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)
Oh, my God.
He’s going to kill me.
No sooner do I think it than he finally releases me. I’ve barely managed to suck in a single breath when he grabs my nape and starts forcing me forward.
Khalil and Seth follow but don’t intervene when we leave the room. I don’t fight Thorin, assuming he’s letting me leave the cabin, but when he pushes me left toward the double doors instead of toward the stairs on the right, I panic and try to backpedal.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you one last chance.”
Reaching around me, he opens one of the doors, and all I feel is wind. A cold, unforgiving gust that barrels inside the cabin and threatens to turn me into a block of ice. I swear the deafening roar shakes the very foundation of the cabin. Outside, I can see that there is a deck. It hangs over the cliff’s edge while the mist rises from the steep depths below to curl on the floor’s wooden planks.
“Are you going to be reasonable?” Thorin whispers close to my ear. “It’s only fucking. You’ve done it for revenge. Why not for survival?”
Maybe I don’t want to survive.
My teeth are already chattering, but I have a feeling the shivers quaking my bones have nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with his proposal. “You w-want me to h-h-have sex with you—all three of y-you—for sh-shelter. How is t-t-th-that fair?”
“You’re an extra mouth to feed, and the winters are long here. We could have a few more weeks before the passes clear or a few more months. We already have everything we need to survive. Everything except something warm and soft to make it all worth it.”
“E-ever h-h-heard of a b-blanket?”
“Nine winters, Aurelia,” Khalil tries to reason from behind us. “That’s a long time.”
Seth is quiet, but I know he’s there.
“My brothers are hungry.” My stomach flips when I feel Thorin butt his face against mine, pressing our cheeks together when he whispers, “Are you going to feed them or not? They need this.”
“Not…” God, it’s so fucking cold! It’s only been a few hours, but I’d forgotten already “My p-p-problem.”
“You’re right. It’s not,” Thorin says in a deceptively soft voice. His hand shifts to the small of my back while his nose skims my neck. I’m staring down certain death when he inhales deeply. “See ya.”
Without hesitation or care, Thorin shoves me over the threshold and out into the cold.
KHALIL
In case it isn’t already clear, I think I should clarify something.
We are not good men.
Maybe we were once, but to survive out here, we had to give the mountain something in return.
Thorin came around like I knew he would. It probably happened when he got a whiff of the wilds mixing with her fading scent—peaches and daffodils.
The latter makes the most sense now that she’s conscious. Aurelia has this dual personality thing going on. She can go from delicate and sweet to spicy and bitter without anyone being aware of when it happened or why. Although, it’s said daffodils represent rebirth and new beginnings along with joy and good luck—none of which she’ll find here.
And then there are peaches, which are said to smell the sweetest when they’re ready to be devoured.
I can’t get a fucking read on her, and it should frustrate the hell out of me, but the truth is that I don’t care what she’s really like. It doesn’t matter if she’s a good person or the devil incarnate. There’s only one thing I want from this girl who literally fell from the sky, and it’s not her charm.
I’m going to fuck the shit out of Aurelia, and while I prefer for her to be on board, I plan to enjoy myself either way.
Thorin meets my gaze as he turns from the doors of the deck, and I know we’re both thinking the same thing. A few hours out there ought to be enough to make that stubborn wench run into our arms.
Thor keeps going, grabbing Seth’s arm and dragging him out as they leave the den and head upstairs. I spare one last glance at the deck door and Aurelia’s shadow on the other side.
Despite the fact that she tried to escape us, Aurelia pounds on the door, begging to be let back in. I wish I could say I don’t give her another thought, but as I close myself inside the bathroom, strip off my clothes, and step into the shower, her face—fuck, that body—is all I can think about.
When I take my dick in my hand, I don’t even try to deny that it’s because of her. Aurelia is, without a doubt, the sexiest, most infuriating woman I’ve ever met.
“God,” I strain to get out when I feel my balls tighten, “damn you.”
My knees weaken the moment my dick finishes spurting cum on the shower tiles. I take my time showering the day off my skin, and when I step out and look in the mirror, I can still see Aurelia’s handprint on my cheek.