Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
And after what she said about not consummating the marriage, I’m not waiting. Her initiation into what I want from her in the bedroom starts tonight.
“Better run, Bella.” I turn my back and start counting down. “Five.”
There’s a scrambling sound as she slides down from the roof. I wince when I hear a few loose pieces of stone tumble to the ground. But she makes no sound, so maybe she’s all right.
“Four.” I pull out the gloves I stuffed into my back pocket. I found them lying beside some empty pots when she was setting up her little mushroom trap. I should’ve worn them before I tore out the hogweed. I won’t make that mistake again.
“Three.” The graveyard is quiet except for the crickets creaking. Insects make a lot of racket. The sound rises and falls in waves.
“Two.” I open my eyes. She’s not running to the house. She’s still here in the graveyard. Hiding.
“One.” I take a few heavy steps toward the wall, making sure to crunch the dried grass underfoot. Make her think I’ve left.
Then I loop around the back of the crypt.
There. In the green vines. She’s still a statue. Quiet.
Does she think I’m stupid? Or does she want to be caught?
What else is she planning?
I hesitate. I could grab her, but… I’m not sure if she’s set a trap.
I sidle up beside her. She’s looking the other way. She doesn’t hear me coming. She doesn’t know I’m beside her. She looks so happy, thinking she’s one-upped me. I take a moment to savor this moment of victory.
Then I clamp a gloved hand over her throat.
Her shriek is stifled by my flexing fingers. I’ve got her now. I hold her in place with one arm, letting her fate sink in.
“You should’ve run.”
“Back to the house? That’s where you want me. I wasn’t going to fall for that.” She licks her lips. There’s still a sheen to her lips from the tree she made out with earlier. The one that grows poison apples.
She warned me about the hogweed sap. I bet the stuff on her lips is poisonous, too.
But shouldn’t it be poisoning her?
“You’re coming home with me, little bride.” She’s not my bride, not yet, but she will be. She doesn’t like it, wants to deny it, so I’ll keep reminding her.
With my hand around her neck, I draw her forward only to push her back against the stone. The movement is slow and gentle, but the manhandling shows her that she’s at my mercy. “I’m going to teach you some manners.” I place my thumb on her lips.
Her eyes widen when she realizes I’m wearing gloves. I can touch her any way I like as long as I don’t let my skin touch hers. Not until I’ve washed the poisons off her.
“I won,” I tell her. “Fair and square. That means I get the reward. But if you’re good, I’ll let you share it with me.”
“What’s the reward?”
“You’ll see. You’ll need to be a good girl for me.” I shake her a little. “At least until morning.”
She considers this. I could choke her out right here and now, but she somehow thinks she has options. The upper hand. She’s delusional.
“One night,” she agrees.
It’s true what they say. Curiosity did kill the kitten. Tonight I’m going to devour her.
But first, I’m going to play with my food.
11
Bella
* * *
As Kaiser carries me back to the house, I have to consider if I’ve made a mistake. Maybe I am gullible.
But this is so much better than rereading Viking Thunder for the eleventy-hundreth time. Or binge-watching seasons one through three of Vampire Varsity.
I can poison him tomorrow. Right now, I want to know what he has planned for me. I want to know more about him. I didn’t win this round, but I’ll take the L in exchange for intel behind enemy lines. Lose the battle to win the war, right?
Or maybe I’m just telling myself that. The chase left me exhilarated. Excitement always makes me reckless. I ride the feeling like a runaway train and make bad choices.
But… making good choices is so boring. I love that crazy, fluttery feeling I get when I’m being reckless. The crazy fluttery feeling I get whenever I’m around him. I love it! I want more.
Bad choices for the win!
He’s got me over his shoulder, draped like a mink stole. My braids are now a lost cause, and my face is turning red from being upside down, but I have an excellent view of his butt.
I poke it to see if it’s really as round and firm as it looks.
Slap! His hand claps down on my rear, and I stiffen. “What was that for?”
“Behave.”
“You behave.” His gloved hand didn’t spank me hard enough for it to hurt, but my finger throbs like it’s broken. His glutes are like granite. I tell him this, and he grunts.