Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54625 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
And with her powers making her so damn weak, the chances of that were getting higher with each passing day.
It felt strange driving up to Arick’s house to find it abandoned. Every single time I’d been there, the driveway had been packed. People would be parked down the streets. You could hear the music pulsing from a block away.
But now? Now, it looked like no one even lived there anymore.
There wasn’t a single light on. No people lingered. No music played.
Had he fled?
Did he think he was in some sort of danger because he had power?
Well, whether he was home or not, I was going in. I needed to get the blood, sweat, and dirt off of me.
Reaching over, I rubbed my hand up and down Nox’s leg over her thick blanket, slowly waking her up, all the while regretting cutting the rest she needed so badly short.
Her pretty face scrunched up a bit, annoyed with the interruption. But, eventually, those stormy blue eyes fluttered open.
She stared at me for a minute, all soft and sweet. And, fuck, if I didn’t want to pull her into the back and slip inside of her right then.
“Oh,” she said, blinking. “We’re here?”
“Yeah,” I said, hearing a bit of regret slipping into my voice.
She yawned as she sat up.
“Oh, wow,” she said, eyes going round as she looked at Arick’s place.
Which, yeah, would be considered a mansion to just about anyone.
“Yeah, the magic hustle pays well,” I told her, cutting the engine and climbing out. By the time she got out from under her blanket, I was opening her door for her.
“Are you sure he’s home?”
“Never known him not to be,” I said, suddenly realizing that was true. I’d only ever seen him at his place. And didn’t remember him actually talking about going anywhere else, either.
That being said, when you had the kind of house Arick did, why the fuck would you want to leave?
It was a large, two-story modern build made of dark gray metal and mirrored glass, so no one could see what was going on inside. Personally, I believed that was equal parts so no one saw him working his Craft or witnessed the wild shit that went down at his parties.
“It’s a bit stark,” Nox observed as we made our way to the front door.
“Only on the outside,” I told her. “Arick is a maximalist by nature.”
I rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
“Maybe he’s running errands? Wait… what…” she said, brows pinching. “Is there a thunderstorm coming?”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“My hair is starting to stand up,” she said, making me look over to see she was right. Like she’d rubbed a balloon on her head. Or, yes, like lightning was about to strike right near her.
“Fuck this,” I said, feeling the hairs on my arms starting to stand on end. I grabbed the handle of the door so hard it cracked, then shoved it inward.
I grabbed Nox, pulling her with me just past the threshold.
Not a second too late.
A bolt of lightning struck the ground exactly where Nox and I had been standing.
“The fuck?” I hissed, seeing the scorch mark on the ground.
“You’re taking big chances coming here,” a disembodied voice reached out to me.
“Jesus,” Nox gasped, eyes round.
I couldn’t blame her; Arick had one of those voices that made women wet just in casual conversation. All deep and smooth. He could literally bring women to orgasm just from speaking to them. Likely, I imagined, with a small bit of magic involved.
“That’s Arick,” I said, though he didn’t sound like himself.
I’d always known Arick to be fun and light, always down for fun, for party drugs, for lots of good times with women.
He sounded… tired. Weighted.
“You weren’t wrong about this,” Nox said, turning in a circle to look around the house.
While the bones of the house were all clean lines and cold, Arick’s decor was rich and in abundance.
Canvases of art leaned several deep along the walls, rich fabrics hung from windows and were under our feet.
As we moved deeper into the house, couches and cozy chairs were in abundance. As were the houseplants Arick had in abundance. Though they were looking sadder than I’d ever seen them—maybe reacting to their caretaker’s strange mood.
“He’s probably in the den,” I told Nox, pressing a hand to her lower back.
Arick’s den was the coziest place in his home. The walls were draped in green velvet, and the floors were made from foam mattresses that were covered in an abundance of pillows and blankets. Nothing matched, but the chaos created a strange sort of cozy comfort.
I’d never seen his den empty before. Anytime I’d ever been to his house, the den was always full of beautiful women, half of them draped over Arick himself.
“Wow,” I said, seeing all the pillows lined up and the blankets folded neatly. “That looks like the coziest bed known to mankind.”