Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
“A myth created by mortals to lessen human’s natural fear. Before you ask, vampires don’t sparkle either when it’s light outside.”
“Really? How does anyone know that you’re a vampire?” Carina asked.
“They don’t.”
“Have I met other vampires?”
“Probably.”
“Like everyone who works at Nightfall?” Carina probed.
“That’s their story to tell, Little girl. Not mine. Do you always wake up so curious?” he asked, arching an eyebrow with humor.
“If I say yes, does that mean you won’t be here tomorrow?” She tried to appear nonchalant while inside she had every finger and toe crossed.
“I plan to wrap myself around you every night. Tonight, I hoped you might like to see my house.”
“Really? You want me to spend the night at your place?” That was a big step commitment-wise.
“I plan for you to move in with me,” Marcus told her with no hesitation.
A thrill kindled inside her at his decisiveness. She didn’t doubt his intentions one iota. Marcus wasn’t playing around. He wanted her with him.
“You’re my Little girl. You need to play and be taken care of in your nursery.”
“I have a nursery?” Her brain cranked into overdrive as she replayed all those sweet and steamy scenes she’d read in age play books. The specialized room for adult Littles existed?
“The beginning of a nursery exists in my home. We need to make it yours,” Marcus said, studying her face.
“Oh, I probably look awful.” Carina pulled the covers up to hide partially behind them.
He tugged the comforter off and leaned forward to kiss her hard. When he lifted his lips from hers, Carina took a shaky breath. His every caress was magical. An image of the flash of his long white teeth in the early hours of the night rebounded in her mind. Carina sneaked a hand up to explore the spot where he’d bitten her. Her finger traced the small depressions in her skin, and she shivered as the memory bounced back into her mind.
“Does it hurt, Little one?” he asked, instantly concerned. He pulled her hand away to check.
“No, it’s so sensitive. If I touch it, I remember….”
“Ah,” he said as if he understood. “Pleasure floods your senses?”
“Is that normal?”
“Between mates, yes,” Marcus told her.
“Have you had many mates?”
“No, Little one. Only one mate exists for me. I have searched for many years to find you.”
“But you’ve been alive for—forever!” she finished.
“A long time. Yes, Carina. You were worth the wait.”
Delighted by that statement but sorry he’d been alone for so long, Carina stroked a hand over his cheek. “I’m glad you found me. What if I hadn’t come to Nightfall?”
“Who knows what fate would have had in store for us. Maybe a chance meeting at the gas station. Perhaps we would have missed each other at every turn. Let’s not dwell on that. A celebration is in order.”
“I’m off on the weekends. Maybe we could spend the day together?”
“I would like that. Do you wish to come to Nightfall tonight?” Marcus asked.
Remembering the long line and how early she’d gotten there, Carina wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to waste the whole day with you. I got to Nightfall about three yesterday. Karla and I made a party out of it. Oh, Karla! I didn’t check that she got into her apartment safely.”
Carina launched herself toward the side of the bed and jerked to a stop when Marcus looped a restraining arm around her waist.
“Oof! I need to message her,” Carina protested, trying to peel his arm off and making absolutely no progress in freeing herself.
“She is fine. I made sure of that last night.”
“Wait. What?”
“Saya and another Nightfall security member shadowed each of you home. Karla arrived home safely.”
“You had me followed?”
“Yes. When the most precious person you’ve ever met walks into your life, you take care of her.”
“And her friends?”
“In this case, yes.”
She stared at him for a minute, digesting that information. Carina didn’t like the thought of being followed, but his concern was incredibly romantic in a stalkerish way. “You’re not going to keep track of me all the time, are you?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Oh, okay. Only at night when there might be trouble in the darkness?”
“Close to that, yes.”
She tilted her head to glance up at him. Reading Marcus’s face was impossible. He would be the best poker player.
“You will never need to stand in line again, Carina. You have an automatic invitation to enter at any time.”
“Really? Because I’m dating a super-hot security guy? I don’t want you to get in trouble with your boss.”
“Leave him to me, Little girl. And we’re not dating.”
Wait. He didn’t want to be her boyfriend? Had she totally misread Marcus? She tested the waters by suggesting, “I’m seeing a super-hot security guy?”
“You belong to me, Carina. You are my mate. That’s way past dating,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument.