Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
“Fine,” he mutters and stares ahead as we pass through the woodland, in the dark silence of the upcoming dawn. “So my parents were wary of you, because they know what kind of guy I like, and I’ve done some real stupid shit for boys much less pretty than you. Like Kevin,” he says and hits the brakes as we face a barrier of wood and steel, mostly overgrown by vines.
Hawk opens the door and leaves the vehicle without a word. I watch him open the obscured gate, then drive the car past it, and then close it again while I wait, stewing in never-ending anticipation. I hate Kevin already.
The sky’s pink now, and we both look at it as my promised joins me in the car. I worry I might have to force him to go back to the previous topic, but as we start rolling along a gravel-covered road, he speaks.
“You know I’m on the run, right? Well, I ended up in prison because Kevin kept telling me his father and uncle were treating him horribly and he had the bruises to prove it. Every time he’d come to me crying I felt this savage, unstoppable rage. I offered we could move in together, but nothing was ever good enough. He feared them and said he’d never feel safe until they were gone. So I… made them go away.”
I nod, despite having to fight my jealousy. “And you don’t wish to… reunite with him?” I make myself calm on the outside, but still start biting my nails.
Hawk laughs. “With the guy who called me a monster during the trial? He claimed I planned everything and that he had nothing to do with the deaths, as if he hadn’t pleaded for me to take care of things,” he says in a voice soaked with bitterness. “He just used me.”
I stroke his thigh, wishing I could climb into his lap and hug him. “I can see why someone could want a man as powerful as you on their side. It is his loss that he renounced you.”
“No shit,” Hawk mumbles with a scowl. “It’s embarrassing how I was ready to save him when he just collected evidence to give the police as soon as I was done. But I was serious. I just wanted to help him. To take care of him. I always…” I squeeze his thigh when he gives me an unsure look. “I might not look it, but I like cute things. I have a soft spot for pretty boys, and I always wanted to be a hero for the guy I was with. My family accepted it, begrudgingly, but they didn’t get it. I no longer fit in. I was a problem. A hindrance, always wanting things they didn’t see as important. My brothers were fine sharing the same space, I wanted a place of my own, just something of my own. So I built myself a little cabin when I was around thirteen, and then got this cute little kitten to keep me company. He wasn’t the family pet. He was mine and mine only. But then, a hawk stole him, and that was that,” he finishes in a grim voice. “Believe me, the irony is not lost on me.”
I see him in a new light, and the more I know, the more I realize how much about him is still hidden from me. I have so much to still learn about Hawk.
I realize I even stopped biting my nails, and instead I trace my fingers over his muscular thigh. “I can be yours, and yours only. If you killed for me, I would have helped you hide the bodies.”
He stares at me and chuckles. But before I can get upset over him not treating me seriously, he offers me his pinkie. “Promise?”
I’ve seen this kind of thing on the television so I hook my finger with his. He’s being playful, but I mean my words with all my heart. “Promise. And I will promise you so much more on the day we make our vows under the full moon. You will bind your shadow to mine, and as I agreed, my body will forever be yours. But I already know I will offer you so much more. Not every Dark Companion becomes their partner’s lover, but I would like us to be that. It is not an attachment of convenience for me.”
Hawk exhales, and his fingers weave through mine. “I really want to believe you, princeling. Some would say I should have learned my lesson. Apparently not. My family would have laughed so hard, but I like that you’re so passionate about this.”
I smile at him. “I’ve never been as impulsive as I am around you, but I like it. You unleash me from the shackles in my own mind. And it doesn’t hurt that I can’t stop thinking about the night when you finally come inside me,” I whisper the last words, afraid that he might not like the way I worded it, but his hand squeezes mine more firmly.