Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
That expression steals my breath. Raiden still wants me? Seemingly so, and more than I imagined. Then again, sex means nothing to him. I learned that the hard way.
Still, his genuine warmth and concern this morning surprises me. So unlike the Raiden who turned his back on me. That man was cold as ice. Does he feel sorry for me now? Is that why he’s being nice? The thought makes my stomach roil.
I round the couch, putting distance between us. He changes course and follows. Slow. Stalking. Predatory.
Running from Raiden won’t work. When that wizard wants something, he goes after it ruthlessly. He never makes any move without purpose.
I whirl, face him, and plant a hand on his solid chest to keep him at bay. Beneath smooth skin and hard muscle, I feel the beat, beat, beat of his heart. That sound has been permanently embedded in my memory the first time he covered my body with his, kissed me breathless, then slid deep inside me until I cried out his name.
“What do you want?”
He sighs and places a gentle hand on my shoulder. “For you to rest. You’ve been through too much, and you look ready to collapse.”
Before I can respond, I feel his magic pulling me under, compelling me into a deep slumber.
Damn him! I won’t stand for this.
That’s my very last thought before I collapse into his arms and darkness claims me.
Raiden
I settle Tabitha on my bed upstairs and tuck the covers around her. Almost from the moment I met her, I wanted her in my bed. I fantasized about bringing her here, to my room—where I never bring females—to claim her. But not under circumstances like these.
Once I perch beside her, I can’t take my eyes off her. Bloody hell, I could have lost her and our youngling forever.
I smooth her fiery hair away from her soot-covered temple, reassuring myself with her warmth and the rise and fall of her chest. My breath shudders as the terrible reality hits me all over again. If Mathias had succeeded, she would be as dead as the rest of her family. I would never have another chance to touch her.
Not that I should now. Tabitha isn’t mine, and I’ll soon be forced to relinquish her to Sean Blackbourne. But until then, I can touch her, protect her. Do my best to heal her.
Dark circles shadow her pretty eyes. Being an expectant mother naturally drains far more of her energy and far more rapidly than usual. And after losing her whole family, she should be resting. Grieving. Before I forced her to sleep, Tabby was pacing, trying to devise a strategy to fend off Mathias and save whatever her father died protecting all on her own.
Not while there’s still a breath left in my body.
Since I can do nothing else for her comfort now, I force myself to rise and start planning. First, I have to ensure her safety. To do that, I have to figure out this secret tree business. Then—somehow—I’ll have to bring myself to deliver her to Sean Blackbourne. Lucky, undeserving bastard. But the other wizard is wealthy and well-connected. He’ll take care of her and my youngling in a way I can’t.
Shoving that horrible truth aside, I reach for my mobile and dial a familiar number. Bram picks up on the first ring.
“Is Tabitha all right?”
“Shaken. Distraught.” And still so beautiful that she haunts me. My desire for her goes dangerously deep.
Bram’s voice sounds heavy. “That’s to be expected. Her life has been forever changed.”
Indeed, and I ache for the grief she must be enduring. But my first priority must be protecting her. “What do you know about a secret tree?”
“Never heard of such a thing,” Bram says. “What is it?”
That isn’t good news. “No idea. Can you search your grandfather’s texts?” I ask, referring to the tomes the great wizard Merlin himself passed down to his family. “Or talk to your sister? Sabelle might know something.”
Then I explain Lowery’s last words to his daughter.
Bram sighs. “Bloody hell, Goldcroft Manor—and thus Merlin’s texts—are probably ash. Mathias and the Anarki either burned them all when they attacked…or took them.”
Not what I want to hear. “When the sun rises, I’ll search the Lowery estate again. There must be clues we’re missing.”
And I can’t keep Tabitha alive if I can’t solve this mystery—fast.
Chapter
Four
Tabitha
* * *
Dark dreams of screaming, destruction, and death shatter my sleep. Trying to shake off the visions, I sit up in an unfamiliar bed, panting and disoriented, with pale dawn light streaming through the windows. Terror rising, I twist around, scanning the room to figure out where I am.
Beside me, Raiden stirs and wraps his arms around me. His hauntingly blue eyes search mine, intent, concerned. “Tabby?”
Suddenly, everything crashes in on me. My worst torment isn’t a terrible dream. My family truly is gone.