Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 143870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 480(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 480(@300wpm)
“Have you ever done this before?” he asks.
There’s no judgment in his voice, but it’s still embarrassing to acknowledge that I haven’t. Rather than giving him a verbal answer, I shake my head, and he accepts that.
Searching for something to distract myself, I let my gaze wander the length of him. It’s at that point I notice he has another tattoo on his chest. It’s small, just four fine lines connected in a geometric shape. In this light, it’s difficult to see, which is how I must have missed it earlier. But I know he didn’t have it when we last met, and it makes me curious.
As I trace the lines with my finger, his hand on my back stills.
“What does it mean?” I ask.
A dry breath scrapes out of him. “Irony.”
“Really?”
Instead of explaining, he combs his fingers through my hair. It feels so good, my thoughts dissolve right along with my uncertainty.
He’s so warm and solid beneath me, and I can’t say that I hate it.
The quiet rhythm of his touch lulls me into a blissful, weightless headspace as my eyes grow heavier. Absently, I wonder if it’s been ten minutes, but I can’t find it in me to verbalize the question.
It’s only for tonight, and tonight is about the fantasy.
That’s what I keep telling myself anyway.
“This is bad,” I slur, delirious from what he’s doing to me.
“What?” His chest rumbles beneath me.
“I knew this would be addictive.”
A beat of silence passes, and when he answers, his voice is rougher than it was a moment ago.
“Good. Don’t ever forget who your dealer is.”
19
CHANTEL
I wake to the feeling of warm fingers grazing the length of my arm. A solid, steady presence beneath me drags me back to consciousness, and when I open my eyes, confusion clouds my thoughts.
There are no windows in this room, so the level of darkness hasn’t changed. But judging by how rested I feel, I have to assume I’ve been asleep for hours.
I’m still sprawled across Bran’s chest, and my first instinct is to panic. But when he feels the tension gathering in my body, his grip on me tightens.
“It’s okay, Chantel.”
I release a ragged breath, unsure of what to say.
“You keep calling me that.”
“It’s your name, isn’t it?”
The way he says it makes me paranoid he knows it’s not.
“It’s supposed to be Morrigan when we’re here,” I deflect.
“Morrigan the raven goddess,” he murmurs the words against my throat.
My brows knit together. “Raven?”
It’s been so long since I chose the alias, I only remember her as a dark goddess, which seemed fitting at the time.
Bran hums an acknowledgment, but doesn’t elaborate, so I’ll have to look it up later. For now, I’m more distracted by the naked man beneath me, who at some point must have covered us over.
I’m wondering whether morning still counts as our night together, though I’m not even sure what time it is. At least, not until my phone rings across the room. I set it to Do Not Disturb until ten, so it has to be later than that.
“It’s been doing that for a while,” Bran remarks.
I grimace, realizing I should have set an alarm.
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Have somewhere to be?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I answer apologetically. “I have a thing with my friends. Not that I don’t want to go, it’s just, I didn’t really think through the timeline.”
Before he can say anything, another flood of notifications comes in, and I groan.
“I should check that.”
He nods, and I gather the sheet around my chest. “Mind if I take this?”
“Feeling shy?” A hint of amusement touches his voice.
I know it’s a little ridiculous, considering I’ve been lying naked on top of him all night.
“Just…you know.” Super fucking awkward.
A smile teases his lips, and I take that as a yes, crawling away with the sheet to grab my bag.
I’m expecting a bunch of messages asking where I am and why I’m late. But when I unlock my phone, I find the missed calls were from an unknown number, and the other notifications are from a group chat with my friends. I scan them briefly to make sure there’s not a real emergency, then check the time.
Technically, I still have about forty-five minutes before I have to leave if I want to get to the island on time.
As I’m considering it, I glance over my shoulder and let my gaze roam Bran’s naked body. His eyes are on me, the rigid length of his cock lying heavy against his abdomen.
I don’t have to ask if he’s thinking about one last time too.
I send the girls a quick text with a few eggplant emojis, letting them know I can’t talk right now.
As I walk back to the bed, I’m already questioning my choices, because I’m sore as hell from the battering Bran gave me. But there’s no way I’m missing out on the last chance I’ll ever get with him.