Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Monetary value, that is.
I have a lot of cars, some here with me in Chicago, and most kept safe in a garage at my estate in Napa.
“My car is parked on this street,” Callie says as drive[HW4] away from my house. Her eyes flutter closed as if she’s fighting off sleep. “It’s the white Jeep Grand Cherokee with Indiana plates.”
I nod, flicking my eyes to her and looking her over once more. Her beauty is obvious, and the magic coming off of her is strong. But her physical looks and apparent danger isn’t all that’s attracting me to her.
She’s different than other humans—magic aside—and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. I’m still thinking about it when we pull onto the highway. I’ve been stealing glances at her the whole time, and the whole time I’ve been trying to ignore this weird feeling inside my chest I get whenever I lay eyes on hers.
She looks relaxed, probably thanks to the alcohol, but it’s more…and when it finally hits me, it hits me hard.
Callie is sitting in the car with me, leaning back against the seat. Yeah, she has powers, but at the root of it all, she’s human. And she’s not staring me down with fear or awe. She’s not going on and on about how cool it is to be going home with a vampire, texting[HW5] her friends to brag about it.
If anything, it would be the opposite for Callie.
She knows I’m a vampire and completely accepts it.
I’ve never been around a human with that sort of mindset before. It’s unsettling…but kind of nice.
“I guess you don’t really need a seatbelt, do you?” She asks, looking over at me as she absent-mindedly runs her fingers up and down the strap across her chest. Her fingers sweep over her breasts and the tip of my cock tingles with desire. Dammit.
“Nope.” I set my eyes on the road ahead. I’m not letting this fucking witch get under my skin. I’m drawn to her because she doesn’t want me, which is the first in, well…ever. But that’s it. There’s nothing more. She’s my forbidden fruit and we always desire what’s out of our reach.
“So,” she starts again, “you own a lot of property in Chicago?”
“Not just Chicago.”
“Oh, cool, cool. You’re like an undead investor?”
“Something like that.”
“What was your stance on vampires coming out?”
“I didn’t care either way. I’ve always done what I’ve wanted regardless,” I admit.
She bites her lip and nods. “Oh, and me?” Her eyes are on me, waiting to see if I’m going to ask her what she thought. Taking my eyes off the road, I look at her, really look at her, and feel that same warmth spreading through me again.
“What did I think about vampires coming out?” she asks herself out loud. “It didn’t really change anything for us witches. We’ve always known, which made it kind of funny to watch the nons freak out about having a vampire in the neighborhood. But it’s like, hello, they’ve been there all along. At least you know about it now.”
“Nons?” I ask.
“Non-magical people.”
Humans are predictable. Easy to ready. Easy to please. And easy to manipulate into doing whatever I want them to do without having to hold them spell bound. But Callie…I can’t figure her out. She came to the bar for a reason, and the fact that she won’t shut up but wouldn’t go into detail about why she came to the bar is telling.
She messes with her phone and then rests her head back, eyes fluttering shut. We only make it another mile and a half before she falls asleep. Her breathing is slow and rhythmic and her heart rate drops just a little as her body relaxes.
Ever since I was turned, I’ve found the sound to be comforting, though at the same time, each heartbeat reminds me that the human is one heartbeat closer to death.
Chapter
Four
We crossed the Indiana boarder several miles ago, and Callie is still asleep. I let off the gas, slowing the car down to turn into a gas station. This muscle car needs to be refilled already, and I don’t know Callie’s address.
Her purse is on the ground by her feet, and her ID with her address will be in her wallet. I could wake her up and ask her, but she looks so peaceful I don’t want to disturb her…and that simple fact disturbs me.
Why the fuck do I care?
She’s a witch.
I pull into the gas station and put the car in park. Callie’s hair fell in her face on the drive, and I gently push it back over her shoulder. My fingers grace the soft skin on her cheek, soaking up the heat of her skin. Something about her just feels right…which makes no fucking sense.
I snatch my hand back and go for her purse.