Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“Reese, open up! It’s cold as hell out here!” She stood impatiently, resettling her purse on her shoulder. “I know you’re in there! You said you were sick.” She waited longer. “Fine, I’m calling your phone. If I hear it ringing, fair warning, I’m kicking this bitch down.”
She dug through her purse and pulled out a phone, putting it to her ear.
“Where the hell are you?” Pause. “You said you were sick.” Pause. “I drove all the way out here, you pain in the ass.” Pause. “Yeah, yeah. Text me later.”
She waved both hands in frustration at the door and turned on her heel, stomping back down the breezeway before disappearing down the stairs.
So, that was the best friend who was obsessed with Vampires. Maybe I should’ve gone and enlisted her help in getting me back into Reese’s good graces. I had a feeling after that dinner, I’d need all the help I could get.
If my mate hadn’t called me back in—I checked the clock—three hours, all the while the heat from the mating bond grew more and more excruciating, I had a feeling that I was dealing with one of the most stubborn or masochistic women on the planet.
Or she just really hated me, which was valid.
As soon as Rena pulled away in her car, I headed up to the apartment. It was quiet on the other side of the door, even after I’d knocked.
“Reese,” I called out, trying to peek between the living room curtains. “Open up.”
I waited for a minute. Knocked again. Watched between the curtains for any movement.
“Come on,” I called, glancing down the breezeway. If she didn’t let me inside soon, someone was going to notice me standing out there like an asshole. “Reese, let me in.”
Five minutes passed while I searched for Reese’s number in the command database. You really could find anything now if you knew where to look. It rang and rang, but Reese didn’t answer.
My heart sounded in my ears, growing louder the longer she didn’t open the door. From what little I’d learned about her, Reese would’ve never let me stand out there for so long. She wouldn’t want the neighbors wondering why I was there, and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t give up the opportunity to tell me to go fuck myself.
Wiggling the knob, I looked closer at the door. She hadn’t locked the dead bolt.
Idiot.
With another wiggle, I lifted the door slightly as I butted my shoulder against it.
When it swung open, there was barely a sound, but I’d cracked the frame. I swung it closed behind me and locked the dead bolt to keep it that way.
There was no sign of Reese, and the apartment was as silent as a tomb and completely dark as I moved through it.
“Reese?” I called out, hurrying down the short hallway. The door to the bedroom was wide open and as dark as the rest of the house. When I flipped the light switch, it illuminated a messy space, filled with a million textures and colors, but no Reese. The bathroom was a different story.
As I blindly reached for the light, my stomach lurched in panic at the sight of her pale face barely visible over the edge of the tub.
“Get out,” she moaned, weakly throwing her arm over the edge of the tub.
“What the hell are you doing?” I barked, hurrying toward her.
“Cool bath,” she said, not even trying to hide her naked body.
She was curled up on her side in the fetal position, her knees beneath her chin, shivering.
“Fuck,” I muttered, soaking the sleeves of my shirt and jacket as I lifted her from the tub.
“Get out of my apartment,” she hissed as I carried her out of the tiny room. “I told you I’d call you.”
“Hard to do when you don’t have my number,” I argued, carrying her into her bedroom. “I was right outside. Why didn’t you come get me?”
“Figured you left,” she said, pressing her forehead against my neck. “Oh, god. That’s good.”
I dropped to the edge of the bed with her in my arms. Now that I’d gotten her out of the bath, I couldn’t seem to put her down. The burning in my veins had calmed to a slightly uncomfortable sensation, and the nausea had disappeared.
“I don’t want you here,” she said, her hands sliding inside my coat. “You’re a fucking prick.”
“I know,” I murmured, pulling a throw blanket from the end of the bed to cover her.
“I’m great. You’re the one that needs a personality adjustment.”
I ground my teeth together, rubbing my hand up and down her cold thigh as her hands burrowed beneath my shirt.
“You’re probably right,” I replied as her breath warmed the spot between my shoulder and neck.
Fuck.
“Your parents loved me,” she said smugly. “And I think Daniel is my new best friend.”