Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
“Come on, baby. Say it.”
“Yes…”
His grip tightened on my throat. “Again.”
“Yes.”
He gave a moan at my defeat, his dick thickening a little more. “That’s my baby…”
He sat on the couch in just his underwear, one foot propped on the coffee table, his elbow on the armrest. As if he hadn’t just fucked me senseless, he looked at the door, his mind somewhere else.
I pulled my shirt back over my head and got my underwear back on. “Ryker hasn’t come with dinner yet.”
“He’s not going to.”
“What do you mean by that?”
He turned slightly my way, his eyes as hard as the stone of this castle. “I saw him.”
My heart leaped into my throat like a frog. “Did he see you?”
“No.”
“What was he doing?”
“He took a blond girl from one of the king’s homes and escorted her toward the castle. So, you aren’t getting your dinner tonight.”
“That’s Effie.”
“I surmised.”
They must have worked out their differences…and he forgot about me.
Huntley shifted his gaze back to the door. “How long is this going to take?”
I joined him on the couch, the books in front of me. “It’s not like the answer is listed in the table of contents.”
“Not what I asked.”
I grabbed the last book I’d been reading and opened it in my lap. “It’s hard to say. Regrowing limbs isn’t exactly part of healing…” I flipped the pages and found the place where I’d left off.
“I can get you something to eat.”
“How?”
“I’m sure a pub is still open somewhere.”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t want you going out there again.”
“But I know how my baby gets when she’s hungry.”
I rolled my eyes as I kept my eyes down on the book. “I’ll be fine.”
His arm moved over the back of the couch, right against the back of my neck. It was instantly warm, instantly inviting.
I automatically shifted over and rested against his body. My head used his shoulder as a pillow, and I tucked my knees close to my body. Comfortable silence ensued, the breeze ruffling the curtains, the pages of the book turning.
After several pages with little to no information, I tilted my head back so I could look at his face. “I have a question. Why are these books in your library?”
He met my gaze with silence.
“You have so many about the magic of healing… Where did they come from?”
“The library was around long before I was born. Long before my father was born. So I can’t answer that.”
“There’s so much literature about healing, about healing different creatures, and I think my father has no idea the information is right at his grasp. I don’t think anyone knows about it since I’m the only one who goes in there. Ryker wouldn’t read a book if his life depended on it.”
“Neither would I.”
“Yes, I know you’re more of a slash-and-stab kind of guy.” I turned back to the book, and while the information was interesting, it wasn’t helpful toward my goal. Those dragons would never escape that island without my help. They would wither and die there, and the thought broke my heart. I had to figure this out.
“When I was a child, my mother told me there had been a healer in the family. My great-great-great-grandfather. Something like that.”
I lifted my head and looked at him again. “Then…maybe these were his.”
“Possibly.”
I looked down at the book again, feeling connected to someone who had passed on long ago. “I wonder where he learned everything. If he took these books from somewhere else…or if he authored them himself.”
“We’ll never know.”
“Is this…why you heal so quickly?”
His eyebrows quirked at the question.
“Because you possess the blood of a healer.”
His stare continued, his reaction as hard as ever. “Possibly.”
“Do your mother and brother have this ability too?”
He shook his head. “Just me.”
I studied him for a moment longer, feeling a new connection to him. All my knowledge came from his ancestors, the ancestors who gave him healing blood. “Does that mean our children will have this ability?”
“Probably. Along with your stubbornness.”
“My stubbornness? Honey, my stubbornness doesn’t compare to yours.”
“Then they’ll be very magical and stubborn children.” The corner of his mouth rose in a slight smile, and for once, that playfulness reached his eyes.
It was infectious, and all my offense evaporated. “Maybe you could be a better healer than I ever could.”
“Maybe. But that’s not the life I’ve chosen.”
“Slash and stab, right?”
His playfulness remained. “Lead and defend.”
Now my eyes softened, thinking about the way he took the rear to protect his men at the front. “You’ll be a great king.”
“And you’ll be a great queen. I will protect my subjects, and you’ll heal the ones I fail.”
“I don’t think you’ll fail any of them, Huntley.”
His arm scooped around my shoulders, and he pulled me closer. The book was forgotten now, closed on my lap. His chin rested on the top of my head, and we sat there together, my cheek against his warm flesh.