Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“You kissed me.”
“Yes. A beautiful woman came on to you, and now you’re running away.”
He kicked the fire and snuffed out the flames, bringing the forest into darkness.
“Who does that?”
He ignored me and climbed into his bedroll.
“Asshole, we’re in the middle of a conversation—”
“I don’t want you.” He sat up again, looking at me in the darkness. “Is that what you want me to say?”
The sting was packed with venom, paralyzing me for an instant.
“Then I’ll say it again. I don’t want you.” He lay flat. “Let’s go to bed, and when we wake up in the morning, act like nothing happened.” He lay still and closed his eyes, as if he really did forget about it that quickly.
I stood there for a while because the whiplash was so strong it brought an ache to my neck. It took me a moment to hold my head high and walk to my bedroll, to pick up my humiliation off the ground and put it back inside my chest. I got under the blanket and lay there, my lips still warm from his kiss. My heart was beating so fast. Beating with rage. Beating with pain. “You don’t kiss a woman like that unless you want her, so I’m calling you out on your bullshit.”
FOURTEEN
Elora
When I woke up the next morning, the coffee was already made, and Bastian had already packed his horse for the journey. The second I sat up, flashbacks of the night before hit me, the way he kissed me better than any man had ever kissed me before. I’d bedded some amazing lovers, and I’d had men devour me like a feast—but Bastian was definitely the best out of them all.
And it was just a kiss.
A kiss that had only lasted a couple minutes. A kiss that could easily have accelerated into a passionate hump against the trunk of a tree in the middle of the woods, both of our pants around our ankles, our moans like the sounds of wild animals.
Didn’t want me…yeah fucking right.
I poured myself a mug of hot coffee and sat by the fire as I drank it. No amount of caffeine would wake me up today, not when I’d hardly gotten any rest last night. Hot dreams kept pulling me from sleep, and then I’d be up for hours, thinking about all the images that had faded from my mind.
He avoided me, sitting against the trunk of the tree closest to his horse. He was ready to go, his sword at his hip, his bow and quiver of arrows beside him on the ground. His eyes were focused on the open plains, seeing the sun slowly inch farther and farther over the grasslands.
I had a quick breakfast of fruit and nuts then poured out the remainder of the contents of my mug. My things were packed away, and then I was ready to ride. “Are we just not going to talk about what happened last night?”
He turned to look at me, holding my gaze like a man. “I stand by what I said.”
“You mean, you lied.”
His hard expression didn’t change.
“Because we both know you’re full of shit.” I stuck my foot in the stirrup and grabbed the saddle by the pommel before I hoisted myself onto the horse. “A guy doesn’t press his rock-hard dick into a woman’s stomach like that unless he’s interested. I’ve been around the block a few times, so don’t fucking gaslight me. Just be a man and give it to me straight.” I clicked my tongue and pulled on the reins to get the horse moving. “Or don’t. I’m not sure I care anymore anyway.”
It was a long day of riding, and by the end of it, the mountains were right on top of us. The trees thickened at the base, so we had to bring the horses to a brisk walk so we wouldn’t get our heads chopped off by low-hanging branches.
The closer we got to approaching Necrosis, the more nervous I became, but I wouldn’t admit that out loud. Ever.
Bastian dismounted his horse then tied him to a tree branch, giving a lot of slack in the rope so both horses could move around.
I copied him and dismounted my horse. “Are we going in?”
“Not yet.” He stopped at the tree line and stared at the rocky terrain before us, seeing something my weak eyes couldn’t catch. “We’ll wait until just before sunrise, when the guards change their watch.”
“They guard their lands?” I asked in surprise. “As far as I know, no one has ever had any interest in paying them a visit.”
“That changed the moment you drove them off with your dragons.” He turned back to his horse and pulled out his bedroll and his supplies. He laid everything on the ground then got to work making a fire.