Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“Well…” I clear my throat. “That’s…interesting to know.”
He glances at me. “You wouldn’t let her, would you?”
“What? Caz, no!”
“Good. Because I can’t fight off a woman. But if that’s something you want, well…who am I to stop it?”
I laugh as he drops his arms to pick his wine glass up and bring it to his lips. “Wow. You are seriously so jealous.”
“Hey, what’s mine is mine. Besides…” He sighs, leaning back on the log we’re on and spreading his legs farther. “It’s the Tether that makes me so territorial of you. I think of anyone having their hands on you other than me, and I want to rip them to shreds.”
Caz places his wine glass down while I polish mine off and shoot to a stand. “Come dance with me,” I insist.
His eyes slide up my body before shifting to the women around the fire. “Don’t you think Carra will be offended that you turned her down if she sees us dancing?”
“Don’t change the subject! Come on.” I grab his hand, tugging on the tips of his fingers.
“Willow,” he laughs. “I can’t dance.”
“You can’t, or you won’t?”
He eyes me, head going into a tilt. “I’ll make a fool of myself. None of these women want to see a man dancing.”
“Who cares? The point of dancing is to have fun, let go. Be careless.”
He looks toward the fire, then lets out a long breath as he swings his eyes to mine again. “Very well.”
“Yes!” I cling to his hand and lead the way toward the fire with a wide smile. The music is lively and fast, and I have no clue what I’m doing or how to dance to it, but I move anyway, twirling my hips and throwing my arms in the air. Caz watches me, hardly moving.
“Dance!” I shout, grabbing both his hands and reeling him toward me.
“This is ridiculous,” he mumbles.
“I don’t wanna hear it. Come on.” I force him to move his feet with mine while lacing my fingers with his. He finally moves, shifting left to right. “Good. Now loosen those hips. I know you know how to do that.”
He smirks at that, those blue irises connecting with mine, and finally livens up. For the first time in my life, I watch Caspian Harlow dance. His hips shift and thrust, his feet stepping in rhythm. He takes my hand, raising it in the air and rocking with me. I can’t help the laughs bubbling out of me as he tugs me in by the hand and steals a kiss.
When the music slows in tempo, I drape my arms around the back of his neck, and we sway on the field. The moon is full, beaming on us as the stars twinkle in the background. I hear whispers from the women, and I bet they’re all watching us, but I don’t care.
We move in sync, the heat of the fire caressing my skin. I toss my head back, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. His hands skim down my waist, slowly moving down to cup my ass. He gives it a squeeze, and a deep groan fills the base of his throat.
“Why can’t it always be like this?” I sigh.
He says nothing to that, so I look up. He pulls his hand from my ass, but only to grab one of mine and lead me away from the fire.
“Wait—Caz! What are you doing? Where are we going?” I ask, peering over my shoulder. The music has picked up again, and the women have resumed dancing.
Caz makes his way toward a path, shoving branches out of the way, my hand fastened in his. Ahead, I notice glowing purple flowers shaped like lilies and gently swaying with the breeze. Caz finally slows down, and I work to catch some of my breath as I stand at his side. I touch one of the flowers, and it’s silky to the touch. Up close, it’s not fully purple. Only the tips of the petals are. The rest of its body is white, the thick stems a deep green.
“Wow. These are so pretty,” I breathe.
“They are,” he says. “But wait until you see what this path leads to.”
He walks by my side on the path, past more groves of the glowing lilies, until we’re met with a large body of water. The water shimmers in the night, glowing a wondrous, luminescent blue. It’s a lake surrounded by trees, bushes, and more flowers, and at the end of the body of water is the mouth of a cave.
“Care for a swim?” Caz is already taking his shirt off, the blue lagoon glowing on his skin. His muscles ripple as he tosses the shirt, and when his pants are off, he lobs them aside too. “Meet you in.” I’m not allowed a word as he runs ahead completely naked and cannonballs into the water.