Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“Please don’t talk like that.”
“It’s a scenario we have to confront. I know little of King Dunbar. And I know nothing about the place he calls home. I’ll be attacking by sea, which already puts me at a great disadvantage. There are a lot of variables out of my control.”
She continued to stare, her beautiful face tightened in unease. “Alright.”
I met her look. “Is that a yes?”
She gave a nod.
“Then let’s get to work.”
THIRTY-SIX
Elora
When we returned to HeartHolme, it had been restored to its former glory. All the rubble had been removed. The stones in the gate had been repaired. The grass outside the city was still scorched, and there was a pile of ash where all the bodies had been burned. But everything else inside looked the same.
Once we entered the gate, Queen Rolfe met us. “Is it done?”
“Yes,” Huntley said. “Haldir is destroyed—as well as all other Necrosis. Those that were freed after the spell was broken have asked to reside in HeartHolme. I gave them permission. All others were killed. I saw to it personally.”
Queen Rolfe nodded before she looked at Bastian. “The spell worked?”
Bastian nodded. “Necrosis is extinct.”
She released the breath she’d been holding, like she couldn’t believe the war was finally over. We’d been enemies with Necrosis for so long, and now it was over forever. She probably didn’t even know what to do with herself. “That is good news. I know you all must be weary. You should rest, and we’ll speak later.”
We disbanded and went our separate ways. Bastian and I headed home, but we weren’t alone. His sister accompanied us.
Bastian took her to his home, which I still hadn’t seen, and after he left her there, he walked in the door of my home. Once he was over the threshold, he stared at me from across the room as if he was seeing me in a new light.
I’d been hungry just a moment ago, but now that he looked at me like that, the thought of food vanished from my mind. My heart beat irregularly, as if this was the first time we’d been alone together. My stomach tightened in knots. My confidence waned.
He crossed the room and came at me hard.
I anticipated his kiss, but I still wasn’t ready for his intensity. He grabbed my face and kissed me as he backed me up into the counter, and without wasting a single breath, he ripped my clothes from my body. He didn’t even wait until we had the chance to bathe. He wanted to do this now.
I yanked his shirt over his head, and we barely broke apart long enough to allow me to do that. His hands went to my pants and got them loose, his mouth moving to my neck and collarbone. In a rush, we undressed, got down to our bare skin.
He knocked everything off on my dining table, the pot of flowers sitting in the center shattering on the floor, and threw me on top of it. His hands grasped my hips and moved me into position so he could get inside me with one hard thrust.
I moaned into his neck, loving his roughness, loving the way he loved me without restraint. His skin remained fair and unmarked by the hunger of Necrosis, and now I could feel the beat of his heart when our chests were close together. The heat of his body was greater than before, and it even reached his eyes, giving him a stronger look of vitality.
He gripped the back of my hair as he thrust into me hard and fast. “Fuck…”
We didn’t have to stop. He didn’t have to close his eyes and force himself to calm. He didn’t have to stop himself from eating my soul.
We could just be together.
And that was what we did—all night.
When I woke up the next morning, I was wrapped in his warmth, his heartbeat like a drum against my ear. I stretched my arms and legs and looked out the window, trying to gauge the time based on the placement of the sun.
“It’s afternoon.”
“Damn…” I looked down at him, seeing that he was wide awake. “That was a long night.”
He grinned.
“Being alive suits you.”
He gave a deep chuckle. “You don’t know how nice it is to be with you without wanting to kill you the whole time.”
“Well, I’m messy, a terrible cook, and I hog all the blankets… So you might want to kill me eventually.”
“Doubt it.” He raised himself up and kissed me on the shoulder and the collarbone.
“Should you check on your sister?”
He shrugged. “She’s fine.”
“She’s in a new place and doesn’t know a soul but you.”
He looked at me. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“I just feel bad, is all.”
“I told her she wouldn’t see me for a few days, so don’t worry about it.” He sat up in bed, his hard chest and tight abs revealed from underneath the sheet. “Did Huntley mention when he and Ivory are leaving?”