Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 110802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Knox hadn’t taken more than four steps into the walk-in closet when he stopped dead. His mate was standing in front of the mirror, looking like every male’s wet dream. That satin dark-red dress begged to be peeled up while he took her against the wall. The shade went perfectly against her ivory skin, seeming to emphasize how smooth and unblemished it was. The combination made him think of raspberries and cream. With the crystal gemstones that matched the ones on her red stilettos, the dress was as shiny as his mate. It also flashed some of the brand on her breast, which his demon liked a hell of a lot.
Slipping on her white diamond earrings, now that her ear was completely healed, Harper smiled at him. “Looking pretty dashing over there in that tuxedo, Thorne.” Edible, actually. It made her want to crawl all over him like a kitten.
He prowled toward her, feeling every inch the predator that he was. His demon wanted to see what she looked like in that dress while bent over and begging to come. One track mind. But Knox wasn’t in a position to judge, given he was wondering the exact same thing. “You look stunning.”
She gave him a mock look of reprimand. “You really shouldn’t say things like that.”
He raised a brow. “Oh? Why is that?”
“I’m taken,” she stage-whispered, “and my mate is crazy possessive.”
Cupping her hips, Knox pulled her flush against him. “So he should be.”
“He definitely won’t like you touching me.”
Knox kissed her neck, inhaling her honeyed scent. “If he lets another male get this close to you, he doesn’t deserve to keep you.”
Harper smoothed her hands over his shoulders. “He deserves me just fine.”
Smiling, he nipped at the fleshy part of her lower lip. “Are you sure you want to go out tonight? It would be normal to want a little time to assimilate what happened.”
“It probably would be normal to need time to process and stuff,” she agreed, “but I’m not normal. We both know that.”
Knox splayed his hand over her breast, wishing he could tug at the nipple ring he could feel against his palm through her dress. “You’re not weird.” She simply didn’t like to dwell or stew. She moved on from things fairly quickly. He admired that. “You’re positive you want to go? I have absolutely no issue with spending the night fucking you while that dress is hiked around your waist.”
The latter sounded rather tempting, but Harper was happy for that to come later. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t want me to go out.”
“Maybe my protective streak is on hyper-drive and I’d like to keep you here where I know you’re safe,” he admitted.
He could be so cute sometimes. “But that would be letting those assholes win, wouldn’t it? It would be giving them the power over us that they want. I’m not down with that.”
His mouth curved. “All right, let’s go.”
Harper grabbed her purse and linked her arm through his. “Lead the way.”
As they walked down the staircase, he said, “If someone would have told me just yesterday that you’d be smiling as we left for the event, I would never have believed them.”
She was actually looking forward to the shindig. Okay, she was looking forward to flashing her rings at Alethea. “I like surprising you. It keeps you on your toes.”
“It does,” Knox allowed. He led her down the hallway and into the foyer, where the sentinels were waiting.
Harper smiled at them. “Well, don’t you all look pretty.” The guys were all in tuxedos, and Larkin was wearing a seriously cute black dress.
Keenan grinned, but it was slightly forced. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” He flinched when she punched his arm. “Ow! What was that for?”
“You’re still blaming yourself for not checking the driver’s seat. It’s not your fault that I was taken. I’ve been meaning to ask, did you deliver the news to Carla and Bray?” she asked Larkin.
The harpy nodded. “We did it a few hours ago.”
Harper bit her lip. “Just how badly did they take it?”
“About as badly as any parent would take the death of their child,” replied Larkin. “I did worry they might come to the shindig —”
Knox sighed. “It’s not a shindig.”
“— to kick up a fuss and lash out at you in anger, but they seem to just want to be left alone. In any case, I have people keeping watch over them.”
Harper wasn’t looking forward to finally coming face to face with Carla and Bray again. If Carla truly hadn’t hated Harper before, she would sure do now that her oldest son had died at Harper’s hands. Well, at her demon’s hands – there wasn’t much difference.
Turning to Knox, Harper asked, “Do you think we made the right decision in not telling them ourselves?”