Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
“I would miss you.” The admission flies from my mouth before I can stop it. “And my friends,” I hurry to add, clearing my throat. “What about you? You’ve lived all over the world. What do you want to do after…”
I don’t need to elaborate on what after means. After the war with Samuel and the Sons of Honor ends.
Saint shifts to his back, folding his arms beneath his head as he stares at the ceiling. “I haven’t let myself think that far ahead.”
Something about the way he says it has an instinct prickling deep in my soul. An itch that begs me to push him for the truth, but I respect him too much to pry for answers he’s not ready to give.
“Good night, Aurora,” he whispers after we’ve fallen silent for a few moments.
“Good night, Saint.” I settle farther under the covers as he turns the lights off before returning to the couch. And I hate how much I wished he’d join me in this bed instead.
Aurora’s thighs are soft as I stroke her legs before skimming higher to grip her hips. I draw her closer to me, bending to capture her perfect mouth with mine as I settle between her thighs. Fuck, she’s pliant and hot beneath me, smelling like a dream and feeling like my personal heaven. She arches beneath me, so responsive to my touch, it’s like we’re magnets. I kiss her deeper, stealing her breath and making her whimper. She’s mine to please, mine to protect, mine to drink. I draw back, my fangs aching to sink into her neck.
“Yes,” she begs. “Please.” She turns her head, exposing her neck.
I hesitate, but only for a moment, before I sink my fangs into her flesh—
I bolt upright in bed, my heart pounding. My fangs are out and heat pools deep in my core from the dream. That dream was most certainly from Saint’s point of view, not mine.
I see him across the room, sprawled on the couch, lost to sleep.
His dreams. I’m seeing them now. Even when he’s not trying to actively look into mine or alter my reality. I reach for a spare pillow next to me and chuck it at him.
Saint growls, immediately on his feet, a blade in his hand. “Aurora? What’s wrong?” he asks once he’s ascertained there’s no danger other than me.
“Either make good on your dreams or get out,” I snap, every nerve in my body tangled with need.
“You saw…” He shifts on his feet. For a second, I think he might give in. That maybe my surprise pillow attack has shaken some sense into him. “Fine.” He stomps out of the room.
I hear his footsteps make it to the room next to mine across the hall, then the door slams shut. I fall back into bed, thirsty, achy, and frustrated.
CHAPTER 9
Saint
Aurora’s new home is so quiet, even as the night staff comes in and does a quick clean, filling the house with food and any other supplies they think we might need. I sit on one of the cushioned lounge chairs near the illuminated pool laid into the stone courtyard. I’ve been out here since night broke, doing my best to reinforce my mental shields.
Flashes from last night burst behind my eyes. My dreams of Aurora—touching her skin, kissing her again, feeling her beneath me, sinking my fangs into her neck.
Fuck. It had felt so damn real.
I’ve never lost control while sleeping. Not once in all my years. But with Aurora? The lines between her soul and mine are getting blurry. We’ve shared a mind-space so often, I naturally reach out to her any time she’s near.
I rebuild my shield, hoping that taking the guest room next to hers, and not the couch in her bedroom, will help me keep my fantasies to myself.
Hunger gnaws through me, a suffocating thirst that makes me ache. It’s been nine days since I fed from a volunteer feeder. I can feel the effects—my head pounds, my fangs ache, and there’s a burn in my throat that no amount of water can satiate.
I clench my fists and crack my neck, desperate to move. I’ve been hungry before. Samuel damn near starved me when he took me captive, and before that, I walked the line of bloodmadness with my obsession with human blood. I toed that line, never crossing fully over like Samuel did, but this…this feels different. A unique kind of hunger I don’t fully understand.
Once I hear the night staff leave, I head back into the house. I can still smell the humans’ lingering scents. Not one of them smells appetizing, but I’d stayed outside just in case. I may be an asshole, but at least I’m aware.
It doesn’t take me more than a second to pinpoint where Aurora is in the house, and I head toward the kitchen that could fit an entire restaurant in it.