Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 138334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 692(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 692(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
“You have moved in with me, Meiling.”
Gedeon’s voice was gentle. When he spoke in that tone, he melted her heart. She couldn’t look away from him, even when he was dividing his attention, maneuvering the shallow channel and avoiding the hazards in their way.
“I want you to be happy and to feel safe in your own home. More than anything, I want you to know you’re always safe with me. Whisper will rise when she has no choice. Slayer is going to warn me when she’s making serious progress. The little stops and starts she’s making now are just her hormones waking her up and telling her she’s coming into her own. You made a commitment to me, and you honor your commitments so there’s no need to push you, Lotus. We know we have chemistry together. When you’re ready emotionally, and you trust that your heart and soul are safe with me, we can move in together. Or if Whisper rises before we have the chance to cement our relationship fully, we’ll continue as we are after her heat.”
Meiling was grateful the boat swept around the tip of the strip of land and into open river water so Gedeon could accelerate. It was much harder to hear with the boat going faster, bumping over the choppy surface heading for the rendezvous point.
She was in love with Gedeon, and every time she thought she couldn’t love him more, he would say something she found intensely beautiful and she fell even harder. He was the toughest man to understand. He really was. She’d spent an entire year with him. Technically, she did live with him. She witnessed him with others. Had she simply observed him, an outsider watching him, she would have thought he was a psychopath, incapable of caring for anyone. He never showed his emotions to others. His eyes, so alive with tenderness or laughter for her, were cold and hard, devoid of all emotion around others.
Meiling looked around her at the swamp as the night was closing in. The trees gave refuge to so many birds. Colors changed with the sinking of the sun. The bright crimson shooting through the trees had already given way to orange. The purple and lavender effects were gone, leaving the color spectrum quite different in just a short time. That was the swamp, ever-changing and yet the same.
The incessant drone of insects could be heard above the engine. Looking up, she could see bats wheeling and dipping in a dance as they dove to catch flying bugs. Some skimmed the water close to the shore. She spotted nests high in the branches of a cypress tree. A raccoon family stopped moving to stare at them as they skimmed past.
Gedeon cut the lights on the boat just before choosing the left fork in the river. Once again, he slowed their speed significantly. She gave a little jump.
“We’re okay, Lotus.” His voice was steady.
He always knew when she was nervous. They were that connected. She pressed her palm over her heart.
“I’m good,” she assured him. “Are we close?”
“We should be. The strip of land is right around the next bend. There should be a pier we can tie up to.”
He turned the lights on again as they rounded the next strip of land, and there was the pier. A boat was already tied up there. Two men waited. Meiling recognized both. Drake Donovan owned the most well-known international security company in the world. He had a reputation for getting the job done. His people were well trained, the best at what they did. They worked in every country, entering stealthily when necessary, striking hard and getting out fast with whomever they had gone in after. Donovan was a shifter and head of one of the local lairs. She’d heard he’d had to clean up a huge mess when he’d taken over. The lair appeared to be thriving now.
The second man was Remy Boudreaux, the homicide detective and Drake Donovan’s brother-in-law. Married to Bijou Breaux, a famous singer and owner of Blue’s Club in New Orleans, Remy was an extremely intelligent man. He had an eye for details and an ear for lies. It would be difficult to get anything over on him.
Donovan had chosen the meeting location. Gedeon had been careful to explain that it was imperative they not be seen together. By giving Donovan the choice of where to meet, Gedeon had given him a huge advantage. There was no doubt in Meiling’s mind there was a shooter concealed somewhere watching them just in case they wanted to harm Donovan. In some circles Drake Donovan had a price on his head. Gedeon was known to be a man who might collect that hefty price tag.
Meiling had excellent night vision and she took her time carefully studying their surroundings. The pier looked new, as did the landing leading up to the land jutting out to meet the water lapping at it. Fragrant smells mixed with the more natural scents of the swamp. Even the strange and intriguing aromas couldn’t distract her from locating Donovan’s sniper.