Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
“Great.” His smile is not just big now, but also mischievous.
Which sets me back. Is he up to something? Is this a trap?
But just as I’m having that thought he steps closer to me. Removing the distance between us. And the next thing I know, he’s got his hands on my face and his lips are kissing mine.
It’s a slow kiss. As if time itself has stopped. And very deliberate. Like his lips are not just kissing me, but exploring me as well. And when his tongue touches mine, and they tangle together, my head swirls a little. And everything feels lighter than air. I swoon so hard, I nearly fall down.
But then his strong arms are around me. Embracing me and holding me. It has been so long since someone showed affection like this, that it’s all I can think about.
How I feel with him close.
How I feel as we kiss.
And when we pull apart, the deal is sealed.
We are going forward… together.
CHAPTER ELEVEN - EROS
Well. I must admit, I really didn’t see this coming. When I woke up this morning I had absolutely no plans to go through a door into another existence with the crazy queen.
As a matter of fact, I’m still not quite sure that this is what I’ve agreed to. But here we are, standing in front of that door, coming to terms with the fact that we’re about to go on a journey together.
Callistina shakes her head a little as her fingertips touch her lips where I was kissing her. “What did you do to me?”
“What?”
She glares at me. “Did you compel me to kiss you?”
“I didn’t compel you to do anything. I just like you, Callistina. I’ve gotten used to you. And the fact that you’re no longer crazy is a bonus. So I kissed you. You didn’t have to kiss me back, but you did. Maybe that should be the question you’re asking yourself. Why did you kiss me back?”
“That is the question I’m asking and I don’t have an answer.”
“Shall I be blunt?”
She waves her hand at me in a queenly motion of ‘go right ahead.’
“I think you like me. You think I’m handsome, and charming, and capable. All very good things for a man to be when one is considering the option of kissing him back. Don’t you think?”
Callistina thinks about this for a moment as we gaze into each other’s eyes, hers swimming with distrust, mine… well, who can tell what mine are doing.
“Come on, Callistina. I can’t help it if I’m handsome, charming, and capable, now can I? It’s just the way I was made.”
It’s kind of a lame explanation, but it’s not an argument she can dispute either. And after a few more moments, she relaxes. “Fine. I like you. So I kissed you back.”
“Finally,” I sigh. “It’s nice to see you taking responsibility for things for a change.”
“So,” she says. “What do we do now?”
“Walk through the door, I suppose.”
“You’re acting like this is no big deal.”
“Why should it be a big deal? The door will bring us back if we don’t like it there. What do we have to lose?”
She takes another moment to think, then shakes her head. “I don’t want to come back. I don’t want it to be an option. Coming back if it gets hard or we don’t like it feels like the easy way out. Pie didn’t get the easy way out. She was stuck.”
“Is that why you’re really doing this? To make some kind of amends for what I did to Pie?”
“No. Not exactly. I just feel…” She sighs. “Like a failure, to be honest. Pie was strong. She survived. And whatever happened to her once she, and Pell, and Tomas went back through the doors, I know—even if it’s terrible—she will make the most of it and she will find happiness. Even if it’s just her own personal happiness. I want to make the most of it too. I want to find my own personal happiness. But truth be told, I’m not the kind of woman who perseveres like that in the face of adversity. If I have a way out, I will take it at the first sign of trouble. It’s who I am.”
“You want to be trapped there?”
She presses her lips together and nods. “Yes. For once in my life I would like to rise to an occasion and depend on my wits, and my strength, and tenacity to pull me through. So I think we should close the door behind us. And I don’t know how to do that. Do you?”
She is so different in this moment. So unsure of herself. So vulnerable. So… well, sweet is kinda the right word here. Especially while she’s wearing that outfit. She looks like a woman. And not just any woman, but a very nice woman. One who cooks and takes care of the home. One who… cares about things that have nothing to do with power or crowns.