Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
A scowl darkened his countenance. “Do you want the massage or not? Because if you prefer to suffer during tomorrow’s ride, I’ll let you.”
“Let’s say I agree.” We’d been side by side for roughly two weeks, and he’d never harmed me. Today, we’d ridden and rubbed together for hours, and he hadn’t touched anything he shouldn’t. Part of me might…trust him. Ugh. What a terrible realization. “Will you take it as a sign that I’m falling for your charms?”
“I have charms?” He toyed with the ends of my hair, an absent-minded action I enjoyed a little too much. “In return for my extreme generosity, you will play me three songs tomorrow. One to pay for today, one to pay for tomorrow, and one to pay for my efforts.”
Of course he demanded another song. “Fine. Deal,” I grumbled, rolling to my side to give him better access to my back.
With a quick, smooth motion, he rolled me the rest of the way, onto my stomach.
My insides performed somersaults. Relying on him to rescue my sister and protect me from the storm must be doing strange things to my brain; I should have said no to this. But. Come on! Clearly, he wanted this more than I did. So. You’re welcome.
With a nudge of his knees, he parted my legs. My breath caught. Too intimate? He crouched between the V he’d created. Even more intimate! My lips formed an O, a protest brewing…until his fingers pressed into the backs of my thighs.
He worked his magic, the ensuing pleasure-pain wrenching groans of surrender from the deepest parts of my being. Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. That was good. Magnificent!
“I will play you the best song ever,” I vowed.
Once he’d kneaded my thighs into pudding, he shifted his sublime efforts to my calves. My feet. Then my back. My hips. I forgot all about the storm that raged outside, whipping against our tent.
Problem was, I considered things I shouldn’t.
How good his touch felt.
Other places on my body he might explore.
Ways to assuage the ache growing inside me.
“You like this.” The guttural thickness of his voice registered, and I shivered. “You like me.”
I did. Far more than I should. A fleeting sentiment based on our circumstances, but oh. Oh! He worked out a knot. “In my defense, this is so, so good.” Tension drained from muscles that had been overworked for years.
“I know,” he rasped, both words containing thousands of nuances, sending new shivers racing down my spine.
“Why do you care if I like you or not?” He must like me too.
“I merely made an observation. Now prepare yourself. I’m about to ask the next question in my queue of seven.”
“Five,” I corrected.
“Ja. I was testing your counting ability.”
I snorted. “Whatever, Curious.”
He ended the massage and moved to stretch beside me again.
No! There might be another knot somewhere. “I’ll give you a sixth question, if you add ten minutes to the massage clock.”
“Done,” he replied as pleased as punch. He returned to his ministrations and switched to a neutral tone, giving no hints of his inner thoughts. “What’s your plan once we have Juniper in our possession?”
Easy. “Hug her. Learn about her life. Hug her again. Sob like a baby. Go home. Hug her some more.”
His fingers dug into a knot in my backside, and I groaned. See! “The two of you are on Deco’s radar now. The shifter will forever hunt you, whether you are in this world or another. Unless something is done, neither of you will ever be safe again.”
Tension resurged, flooding my limbs. “Guess I’ll have to do something then.”
“You’ll require a big, strong, powerful berserker to protect you,” Viktor said.
Aaah. “Okay. I see what you’re doing here. Trying to scare me straight, get me desperate for your safekeeping, so I’ll stick around.” Never mind our attraction to each other, the firebrand possibility, and the fog stuff. He must want free concerts. “Admit it.”
“You are already sticking around. I’m keeping you, remember. And that wasn’t a question, but a command.”
“I remember you made such an outlandish claim, yes. Doesn’t mean it’ll work out for you if I’m unwilling to do any sticking.”
He ended the massage again, and this time I didn’t let myself request more. I maneuvered to my side, facing him as he stretched out beside me again, linked his hands behind his head, and peered up at the ceiling.
Brighter lightning flashed, momentarily bathing him in a golden halo. With his hair in disarray and his features soft, he appeared sleepy, relaxed, and totally at ease. A good look for him. Very good. My heart actually skipped a beat.
“How do I get you willing?” he demanded with a hint of temper, belying his ease.
I almost smiled. “Is that your next question?” If so, only four remained.
“Ja. And since I just answered another of your questions, it cancels out this go round. You must answer my last question and five others.”