Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Xavier pointed a finger at the blonde. “Now that’s true. I didn’t think of that.”
Neither had Wynter. Hence the cold fingertips that trailed down her spine.
He cut his gaze to her. “Now that they know you’re a revenant, they’ll also know that your life-force isn’t tied to the curse. They literally have no real reason to want you to live unless of course they don’t object to your existence.”
“Not true,” Hattie objected. “Kali is an excellent deterrent. She would never stand for anyone hurting one of Her Favored. They know that well. I doubt even the Ancients would want to take on a deity. I’m not all that worried—Cain wouldn’t allow any of the others to do Wynter harm. He’s firmly ensnared.”
Wynter frowned. “Ensnared?”
“Hooked. Enthralled. Bewitched.” Hattie gave a firm nod. “He’ll keep you safe. Or you’ll kill him. One or the other. I’m leaning toward the first, though.”
“I do agree that Cain wouldn’t be party to anything that harmed you,” Anabel told Wynter. “I don’t know what he feels for you, but I do think he wouldn’t turn on you. I also think he’d likely protect you from the other Ancients if necessary. Maybe that will be enough to stay their hands.”
Delilah crossed one leg over the other. “We only have that comfort if Cain truly took the whole revenant thing as well as he seemed to. Do you think he did, Wyn?”
Considering he’d fucked Wynter on his dining table like he hadn’t seen her in decades … “Yeah, I do. I have no doubt he’s a very accomplished liar, considering he’s been keeping secrets for most of his life—and he’s lived a very, very, very long life. But if he’d been creeped out or disgusted by what I am, I would have picked up on it. My monster would have sensed it, too.”
Xavier’s brows snapped together. “Why would Cain be disgusted?”
“Well, I am a revenant.”
“But not a typical revenant,” said Xavier, setting his tarot cards on the coffee table. “It’s not like he’s been banging a walking corpse. The only thing about you that’s truly undead is your soul, and he already knew about that.”
“True, but I’m not naturally alive. Kali’s power brought me back, and it keeps me here. So it wouldn’t have surprised me if he’d been a little freaked. He was more bothered by the fact that I’d died right there in front of him.”
“Like I said, he’s ensnared,” said Hattie. “And I’ll bet he’s encountered far stranger things in his life than a revenant who’s not a regular revenant—it would likely take a lot more than that to spook him. Which is a relief, since he has access to your soul and could cause you some serious pain.”
Oh, indeed. Wynter would like to think that he would never hurt her, but she liked to think a lot of things. Such as that her crew would start valuing their own safety instead of constantly risking it.
She zeroed in on Hattie. “Speaking of pain … are you sure your eyes aren’t sore? They’re seriously bloodshot, and I don’t think it’s just because of the damn joint you smoked earlier.”
Hattie waved away her concern. “They’re fine. Really. I was up all night finishing a book, that’s all. I couldn’t put it down; it was a real page-turner. I wasn’t crazy about the dolphin shifters, though.” Her face scrunched up in distaste. “Dolphins are nasty creatures.”
Delilah blinked. “Nasty?”
Hattie nodded. “They act all sweet and friendly, but they’re sociopaths down to their fins.”
“Kind of like you, then,” said Delilah.
Hattie’s brow wrinkled. “I don’t have fins.”
“But you are sociopathic.”
“That doesn’t make me a sociopath. I feel empathy. Love. Remorse. I have a conscience.”
Delilah arched up a brow. “The same conscience that saw no reason why you shouldn’t kill any of your husbands?”
“They were crimes of passion.”
“They were incidences of premediated murder.”
“Their betrayals were premeditated. They had full-blown affairs, every one of them.” Hattie put a hand to her chest. “Broke my heart, they did.”
“You know, most women in that situation just get divorced.”
“I don’t believe in divorce, it’s a sin.”
Delilah shook her head and mouthed, “Wow.” She pushed to her feet. “And on that note, we’d better moving. We have a shop to open.”
The day was both as busy and as normal as any other day. So it took Wynter by surprise when Cain strolled into her bedroom that evening while she was packing her duffel for yet another night at his Keep. He’d only ever turned up at the cottage once before, and that had been to find out why she was late. A quick look at her quirky wall-clock told her she wasn’t running late tonight.
“Oh, hey.”
“Such a gushing reception,” he teased as he crossed to her, calm and predatory and far too sexy for her damn liking.
She snorted. “I’m not one to gush.”