Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Ash had collected my hair ties, keeping them in that skillfully crafted box. It may seem like nothing to many, but it meant so much that he treasured something so simple merely because it belonged to me.
“By the way,” he said as he pulled on loose-fitting linen pants. “The clothing Erlina made for you is hanging in the wardrobe.” He faced me, showing off all his stunning scenery. And then he grinned. “Forget what I said about the clothing in the wardrobe. I want you like this. Always. It is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I raised a brow and glanced down at myself. The soft shirt was so long on me that it could double as a nightgown—a shapeless, baggy one. “Me wearing one of your shirts?”
“Yes,” he said, the word a vibrating purr.
I looked up at him, and whatever I had been about to say vanished off the tip of my tongue when my gaze swept over Ash. He’d finished pulling his hair back into a low knot at the nape of his neck, showcasing the striking angles and planes of his face. There had always been an innate grace to how he moved, but now, even the fluidity seemed more apparent as he prowled toward the bed. It was like he was a part of the very environment around us.
My gaze lowered. The lines of his chest and the tightly packed muscles of his abdomen were more defined. I tracked the inked blood drops that appeared on either side of his waist and disappeared beneath his waistband.
“Liessa, you shouldn’t look at me like that.” The change in his tone drew my gaze to his. His voice had become richer, taking on a velvety resonance that caressed each word like a symphony of arousal.
I inhaled sharply, catching an increase in his citrusy scent. Was I imagining that? No, I knew I was really sensing his arousal. Not in the same way he could, by reading emotions, but there was no denying the newly discovered sense of awareness. I could feel his arousal in the echo of each heartbeat. This had to be one of those other developing senses Ash had mentioned. “Are you sure about that?”
“Unfortunately. Because you need to eat.” He bent and curved his hand around my cheek. “I’ll only be gone for a couple of minutes.”
“Okay.”
His eyes met mine as he tilted my head back. He moved closer, and when he next spoke, his lips brushed mine. “I love you.”
My breath snagged on those three words. They should be impossible.
He tilted his head. The press of his cool lips was gentle at first but became fierce and hard.
My pulse was thrumming when he finally lifted his mouth from mine. “I—”
The balcony doors suddenly flung open, sending the thick curtains snapping toward the walls.
“What the…?” I trailed off. White mist rippled over the floor and began to rise. A strange scent reached me. Musky. Almost sweet. Eather throbbed intensely in the center of my chest, and every instinct in me told me this—whatever it was—had nothing to do with Kolis.
The change that came over Ash was swift. Shadows erupted beneath his flesh, swirling up his arms and across his chest as he whirled around.
Wisps of dark eather whipped out from his back, taking the shape of wings. I stared into the mist. Something was taking form. A guttural growl of warning rumbled from Ash, and he bared his fangs.
The skin along the nape of my neck tingled. I sensed something… “Ancient.”
I lurched from the bed and reached for Ash. My fingers grazed his skin as a charge of energy rolled through the chamber. “Ash!”
Darkness descended.
CHAPTER TWO
I woke on a hard, damp surface to a humming sound and a scent much like leather being tanned over a flame, but this smell was far too sweet and putrid. Way worse than the scent of stale lilacs. Where was…?
The white mist.
The darkness.
Ash.
I jerked upright, and my eyes flew open to a void of complete darkness.
“Ash!” I shouted, wincing as my voice echoed, mingling with what no longer sounded like humming but moans resembling a haunting chorus of hungry spirits.
A shiver tiptoed down my spine, causing tiny bumps to flood my skin, and that was all I felt. I pressed my palm to my chest, feeling the softness of Ash’s linen shirt.
“Oh, damn,” I whispered. There was no buzz of eather. No underlying thread of power just under my flesh.
I had to be dreaming.
Except…
Except the damp, cold stone beneath me felt too real, and that stench was so thick and rich I could practically taste it.
Suddenly, I remembered what I’d sensed before the darkness came. Something ancient.
My stomach churned, and I shifted onto my knees. Where was Ash? Panic knotted in my chest as I tried to make sense of what was happening. My throat constricted, making it even more difficult to breathe. I saw absolutely nothing around me as I started pushing to my feet. Just pitch-blackness.