Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
“Does this mean I need to take you back to bed to convince you, or will a bowl of ice-cream for breakfast be enough?”
She snickered. “Either will work just fine. You have anything in mind you want to do today?”
“How about we go out somewhere?”
“Like … for fun?”
“Yeah.” Viper’s entity frowned, not liking the idea. It would prefer to keep her here at all times, where she was out of the reach of any danger that might come her way. It generally didn’t worry about anything, but the life of Ella and their baby? Totally different situation.
The entity also had its concerns about the birth, unsure how it would go. Viper was confident—or, more to the point, told himself he had every reason to feel confident—that the birth would go fine. Still, the further she got into her pregnancy, the more often anxiety crept up on him. Partly because this was something out of his control.
He was a man who liked control; who was used to having it. This wasn’t something he could ensure went exactly how he wanted it to go.
Ella drifted her fingertips over his face. “You hate the idea of going out,” she softly accused.
“I don’t hate it. I can’t lie, I feel better when you’re here, where you’re safest. But we shouldn’t stop living our lives just because a celestial is hanging around.”
“I don’t want you going stir crazy from worry that someone’s gonna jump out of the shadows to grab me.”
Viper pulled her closer. “We’ll take several of my brothers with us. And if there’s any sign of danger, we’ll teleport home in a second’s notice.”
Her mouth curled. “Okay. I’m up for it. I’d like to not use glamor, though. There’s no reason for us to hide who we are to each other anymore. The strix knows. A celestial spy knows. My family and anchor knows. We could make this our first public appearance as a couple.”
He hummed, considering it. “Yeah, it’s time. And I like the idea that everyone will now know you belong to me.”
She snorted. “Of course you do. Now, where do you want to go?”
“You choose. I want to take you somewhere you can relax and wind down and forget about all the shit that’s happening around us.”
Her smile widened. “I know just the place.”
“Yeah, go! Go! Go! It won! Boom!” Conscious of her mate’s eyes on her, Ella tore her attention away from the hellhorse racing track. “What?”
He stared at her, his brow furrowed. “You really find this relaxing?”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
And if the looks on the faces of Jester, Dice, Darko, and Ghost were anything to go by, they didn’t find it relaxing either.
Sad head-shakes came from the group of six hellhorses who’d joined them. Like Teague, they didn’t belong to a lair and were instead part of his unofficial clan. She’d learned that there was an alliance between said clan and the Black Saints. She got the sense that these guys knew who Viper was, though they were likely unaware of what he’d become on falling.
He gave her a confused look. “What’s relaxing about watching hellhorses face a series of sadistic hurdles that can burn, bruise, and slice the competitors—as well as cause them to topple into nightmarish pits filled with shit like spikes, snakes, and boiling oil?”
Ella grazed her teeth over her lower lip. “It’s not obvious?”
Cleaning his glasses, the lean, brown-eyed clan member decked out in golfing gear turned to her. “It’s the celestial blood in him. He’ll never get it. He’ll never understand the rush.” Leo slipped his glasses back on. “You should pity him.”
“Or kill him,” Slade chipped in, idly scratching at his blond scruff. “I’d personally prefer death over such a poor quality of life. You’d be doing him a solid.”
Viper narrowed his eyes as he swept them over the group. “Doesn’t Teague have a VIP box for your clan to use?”
“We prefer being in the stands,” Gideon explained, batting away his wavy shoulder-length red hair before taking a swig of his beer—the guy very rarely didn’t have a drink in his hand, from what Ella had observed. “The atmosphere here is better.”
“And we can sic people on each other when we feel like it,” Leo added.
“How?” asked Darko, curious.
“Observe.” Leo tossed a coin at someone on a lower tier. That same someone swung around with a scowl, seemed to decide that the person behind him was responsible, and dived at him. Honestly, demons were way too easy to provoke.
“I reckon the taller one will win,” said Leo.
Archer pulled a doubtful face. “My money’s on the ginger.”
No one could call hellhorses normal. Or stable. Or anything close to safe. And yet, they didn’t send her inner alarms going wild.
Due to her pregnancy, her protective instincts went electric whenever she was out in public, as did those of her demon. But hellhorses were just way too funny to make her nervous.