Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
“I don’t recall asking for your input, Percy. So go back to smoking your cigarettes and daydreaming about your next failed marriage, won’t you?”
Father laughs at Harker’s comment.
But just as quick as he cut my father and uncle down, Harker’s kindness shines through with another tender smile directed at me.
“Ignore them, dear. Today is your day, and you should enjoy it.” Harker slides his hand into his lapel and draws from it a small, pink box with a glittering bow on top. On the side, scrawled in very neat calligraphy it reads, Happy 23. “I got you something. It’s not much, I know, but I thought you might like it.”
“You got me something?” I ask, dumbfounded. I wasn’t even expecting him to accept my invitation, let alone bring me anything.
All the stories I’ve heard over the years about Harker Jameson have painted him as a terrible monster. But the person who sits before me is a god treading around in human skin. Every inch of my body screams out for him in a way I can’t seem to explain even to myself. It’s a raw, primal want burning deep in the very fiber of my being. So deep that even the gesture of a gift, no matter how big or small, makes the world around me melt away and my want for Harker intensify.
“I did.” He leans over the table, knocking his golden chalice full of black beer over the table. He ignores the fumble and continues to deliver my gift. “It’s your big day, and though I don’t know you well, I wanted to give you something special.”
I take the box and flick open the top. Inside lies a simple heart-shaped pendant with lines and squiggles of some ancient language engraved in the back.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, removing the heart on the thin golden chain. “What does it say?”
Harker stands and walks around the table. He takes the necklace from my hands, kneels behind me, and clasps it around my neck.
“Queen of the Dead,” he says as if it’s something completely normal.
2
HARKER
She’s. Fucking. Perfect.
From golden hair to dainty toe, Penelope Carlisle has set an instant fire ablaze in my heart.
The moment I received the invitation with her bright beaming smile on the front, my cock forced me to leave my dwelling and come to this party. Every fiber of muscle in my body itched and ached, desperate and gnawing for a glimpse of her in the real world. And even now, as I kneel beside her, my heart screams to profess these wants and dark desires.
The sweet concoction of her vanilla perfume tickles my brain. Her soft skin brushes against the back of my fingertips, sending my body into a disgusting spasm. And the warmth of her smile is enough to melt my heart into my guts.
There’s something wrong with me. I’m sure of it. My life is my work, and one glimpse at my business partner’s daughter has turned me into a drooling mess. I’ve always believed that saving myself for the perfect woman was the right thing to do, and now, seeing Penelope Carlisle for the first time in fifteen years, I know my wait was never in vain.
“Hell, old chum, you want to get a room?” Percy snickers from across the table.
I don’t bother even glancing in his direction. Zander and Percy are the same breed of fucked up. They don’t care about the little things in life, only thinking bigger and grander. Well, they can have the fame and fortune that come with their perceived power because my happiness isn’t dictated by shady business and devious dealings.
My happiness is here at Penelope’s side.
“Thank you, Harker,” Penelope whispers. Her bright smile hasn’t faded since I handed her the box.
“You don’t have to thank me. You deserve all the world’s shiny things,” I say. My attempts at poetry make her giggle, and seeing the joy in her deep blue eyes is enough.
“Come, Harker, enough of this. Come sit,” Zander says. I turn to him with a glare. How fucking dare he take me away from my woman when I’ve had so little time with her? And for what? To continue discussing the subtleties of business or his future son?
“I should go,” I whisper and, with a humph, raise from my position. The shadow of my frame engulfs her small body in stature.
I return to my chair and fall into it. The metal screeches across the floor as it slides back.
Now that I’ve had a chance to get close to her, every part of me is hooked on Penelope. I struggled to divide my attention from her before, but it’s only grown more intense now. The baby blue dress with sequins she’s wearing sparkles under the light, her cleavage spilling out of the top. Her freckled cheeks, raised in a near-constant smile, blushes a light shade of pink every time, her nervous eyes catching my own.