Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 86(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Her face flushed, the blood rushing to her cheeks and making me hungrier than I’d been before I found her outside my door. “Nothing. I—um. Yes, I love to cook.”
My lips curled down, and I made a mental note to come back to that later. At the moment, there was a more pressing situation. I beckoned her with my hand and started walking toward the door that led to a hallway where my office was located. I stopped and waited as she padded over, wincing once or twice. That’s when I realized she was barefoot. The paths leading to my house were a mixture of dirt and gravel, and I had no idea where from, or how long, she’d been running before ending up at my door. Her feet couldn’t be in very good shape.
I handed her the mug, and she wrapped her hands around it. “Hold that tight,” I warned her before scooping her into my arms. She was as light as a feather, even for someone who didn’t have my vampiric strength. A smile played at the corners of my mouth when she didn’t protest and even snuggled a little into my embrace.
Thana’s delicious scent tickled my nose, and I inhaled deeply, trying to imprint it in my lungs. She tilted her head to the side, and I licked my lips as I stared at the two spots on her neck just begging to feed my soul.
Fuck. I wanted her.
Her sweetness.
Her blood.
Her body.
All of her.
My first instinct was to sit on one of the small couches in the room and settle her on my lap. However, I argued with myself to go slow, and I wanted to take care of her feet, anyway. So I lowered her onto a seat and gave in to the desire to place a chaste kiss on her forehead. When I noticed her little shiver, I had to curl my fingers into fists and bite the inside of my cheek to keep from biting her. “Tell me what’s happened, Thana,” I requested as I knelt in front of her. She watched me curiously as I lifted her skirt to her knees.
The enhanced senses of a vampire could be a blessing and a curse. My eyes drifted to the darkness between her legs. I heard her heartbeat accelerate, and I smelled the tangy scent of her arousal. Squeezing my eyes shut, I thought about the name and species of every flower in my garden. After a minute, I felt a little more in control, but I was careful not to breathe again.
Grasping her foot, I slid one hand up her calf and the other on her heel, lifting it so I could look at the sole. Sure enough, a few cuts and scrapes had tiny bits of rock embedded in them. Rage like I’d never felt before filled me, and I vowed to send the one who’d hurt her straight back to hell.
3
Thana
The last time anyone had taken care of me was so long ago that I almost couldn’t remember how it felt. I couldn’t believe how tender Kieran was being with me. Or how gorgeous he was.
Tall, dark, and handsome wasn’t exactly the right way to describe him since his skin was paler than mine and his eyes were a shade of bright blue that reminded me of the Indian Ocean off the Maldives. One of my favorite memories of my parents was when we’d stayed at a luxurious bungalow on the beach there for an entire month. Maybe that was why I felt as though I could stare into Kieran’s eyes forever.
“We need to get your feet cleaned up. If we don’t get the dirt and pebbles out, you’ll end up with an infection.” He stroked his thumb down the middle of my sole, and goose bumps broke out along my calf.
He gave me an expectant look, and I forced myself to focus on what Kieran had said instead of how it felt to have his hands on me. “Uh-huh.”
His lips curved up just the tiniest bit, and I realized I wasn’t doing a good job of hiding how rattled I was by my attraction to him. I felt my cheeks heat and cursed my penchant for blushing. “Don’t move,” he ordered. “It won’t take me long to grab everything I need to take care of you.”
“Okay.” His smile widened at my one-word response, and I felt my blush deepen. When he brushed a kiss to my forehead after gently setting my foot back down, he foiled my plan to gather my scattered wits. Instead, I stared at his butt as he strode away and pressed my fingertips to the spot he’d kissed once I couldn’t see him anymore.
When he reappeared only a couple of minutes later, I dropped my hand onto my lap and tried not to look like I’d been mentally undressing him while he was gone. I wasn’t sure what was going on with me—I’d never reacted to anyone like this before. My libido picked a heck of a time to roar to life. I should be focused on what I was going to about my aunt promising my hand in marriage to a psychopath; not on the guy who’d rescued me from a bad situation.