Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
He had engineered what he’d needed. As usual.
“He no longer works for me,” he murmured.
“That isn’t what I asked you.”
“That is all that is relevant for our purposes. His and mine. Yours and mine.”
The final lab that he had been able to locate was in fact under his feet as they spoke. But he had it on good authority—Daniel and Lydia’s—that there were no experiments being conducted therein on vampires, no torturous protocols, no exploratory surgeries, pregnancies, disease transmissions. Therefore he had no business with the enterprise and thus had let it stand.
And now he was retired.
Mayhap that was why he had cleaved to the wolven so. A new purpose.
“You know something,” he heard himself say. “It is occurring to me that I have lied to you.”
“Ask me if I’m surprised.”
Inclining his head in deference, he continued, “When I told you I would not be in the presence of the wolven, I meant as long as her mate is alive. As soon as he is gone—”
“Don’t you dare go after him,” Xhex growled.
“Oh, relax. That disease of his is going to do the job, not me.” Blade shrugged. “And before you accuse me of human engineering, I had nothing to do with his cancer. You can thank the Marlboro man for that—”
“What did he do for you.” The sound of a blade unsheathing was a musical note that seemed fitting in the icy air. “And I’m not asking again.”
Blade glanced down at the weapon in his sister’s hand. The silver dagger gleamed in the darkness, just like the valley’s lake did.
“Just what do you intend to do with that?” he inquired. “And before you answer, I will remind you that making threats against a symphath is a dangerous waste of time—”
She moved just as fast as he imagined she would: One second, she was before him. The next, she was on him, grabbing him by the throat and pressing the tip of the blade to his abdomen.
Her eyes were clear as the night sky. And just as cold. “Even after Daniel is dead, you’re staying away from that female.”
Blade drew air in with difficulty. Which was a pleasant distraction from his heartache. “Why do you care, sister mine,” he choked out. “She is not kin to you. You didn’t even know her before this interlude—she told me herself.”
“You ruined my life,” came the harsh reply. “You killed me on the inside when you put me into that lab twenty years ago, and I won’t let your casual cruelty enjoy another chew toy. She doesn’t deserve that—especially after the way fate is already fucking her mate.”
Opening his mouth to respond, he had some kind of intention to utter some kind of denial. But then the strangest thing happened: Tears welled in his eyes—and as Xhex’s face registered shock, she obviously noticed them, too.
As a single, blood-red drop fell onto his cheek, he would have wiped it away, but really, trying to hide that which was already obvious was a waste of effort.
“I am so sorry,” he said in a hoarse voice. “That I hurt you.”
Xhex blinked once. Twice. Then she recoiled as if he had slapped her, her hold on his throat releasing even as that blade stayed right where it was.
“You sick fuck.” She shook her head in disbelief. “You really think crocodile tears are gonna work with me?”
“Is that what they are,” he whispered as a wolf howled off in the distance.
Well, was this not irony at work. The one time he showed himself truly unto his blood, his credibility was picked from his pocket by the past—
“No!” someone shouted. “Don’t kill him!”
EIGHT
BACK AT THE Phalen house, Daniel was arching over his female on their bed, going for her mouth, kissing her deep and slow. The sensations were hot as fuck, and in the core of his consciousness, he recognized that it had been a long, long time since he’d felt the heat and the anticipation this clearly… except wait, that didn’t make sense?
It hadn’t been long, at all. They’d had a shower together before they’d gone to the apple orchard. And even though his side of things didn’t work anymore, that didn’t stop him from thoroughly enjoying the pleasure he could give her—
Looking down between their bodies, he was astonished. For months and months, he had been impotent, the treatments robbing him of any kind of erection.
Holy shit, he was hard.
How the hell was this happening—
Whatever, he wasn’t wasting time on questions. You didn’t ask the lottery to double check if you won Mega Millions.
As his cock throbbed at the front of his hips, he was acutely aware that his woman was totally naked underneath him, her thighs split wide to accommodate him, her breath ragged from what he was doing to her, her nipples brushing his pecs, her hands grabbing his back.