Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
She turned to look up at him, ready to give him assurances she didn’t feel. Which was how she missed the cyclist swerving to avoid something in the cycle lane, making him veer right toward her.
Victor’s arm grabbed her around the lower back, curling her toward him, out of the way, but right up against his body.
Time seemed to stutter and then surge forward all at once at the startling closeness, at the way his nearness overwhelmed her senses.
Pressed against him, she felt the quick thud of his heartbeat against her chest, making Pandora wish her own could echo the same confusion and exhilaration.
Victor’s arms were encircling her as she breathed in that vanilla, leather, and cinnamon scent of his, making her mind a chaotic jumble.
For a second, she didn’t let herself look up, allowing herself be overwhelmed by the warmth radiating from him and the way his peacoat scratched against her cheek.
“You all right?” Victor asked, his voice low and gruff, his breath stirring her hair.
She nodded mutely, words feeling impossible right then.
The world around them slowly resumed its noise and motion, but, in that moment, she was caught in the cocoon of his presence – suddenly, achingly aware of how easily he could affect her, even without trying.
When she finally forced her head to tilt up, she found him tantalizingly close, his features framed by the golden glow of a nearby street light. The sharp line of his jaw, the slight curve of his lips, parted as though he wanted to say something but hadn’t decided what yet, and his eyes … They snatched every thought from her mind.
They were an intense, unguarded mix of concern and something else that made her stomach flip-flop.
His gaze seemed to search hers, trying to reassure himself that she was unharmed when she didn’t answer.
But beneath that, she could swear she saw a flicker of heat.
A whooshing sensation thundered in her ears as a comforting warmth enveloped her.
He was close enough for her to see subtle flecks of gold in his irises, to feel his breath whispering over her hair.
For one short, fleeting moment, the world around them blurred back to irrelevance, leaving only him and the sense that this was the first time they were truly seeing each other.
“Careful,” he murmured, voice low, almost soft, and the sound of it sent a shiver down her spine.
She wanted to think of something witty to say, some way to laugh it off. But her thoughts were still tangled into an incoherent mess. All she could manage was a quiet, “Thanks.”
Those charming little creases formed next to his eyes at that, like her reaction amused him. Or – dare she hope – pleased him.
But then, little by little, he released her, making her arms fall from his.
The absence of his nearness was almost startling. The crisp autumn air washed over her, leaving her feeling shaken and unsteady, while Victor lingered for just long enough for Pandora to wonder if he felt the same way too.
“Perhaps we should head back,” he said, gaze sliding away, like he was examining the horizon, seeing things she didn’t.
“OK.” She tried not to allow the disappointment to take root and grow.
But with each awkward, silent stride back toward Luna Bean, it was hopeless. Not only did the roots grow deep, but the vines twisted around her, squeezing until she felt like she might burst.
“So … tomorrow?” Victor asked, his voice after a lengthy silence making her jolt.
“Tomorrow?”
“Second date.”
“Oh, right. Yeah.”
It would be the first time they’d interact in the daylight. Except, of course, she’d checked the forecast. There wasn’t supposed to be any sun. It was going to be a rainy, dreary day. The kind that made her want to curl up with some tea and her romance novels in front of a window.
“Three?” he asked. “I have a lecture until half past two. I can be here shortly after.”
She had no plans, save for her usual shift at the coffee shop later that evening.
“Are we going to just sit here and talk?” she asked, waving back toward Luna Bean.
“No. I’ll plan something,” he said. “It’s … been nice getting to know you, Pandora.”
Then he was turning and striding away.
Taking another piece of her heart with him.
8
“What is that?” Pandora grumbled as she was pulled from a particularly vivid dream of Victor pushing her up against a building and kissing her long and deep, instead of releasing her and putting distance between them, like he had the night before.
The sound drifted upward from somewhere else in the house, each note swelling and ebbing, a clawing noise that made her think of a cat yowling in the night.
“That …” Vlad said, and she rolled over to see him perched on his stand, waiting for her to wake up. How he managed to get in through a closed door had always perplexed her. “Is your cousin Bellatrix.”