Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
“That seems fair,” Sev said gravely.
“It does not seem fair. Nothing about this seems fair. But apparently this is my life now.” She looked at Ravik and pointed a finger at him. “And you—no funny business. I mean it. Hug only.”
Ravik frowned as though he understood only part of that.
“Hug Mate,” he said.
“Yes. Hug Mate.” Cassandra muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, “God help me,” and set the stirring rod down on the counter. Then she held her arms awkwardly out at her sides, as though preparing to embrace a very large, very damp tree. “All right. Come here, I guess.”
Ravik moved at once, going to her the minute she permitted it.
Severin stepped closer, every muscle in his body tight and ready. If Ravik grabbed her too hard or showed any sign of aggression, he would intervene. He didn’t know how he would stop a seven-foot-one Beast Kindred in the midst of viral regression, especially without injuring Cassandra in the process, but Goddess help him, he would find a way.
But Ravik didn’t grab the curvy little human. He came to her slowly—carefully—and leaned down to wrap his huge arms around her luscious body.
Cassandra stiffened as his wet chest pressed against her front, soaking the thin silk of her nightgown at once. The fabric clung to her breasts and belly, molding to every soft curve in a way Sev had no business noticing and absolutely could not seem to stop looking at. But he was also carefully watching Ravik’s reaction to the hug.
The Beast Kindred bent his head and his face disappeared in her long, brown hair. And then he inhaled…deeply.
The change was immediate.
Severin saw it happen in real time and felt the hair rise along the back of his neck.
Ravik’s shoulders relaxed first—the bunching tension easing out of the massive muscles. Then his hands, which had been half-curled against Cassandra’s back, opened fully and spread over her with careful, protective gentleness. Even better, the film in his eyes began to recede, the cloudy white thinning until the gold shone through, bright and unmistakably alive. He inhaled again and held her more closely to him.
“Mmmmm,” he rumbled—clearly a sound of desire and satisfaction.
Cassandra must have felt the change in the Beast Kindred too, because she stopped holding herself stiffly and looked up at Ravik with wide eyes.
“Uh…you okay up there?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Ravik lifted his head from her hair and looked down at her. For a moment he said nothing. Then he frowned, as though searching through the fog for something he had misplaced.
“My mate is wet,” he said at last.
Cassandra blinked.
“Yes, well, that happens when a naked man fresh out of the bath decides to hug you.”
Ravik glanced down at himself again and then back at her.
“I should have…dried myself first,” he said slowly, haltingly but speaking in completely sentences again. “I did not mean…to make you uncomfortable.”
Severin’s breath caught and he saw Cassandra’s mouth drop open.
“Oh,” she said faintly. “Well…thank you. I mean, apology accepted, I guess.”
Ravik’s gaze moved past her to the counter, where the pot was giving off fragrant steam. His expression sharpened with interest.
“Does my mate need help preparing food?” he asked. “I can help. Ravik is a good cook when he has proper ingredients.”
Cassandra stared at him.
“You can cook?”
“Yes.” Ravik’s expression grew solemn. “Better than Sev.”
Despite himself, Sev made a sound of protest.
“That is demonstrably false,” he pointed out.
Ravik’s eyes flicked to him. They were almost completely clear now—the bright, animal gold piercing the cloudy white of the viral film like the sun burning away fog.
“You burned the thessa mash,” he rumbled.
“I scorched it once,” Sev said stiffly. “And only because you distracted me when I was trying to cook.”
“You burn it every time,” Ravik said.
Cassandra looked between them, her expression hovering somewhere between disbelief and laughter.
“I’m sorry—are we really having an argument about who makes better alien refried beans while one of you is naked, one of you has really long fangs, and I’m standing here in a wet nightgown with zombie virus in my bloodstream?” she asked.
Sev closed his mouth quickly, feeling a rush of shame. There was no way his fangs should be so sharp right now. Cassandra wasn’t his mate—or Ravik’s mate for that matter. So why did being around the little human make his fangs ache and throb and get so sharp they almost cut his tongue?
It didn’t matter—none of it mattered, he told himself. The main thing was, she was right—this was a ridiculous situation and they needed to move on. Now that his hypothesis had been at least partially proven, there was no need for Cassie to be standing there hugging the extremely naked Ravik.
“Ravik,” he said to his best friend, “You need to put on clothing.”
The big Beast Kindred frowned.
“But mate needs food.”