.
She sat up and raised her head over mine. She looked down into my face, her hair pulled over one shoulder. My fingers immediately migrated to the back of her head, feeling those soft strands with my fingertips. I supported her slightly, my eyes glued to tilt at the corner of her mouth. Her hand slid up my chest until she cupped my face. Then she leaned in and pressed her mouth to mine, giving me a soft kiss that was as gentle as a rose petal. But the softness didn’t cushion the passion behind it. Her deep intake of breath showed her emotion, and her fingers cupped my face harder as the embrace continued. “Yes…they have everything to do with you.”
My bags were packed and ready to be hauled to the car. Muse didn’t need as much time to get her stuff together because I had Dante buy her everything she needed. She had a lot of clothes in my closet, but none that were appropriate for a Greek getaway to the Mediterranean.
Carter’s name popped up on the screen when he called.
I stepped out of the bedroom so that the men could collect our things and put them in the trunk. I walked into Muse’s old bedroom, the place where she used to sleep alone every night. That seemed like a lifetime ago now. It was hard to imagine her anywhere else but right on my chest.
I took the call. “What did you find?”
Carter didn’t make small talk and jumped right into the conversation. “Nothing. I’ve discreetly asked about him through my various channels, but no one is talking. And the fact that no one is talking is what concerns me.”
“Because they don’t have an allegiance to you?”
“It’s not about loyalty. This is about fear. They obviously fear this guy.”
That was disconcerting. “There’s gotta be a way to dig up information on him. Someone knows something.”
“Yeah…but I don’t want to arouse suspicion by asking too many questions. Sometimes when a man tries to avoid his destiny, he only brings himself to it quicker.”
“Been eating Chinese food?” I asked.
“What?” he asked blankly.
“You sound like a damn fortune cookie.”
“Shut up, Con,” he snapped. “This is serious shit.”
“And when shit is serious, that’s the time to make a joke.”
He released a sigh into the phone. “I’m not sure what to do. You got any ideas?”
I knew a few people in the Underground ring. But I wasn’t sure if any of them knew anything. “There’s one person who definitely knows.”
“Who?”
“Iron, the Skull King that ran the bid the other night. Pointed him out by name.”
“True.”
“Maybe I could ask him.”
“But that’s also dangerous,” Carter said. “If you ask him, he’ll probably tell Bones you’re asking questions.”
Fuck. “You’re right.”
“You need to have someone else ask. Make it less suspicious.”
“Like who?” I sat on the bed and listened to the men carry everything down the hallway. Muse’s light footsteps followed behind them as she headed down the stairway and to entryway on the first floor.