Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
“He didn’t.” Rathbone was certain of it. Not because he trusted the male implicitly, which he did. But because his uncle lived for bragging.
“Okay, so, he didn’t betray you,” she persisted. “But. If I’m drawn to him, there’s a reason. He probably knows something without knowing he knows it.”
“That is...possible.” But he was still smarting about the possibility of a sex dream, all right? Hades was a powerful force of nature. Neeka might still consider herself a single female.
“Good,” she said. “That means we’re visiting Hades as soon as I’m presentable.” She ruffled Rathbone’s hair, gave him a swift kiss, then another, and sprang to her feet, deliciously naked. “Up, up,” she said, clapping. “We leave in ten-ish. Wear something nice.” Avoiding his gaze, she strutted over and picked up the backpack he’d dropped. “Getting ready together is too intimate. I’ll return when I’m done. And I won’t miss you while I’m gone. Not the slightest bit.”
Rathbone flashed into the hallway, directly in front of her. She didn’t notice and smacked into him. As he caught her, she flipped up her gaze, meeting his. “I’ve been inside you, carrot. Nothing is too intimate now. But you will miss me,” he commanded. To guarantee it, he seized her lips in a fierce kiss.
Just as she melted in his arms, he lifted his head, ending the exchange. Desire glazed her irises, and passion deepened the color in her cheeks.
He gave her backside a teasing squeeze. “See? You’re missing me already,” he boasted, strutting to his bedroom. He kicked the door shut behind him, right in her stunned face.
Amusement blended with anticipation. As soon as they returned, he would install her in his room. Before the end of the day, her clothing would hang in his closet alongside his.
She banged on his door, calling, “Is the missing mutual?”
“It is,” he called back, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him.
He hurried through a shower, then donned a pair of leathers and combat boots. His version of “nice.”
He was preparing to find her when she sailed into the bedroom. His heart stuttered against his ribs the moment he spotted her. This female...oh, this female. Both savage and sweet, and exquisite beyond measure.
She wore the uniform of a decorated harpy soldier—a metal breastplate, pleated leather skirt and a dozen different weapon sheaths. But the metal was white, the leather pink, and the weapon handles bejeweled.
My savage gum drop queen.
“How am I supposed to function with a never-ending hard-on?” he asked, and he meant it.
She flushed and pretended to fluff hair she’d twisted into a series of elaborate knots. “Learn.”
He almost grinned. Oh, but he liked her confident like this. He liked her, period.
Rathbone gathered her close and flashed her to Hades’s palace. They found the king in his throne room, perched atop his golden chair, presiding over a case between two citizens. A cat sat in his lap, and a raccoon played with the hem of a robe worn by the old man with a clipboard standing next to the throne. Pippen, Hades’s most trusted servant. His only trusted servant. Rathbone had no idea what the spirit had done to earn such a rare gift.
The mirror hung on the wall behind the king, as if presiding over him.
“May we interrupt?” Rathbone called, leading Neeka forward with an arm wrapped around her waist. Fear tinged the air, the usual reaction to seeing him in the kingdom. “Let me rephrase. We’re interrupting.”
Hades studied their placement and smirked. “If I’m about to hear how right I was and wrong you were, you may.”
“Your Majesty,” the defendant rushed out, nervously shuffling his feet. “Please give me a chance to—”
“Guilty,” Hades interjected, waving Rathbone forward. Armed guards hauled the protesting defendant away. “Everyone out.”
The rest of the crowd followed the same path as if their feet were on fire, disappearing beyond a set of double doors. Everyone but the old man and the animals exited.
In his element, the king reclined, resting an elbow on the chair’s arm, and rubbing two fingers over his mouth. “My, my. Aren’t we cozy together.”
“We are.” Rathbone gave Neeka a little squeeze. “Go ahead.”
Her gaze remained riveted on the mirror, her expression glazing. “I remember now,” she breathed out. “If you wish to save everyone, Neeka, you need only speak with the girl in the mirror.”
Rathbone blinked. The Goddess of Many Futures. She appeared in the glass, a delicate female with long, curling white hair, eyes like a starlit night, and dark skin. She peered at Neeka, both hands pressed against the glass.
Hades glowered. “That isn’t happening. No one speaks with Siobhan.”
“Let me,” the oracle demanded, unintimidated. “The fate of the world depends on it.”
“Not my world.”
She turned to Rathbone, flattening her palms on his pectorals and batting her lashes at him, expectant. “Go back to the palace and fetch my dueling pistols I’m stealing from you. Don’t worry. I’ll win.”