Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 939(@200wpm)___ 751(@250wpm)___ 626(@300wpm)
“You’ve been here two months, and you haven’t had your period.”
“Have you forgotten all the shit that’s happened in that time? There are any number of reasons why it didn’t come,” I snap.
“You mean like letting us come inside you whenever we want?”
I ignore that, and Khalil and Seth start walking a little faster to get away from us. This isn’t the first time Thorin and I have had this argument. “Besides, I’ve only missed one. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Okay,” he says smugly.
“It doesn’t.”
“Okay.”
I growl at him and start walking faster to get away from him, but my legs have other plans, wobbling like jello since they worked me over good, and I stumble around like a fawn that’s just learned to walk.
I can feel Thorin eyeing me. “You okay?”
“Fine.”
“I can carry you.”
“I said I’m fine.”
He catches up to me in one and a half steps and swoops me up in his arms. “Then indulge me, songbird,” he whispers.
Giving up the pretense of not wanting to be doted on like the lost and stolen princess I am, I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. “Fine.”
“Ahhh!!!” My scream after we reach our clearing and approach the cabin has my mountain men on high alert as they stop to draw their weapons and look around for the threat.
“What? What is it?” Khalil asks with murderous fury etched all over his face.
Grinning, I bounce on my toes as I point toward the small plot off to the side. It’s been shoveled clear of snow to make way for the fresh soil that’s already been turned over and raked into four neat lines.
When my guys stare at me over their shoulders like I’ve lost my mind, I push through the circle they made around me and run over to the garden. Falling to my knees outside the four wooden planks that protect the garden, I squeal again when I see the little green leaves sticking out of the ground in the middle. I studied those books for days, insisting I wasn’t ready before Khalil dragged my ass out of the cabin and shoved a spade in my hand.
Two weeks later, after much self-doubt, I’m staring at those long, thin first leaves no more than an inch long, thanking photosynthesis for doing its job.
I hear footsteps behind me as my mountain men join me, and then Khalil makes a sound of surprise when he sees it.
“Holy shit. You did it,” Khalil praises.
“Damn. That’s some fine-looking green, Sunshine.”
“Congratulations, songbird.”
Khalil crouches next to me and reaches out a curious brown hand toward those precious green leaves, and I panic, slapping it away. “No, don’t touch it!”
He snatches his hand back and cuts his gaze toward me. “Ow.”
My cheeks warm in response. I did kind of overreact. “Sorry.”
My gaze returns to that fragile, feeble sign of life, and I squeal even louder this time.
All three of my guys wince and groan.
“All right, I’m going in the house before I lose my hearing,” Thorin grumbles before stomping away.
Khalil stands and flees as well, but Seth lingers. “Coming, Sunshine?”
I tear my gaze away from the leaves to look up at him. “In a minute. I—” A gasp leaves me, and I shoot to my feet. “Seth…your nose.”
He blinks in surprise and then touches his nose. When he pulls his hand back to inspect his fingers, he doesn’t react to the blood on them, and it sends my worry through the roof.
It’s happened before.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” He quickly turns away from me, but I chase after him. My hand on his arm stops him even though he can break free anytime.
“That’s not nothing, Seth. Why is your nose bleeding?”
He still won’t meet my gaze as he shrugs. “No reason. It does that sometimes.”
My hands start shaking. “Stop lying to me, and tell me why.”
Instead of explaining, I watch him visibly shut down, and it’s such a strange reaction coming from him. Seth is the most open and honest person I know. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and it’s one of the things I love most about him. With Seth, I never have to doubt how he’s feeling or what he feels for me. “Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
Huffing, he starts walking again, so I run to cut him off. Seth swears as he stops in his tracks. “Sunshine—”
I launch myself at him and throw my arms around his neck. When his hands automatically find my lower back, I feel tears rise up, and for the first time, I think they might actually fall.
“Seth…don’t do this. Please. Don’t leave me with this worry and no answers. It’s cruel, and that’s not you. Talk to me. Let me help you.”
It’s just a nosebleed, so I’m probably overreacting, but Seth’s determination to hide and lie about it tells me I’m not.