Total pages in book: 238
Estimated words: 231781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1159(@200wpm)___ 927(@250wpm)___ 773(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1159(@200wpm)___ 927(@250wpm)___ 773(@300wpm)
Lilith... His words drifted through my head. Was he Jewish? She was in our folklore. Adam’s first wife and cast out of the Garden of Eden, because she refused to be subservient.
She was dark and light. She wasn’t afraid to fall or to burn too bright.
She was a flame.
Something shifted off to my right, and we both turned our heads, seeing Will standing just inside the room.
He wore gray sweatpants, hanging low on his hips, and nothing else as his hair stuck up all over the place in the most adorable way.
My heart instantly ached at the anger always in his eyes, but I was ready to do something about it now.
His gaze shot from Aydin to me in his lap, the sharpness in his scowl suddenly turning flat, like he didn’t care. He just stood there, unmoving, and I rose from the seat, remembering that night on the dance floor at Homecoming.
Everyone had stared at us because we didn’t belong together, but we felt nothing other than the ache of the agonizing inch between us, and suddenly Aydin wasn’t even in the room.
“Micah and Rory gone hunting?” Aydin asked, leaning back in his seat.
Will nodded, refusing to look at me now. “I told Taylor to go with them.”
Aydin chuckled under his breath, looking at Will over his shoulder. “Just the three of us, then,” he mused, glancing at me. “You kids want to play in the pool?”
I gazed at Will, ignoring Aydin’s thinly veiled request that I take off my clothes, but then Will spoke up.
“Just take her,” he said. “I’ve had her.”
I stared at him, the challenge clear, but while I would’ve mouthed off or walked out ten minutes ago, I felt roots sprout from the bottoms of my shoes, keeping me steady.
An oak.
The eye of the storm.
Aydin laughed to himself and rose from the chair, replacing the panel that kept the snakes confined, and ruffling my hair as he headed out of the room. “You know where to find me,” he called out, “when you’re ready for the next level, Miss Scott.”
He left and Will looked at me, shaking his head. He wouldn’t even stop me if I jumped on every dick in this house right now.
He didn’t care, because he hated me.
“Nothing was going on,” I told him.
“I don’t care,” he shot back. “And you wouldn’t care if I did.”
Without another word, he twisted around and walked away.
My lungs constricted. “Godzilla,” I called out, taking a step forward.
He stopped. Turning back around, he narrowed his hard eyes. “What?”
I took another step, tempted to fidget or look away or shrink like it was always in my nature to do when I was scared shitless, but I kept my gaze locked on him.
No matter how much it hurt.
None of what’s happening right now is a surprise. I knew it was coming. Handle it.
“You, um…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You missed a Godzilla movie since you’ve been gone. King of the Monsters,” I told him. “It was pretty decent, except for the plot.”
He remained still, eyeing me suspiciously.
I took another step.
He could walk out any second, but I wouldn’t let him. Stay.
“Good cinematography and action sequences,” I said. “You get to see Mothra, too.”
The sprinklers overhead sprouted to life, but I didn’t look away as warm rain fell over the trees, plants, and garden, wetting my clothes.
I removed my glasses, setting them on the edge of another tree bed.
“I bought Milk Duds and Twizzlers.” I chuckled under my breath. “I don’t know why because I was on my own, and I didn’t need all that candy, but I didn’t eat the Milk Duds.” I swallowed, staring deep into his eyes. “I couldn’t help but think… ‘Will would love this.’”
My eyes stung, but I blinked away the tears, knowing exactly why I bought the Milk Duds. They were Will’s.
Water cascaded down his bare chest, and I breathed steadily, unwavering no matter how hard my heart pounded.
“I kept wondering what you’d say about the movie,” I told him. “And what you’d like about it.”
His eyes stayed on mine as I inched forward, water dripping down his mouth and glistening on his skin.
Please stay.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down the closer I got, and he dropped his eyes, breathing harder.
“Mothra?” he murmured.
“And King Ghidorah, too.” I nodded. “All the titans. The visual effects were amazing.”
Stepping up to him, I stopped as my shirt grazed his chest. Heat pooled in my belly, feeling him so close.
“They’re releasing Godzilla vs. Kong soon,” I told him, kicking off my shoes.
His chest rose and fell in front of me, and I gazed at all the skin my fingers hummed to touch. I balled my fists.
“They’re both heroes,” he replied. “The ending will be ambiguous, Emory.”
“No.” I shook my head, pulling my shirt off and dropping it to the ground. “The directors have stated there will be a clear winner.”