Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
I peeked over to see that Alex still had his eyes closed, and the other two weren’t physically paying me any attention. Perfect. I pushed up onto my arms, using my foot on part of the railing to get up onto the top of it, channeling my inner cat. I had to be fast and hoped they didn’t stop me too soon.
I crouched on the guardrail and didn’t let myself peek down. What I did do was glance back again and instantly meet Alana’s gaze, and I smiled at her. Then I stood up, balancing as best as I could, and said, “Hey, Hercules?”
Alex grunted, and when I didn’t say anything again, he opened his eyes.
Time to shine. Holding my breath, I said in a rush, “Bye!”
And I jumped off the edge.
I was pretty sure I heard him curse. I think he might have even spiced it up by saying, “Dammit, Gracie,” just as I started to fall.
And in the split millisecond that my body fell—and I prayed that he either caught me or one of his siblings did, and I tried to reassure myself that I wouldn’t die if they didn’t, I might just break an arm or leg, maybe both, maybe all of them—I knew that regardless of what happened, it would be worth it.
I hoped.
He was going to be so mad if he tried to fly and couldn’t, but it was my choice.
I still wasn’t 100 percent anyway.
Somehow those thoughts managed to enter my head and leave again before I stopped falling.
I stopped falling?
Sure enough, I was about two feet off the ground. If I stretched my arm out, I could touch the mud.
I looked up and realized that I’d been grabbed by the back of my pants again.
And it wasn’t Alana or Robert holding on to me. It wasn’t The Primordial or The Centurion who had saved me.
It wasn’t The Defender either.
It was crabby-ass Alex there. Grumpy Goose Alex who muttered in midair, “I’m going to go get some pigs now just so I can feed you to them.”
I laughed, and then I lifted my arm and gave him a thumbs-up.
I looked behind the nightstand for maybe the fifth time and frowned.
Where the hell was my charger?
It had been here in the morning because I’d charged my phone overnight, and I knew for a fact I hadn’t taken it out of the room. I didn’t want to leave my stuff everywhere. It wasn’t like it could have grown legs and walked away.
Which meant…
Alex had the same brand of phone I did. He hadn’t asked for my number, and I hadn’t asked him for his either. Not that I was upset over it.
Creeping over to the doorway, I stopped and listened. There were noises coming from the direction of his study or maybe his room. I headed over, crossing my arms over my chest to hide my boobs as much as possible. The library was empty, his office door closed, but the light in his room was on. I went to the doorway, and my whole body suddenly jerked.
Alex was changing. He was in the middle of pulling his shirt over his head. Golden skin rippled. Muscles I didn’t know existed twisted and contracted as he tugged a plain gray T-shirt down that incredible body.
And he knew I was there.
Keep it together. Keep it together. Oh boy, keep it together.
I cleared my throat super dramatically and knocked on the doorframe. “Hey, did you see my charger?” I asked, knowing he could hear how rough that came out but trying to play it off. So I’d seen him shirtless. That was nothing between us at this point. It wasn’t even the first time.
Alex turned, giving me a quick view of his oblique muscles as he finished pulling his shirt down. “On my nightstand,” he answered, those big hands already back to moving as he started to take his watch off.
I glanced toward his bed and stopped again.
I hadn’t done more than peek into his room that first day we’d arrived. His door was usually always closed, and I hadn’t had the balls to go in there without permission. I wasn’t about to go and violate his trust like that.
So I wasn’t expecting to see the stacks of what looked like magazines on his nightstand.
And along the floor.
There was even a small bookshelf crammed to the max with hardcovers and paperbacks.
And most surprising was the framed poster on the wall with a trophy sitting in front of it.
I glanced at him. He was watching me as he set his watch into a box on top of his dresser. His face was relaxed, but something about his features told me that wasn’t totally the case with the rest of him.
Making my way toward the furniture, I spotted my charging cable sitting on top of the tallest of the stacks there. I unplugged it and then stopped again, looking at the opened notebook sitting on top of the stack of books. It was that same notebook he was always scribbling in when he was working in his office.