Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
“Then there is Cerberus, the three-headed massive dog who guards the gate to the underworld.
“Oh, The Minotaur, of course.”
“Go on,” I encouraged as I scribbled notes to avoid looking at her. Her nearness… it was doing something to me that I didn’t understand, but knew I really needed nothing to do with.
“He’s got the body of a man with the head of a bull and likes to eat flesh.
“You could have Medusa. But modern players on your app would bristle if you called her a monster.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because the woman was cursed to become a monster as punishment for her own rape. She got a head full of snakes and turned any man to stone who looked upon her. You’d do better to spin that story for this newer generation.”
“Okay. Anyone else?”
“Well, Typhon, of course.”
“And who is Typhon?”
“Seriously?” she asked, her incredulous tone making my head lift. My gaze found hers, and it was only a second that I saw disbelief there, as it was quickly replaced with something much more heated.
I couldn’t help but wonder if my own gaze was the same, if she could tell that my thoughts had turned away from Greek lore and toward my face between her thighs, her sweet taste coating my tongue, or to my cock buried in her eager mouth.
“Yes, seriously,” I said, watching as she swallowed hard before her gaze darted away.
“Well, Typhon was the Father of All Monsters. He had massive wings, viper legs, dragon head fingers, and could shoot fire from his eyes. What?” she asked when a chuckle escaped me.
“Viper legs, dragon head fingers, and fire-shooting eyes. It sounds like a story a small child made up.”
“It is a bit over the top. Even for the myths,” she admitted. “Are you, ah, planning to have a lot of monsters in your app?”
“There… needs to be monsters to vanquish to, ah, go up levels,” I said, trying to remember the correct terminology I’d read about when researching app building. “Now, do the monsters get along? Say, would they gang up on the humans?”
“I mean… not really. I guess, for your app, they can do whatever you want them to do. But it isn’t canon. They were all… did you hear that?” she asked, stiffening.
“The books falling?” I asked, having heard a small topple from somewhere below us.
“No. The sound after the topple. Like a laugh? A strange, tinkling little laugh.”
“No. Missed it,” I said, shrugging. “What?” I asked when her face fell at those words.
“I really need a brain scan,” she said, rubbing the arms of her chunky sweater that did far too good a job covering up her body.
“A… brain scan?” I repeated.
“You know… to check for any abnormalities.”
“Your brain seems to be working just fine.”
“Except that I’ve become really clumsy lately, and keep hearing this strange laugh.”
“Maybe the clumsiness comes from not getting sleep? In a bed, not at a desk,” I added.
“You’re probably right about that,” she agreed, shuffling her stuff together again. “Actually, speaking of that. I think I should get going. To, you know, get some rest,” she said, moving to stand, and nearly knocking her chair over. “Maybe tomorrow?” she asked, but wasn’t waiting for a reply.
By the time I got to my feet, she was already rushing away.
Leaving me to watch her and pretend that it wasn’t another rush of disappointment I felt right then.
“The fuck is wrong with me?” I grumbled, grabbing my notebook, and making my way out of the building as well.
I shouldn’t have been able to hear her.
Not with how far away she was when I did.
But I heard her.
Screaming.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Charlotte
I’m not proud to admit this, but I was crushed.
I know.
Ridiculous, right?
Who felt crushed that the guy they’d—stupidly—hooked up with showed up again and acted like nothing happened?
I mean, okay, objectively, maybe a lot of women. But I didn’t want to be one of them, damnit. I wanted to be able to call it a fun, casual, no-strings-attached time. I wanted to be able to compartmentalize it in my head.
But when he dropped down at the table, asking about the monsters, well, I’d been blindsided and overcome with a surge of disappointment and vulnerability I hadn’t been anticipating.
It was why I’d been so quick to jump on his suggestion to get some more sleep.
Not because I thought I would. No, I was pretty sure I would toss and turn, mind flip-flopping between desire for him and vulnerability and insecurity about having gone as far as we had already. Because, to me, it had been very, very memorable. To him, it seemed, it was like any other night of the week.
I didn’t want it to, but that hurt.
No one wanted to be forgettable.
Especially when they were going out of their comfort zone for somebody.
“Ugh,” I grumbled at myself as I paused at the side of my car to dig through my bag for my keys.