Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115347 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115347 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Her shoulders rolled. Back then, Kaysar had asked only one thing of her. That she speak to him. But she hadn’t. She’d shut him out, the fear of harming him too visceral. If only she could go back and do one good thing for him. Just one. Maybe then the burden of guilt would lessen.
She sniffled, blinking rapidly, and the next thing she knew, Micah was gently removing the piece of fruit pinched between her fingers, poised halfway to her mouth, forgotten as she’d delved the depths of her mind.
For some insane reason, he gathered her close, and she let him. She just... She didn’t have any defenses left. She’d only recently grieved the loss of her family and re-created a new one with Graves. She’d run for her life, made shaky bargains with an irate husband and nearly climaxed in her future warden’s arms.
As he reclined them both and spooned her on the blanket, she realized he had already tidied up. She’d skipped a meal, and her stomach didn’t care? Wow.
He petted her hair, saying, “You once asked about my glamaras. With one ability, I raze the control of others, sending them into a frenzy. With the other, I subdue them.”
She didn’t know how to respond. Why trust her with the information now when she could use the information against him? “The subduing. That’s how you control the trolls?”
“Yes.”
A yawn stretched her jaw. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s kind of disappointing. You’re so secretive, I expected something dangerous.” To subdue Kaysar, Micah must wield the stronger glamara. Before, he’d told her one ability battled the other without a winner at the helm. Put the two together, and he had no chance of defeating her brother. And that was good. Great. Wonderful.
Wasn’t it?
“Such as?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Making a body explode from the inside out. Causing flesh to melt from bone with a glance.” Another yawn. “Making someone else invisible, forcing them to remain alone for the rest of eternity.” She shuddered. No future sounded worse.
He continued running his fingers through her hair. “Sleep,” he whispered.
“Yes.” Helpless to do otherwise, she closed her eyes and drifted off...
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MICAH HELD THE slumbering Vee tight against his body, his turbulent thoughts refusing to settle.
She had cried. A little. The barest glint, really, but tears had gathered in her eyes. And they’d been genuine. Her chin had trembled. She had sniffled. A sound he never wished to hear again.
This luscious female with such highly developed defenses had revealed her weaknesses. Had displayed vulnerability. To him. The husband she regretted wedding. Her former, present and future captor. He didn’t... He couldn’t... He...
A curse blasted through his mind, filling even the narrowest of corridors. She was affecting him. Changing him. Again.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, at a loss. Raw emotions jumbled together, as sharp as razors and coated in salt. A toxic mix of fury, desire, hurt, devastation, grief, guilt, shame, regret and more desire. All topped by a need for justice. And even more desire.
Had she raised herself since the age of five? He desperately yearned to know. Why had he opened his foolish mouth and stopped her from admitting more? Why?
Fool is too good a description for me.
For the first time, he thought he might be seeing this beauty for who she really was—and the truth about himself. He had harmed an innocent and failed to protect what belonged to him. He’d made the wrong choice at every turn, without a backup plan.
Remorse intensified, overshadowing everything else. Muscles tensed, gripping his bones. He imagined young Vee on her own, with no hope or safeguards, and he cringed. No wonder she feared being alone for the rest of eternity as much as exploding from the inside out. She had created a family with the only means available to her. Wouldn’t he have done the same, if ever he’d possessed the ability?
Honestly, he had done the same. Or tried to. He’d built his kingdom and lived for his people...and never known real happiness until this female had entered the picture.
Perhaps we can find a way to be together.
Perhaps Vee can be won.
He waited, expecting to recoil at the idea. But as she lay in the crook of his arms, as he breathed in her sweet citrus-and-floral scent, he experienced only anticipation. Bone deep. Undeniable.
To battle for her heart... How he longed for more time with her. To have her by his side, overjoyed to be part of his life.
To have his wife in his bed. Every night. Every morning.
Desire seared him, branding him with a sense of possession. Could he do this—could he win her and make her forget her debt to Kaysar? Should he even try?
A growl bubbled up, and Micah tightened his hold. Yes. I should and I can. She might hate him, but she loved sleeping in his arms. And she had already softened toward him. Proof: the feral kitten had waited for him to eat. A first. A miracle.