Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Jin reached out and placed his hand over the one tightly gripping his wrist, and West released him.
“Mr. St. James—”
“West. It’s just West,” he corrected tersely.
“West, I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate what you did for me this afternoon. I do. Our walk was wonderful, and I didn’t want it to end. I wouldn’t have wanted your last memory of me to be of my death. You risked your life for me, and I am immensely grateful.”
“Dianxia,” he whispered, and it almost sounded like a prayer. “It’s none of my business, but please, why are you doing this?”
Jin chewed on his bottom lip. He wanted to tell him. He wanted to tell someone, and that assassin could have killed West this afternoon. The man was a complete outsider to their world, and yet he’d jumped into this mess to save someone. The only problem was that Jin couldn’t allow himself to be saved.
“It’s a long story,” he mumbled.
“Start with the short version.”
He sighed and dropped his head. His long hair spilled around him, creating a dark curtain that separated him from West, making it a little easier to talk without staring into those piercing eyes. “I did it to help my people.”
“No.”
Jin lifted his eyes when he felt his hair move and discovered that West had penetrated the curtain with one finger and moved some of his hair so he could see his face.
“Not good enough. Your people adore you and would be devastated to lose you. I can’t imagine any world that would be better without you in it. Try again.”
Jin shook his head.
“Please, Dianxia. This is the first place that I’ve felt…” His expression almost instantly closed up and Jin wanted to reach out, to coax him to keep talking, but West was already shaking his head. “Look, I don’t want to see Gaoxing destroyed. I’m not a smart guy. I know my limitations. The only thing I’m good at is killing people. But I have friends who are smart and skilled. If you tell me what your problem is, I believe they can help you.”
There were so many things he wanted to say to that.
He didn’t believe for an instant that West was only good at killing people. Today in the park, he’d proved that he was very skilled at keeping people safe. He was fantastic at making others laugh, at putting them at ease.
Yet, there was something in West’s expression that said he wasn’t willing to listen to Jin’s list. Maybe later.
And he wanted there to be a later. He needed to see the smile on West’s lips one more time.
Before the assassins got him.
“Just answer this for me: do you really want to die?” West asked so softly.
That was the easiest question in the entire world.
“No,” he choked out. He swallowed hard against the sudden lump in his throat. “No, I don’t. I don’t want to die.” With a quick blink, tears spilled down his cheeks. Dammit. He wasn’t allowed to cry for himself. He could weep for his dying father and the fate of his people but not for himself.
There was no chance to scrub the things away.
West grabbed his wrist and jerked him forward so that Jin fell into his lap. Jin stiffened, his heart racing in his chest. West released his wrist and wrapped those powerful arms around him, gathering him close. This was a thousand times better than when West had saved him in the park. No one was shooting at him, and they were alone.
“Then you will not die. It’s as simple as that,” West murmured, tucking Jin’s head under his chin.
Jin shifted a little, placing his hand on West’s wide chest to find the man’s heart racing under his fingers. The faint hint of spice and citrus drifted past his nose and Jin closed his eyes, breathing it in, his sorrows fading bit by bit with each beat of West’s heart. Here. This was where he wanted to stay.
He wasn’t sure how long they sat like that in silence before West chuckled, his body shaking.
Tilting his head back, Jin stared up at West. “What are you laughing at?”
“My life,” West admitted with a wry smile. “It’s the middle of the night and I’m sitting in the bedroom of the crown prince of Gaoxing, holding him in my lap. I’m pretty sure if someone were to walk in right now, I’d lose my head.”
Jin smirked and snuggled against West’s shoulder. Their height difference wasn’t that great, but he found if he drew his legs up just right, it was a rather perfect fit. The man was comfortable, with lots of muscles in all the right places, and he was in no hurry to move. “We don’t do beheadings any longer. We’d just put you in front of a firing squad.”