Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“That’s dumb and immature. I had to deal with Alethea and countless other women trying to lure you away, but I didn’t kill any of them.” She’d toyed with them, sure, but that was all.
He did a slow blink. “Dumb and immature?”
“Yeah.”
Stroking his thumb over her jaw, Knox cocked his head. “You still underestimate your importance to me, don’t you? I’m beginning to think you always will.”
“No, I don’t. But I also don’t see why you can’t show the same restraint others do when people have a thing for their partners.”
“I could show that restraint, Harper. I have more patience and self-control than most—I’d never otherwise maintain dominance over my demon. But if Clarke pushes this or refuses to have the tattoo removed, I won’t want to show such restraint. I’ll want to kill him. My demon will want his blood. And I don’t have your goodness or mercy. So if you want Drew to live, talk to Devon and ensure that she makes him see reason.” Knox’s eyes narrowed. “What did he say to you earlier?”
Not willing to feed his anger, Harper kept her answer vague. “He was asking if I missed working at the studio and if I worried that Asher would have my weaknesses. I asked if he’d found his anchor—just general shit.”
“What else?”
She sighed. “He expressed his surprise that I’d gotten involved with my own anchor. Asked if it bothered me that there were so many women in your past.”
“A rhetorical question that would remind you of something that causes you pain,” mused Knox. “Now that I’m dealing with Drew, I understand just how much hurt it actually caused you to be around women from my past. Before this, I could only guess.” Splaying his hands on her back, Knox pulled her closer. “But, see, none of them meant anything to me. I suspect Drew did mean something to you, though. That’s hard for me to stomach.”
“I never loved him or anything. I had a crush on him as a teenager, and I always thought he was a decent guy. That’s it.”
“But if he’d stepped up to the plate as Jolene wanted him to, you probably would have given him a chance.” Not that it would have stopped Knox from having her. He hadn’t lied to her—he would have done whatever it took to have her, even if it meant somehow luring her away from another male. She did something to him. Fed something in him. Breathed life into his world. He couldn’t be without her.
Harper shook her head. “You’re forgetting just how opposed I was to dating demons. I fought you even harder because you were also my anchor. Not that it got me anywhere,” she grumbled. “Bottom line: I don’t want Drew. Nothing he says or does could make me leave you. Why is that funny?” He was giving her one of those highly amused, “you’re so ridiculously cute” smiles that held a hint of condescension.
Brushing his mouth over hers, Knox lifted a brow. “You think I’d let you leave?”
“I could totally leave if I wanted to. You insist on ignoring my warnings about just how terrifying I can be when in berserker mode. It takes a lot for me to really lose my shit. But when I do, I do it in a spectacular fashion. Seriously, people have fled in fear when faced with—stop laughing at me.”
Shoulders shaking, Knox captured her face between her hands. “Only you could melt my mood when it’s so foul.” He kissed her, poured himself into her. Sipped and nipped and bit, alternating between gentle and rough. Then, grabbing a handful of her hair, he snatched her head back and traced the shape of her mouth with his tongue. “Mine.”
Fisting his shirt, she swallowed. “Yours. Just as you’re mine.”
He dipped his head as he kissed his way down her neck. “Bed.”
“Bed,” she agreed.
Harper wrinkled her nose. The smell of the citrus air freshener was so strong, it almost burned her nostrils. The last time the Primes had gathered in this very conference room was to discuss the issue of her being hexed—something that it later transpired had been thanks to Nutty Nora. As she’d been pregnant at the time, Harper had stayed at home and missed the meeting. This time, however, she sat at Knox’s side, her elbows propped on the long, smooth glass table.
She was also watching each of the Primes carefully. All looked grim aside from Thatcher. He kept sliding uneasy looks at the others, cheeks flushed with self-consciousness. He had to know that many of the whispers circulating the table were about him and his recent relationship with Alethea. He had to feel the suspicious glances aimed his way. To his credit, though, he jutted out his chin in a “fuck you all” gesture.
Dario, too, was on the receiving end of many suspicious looks. Considering that he was the most obvious suspect due to his grandmother being one of the Horsemen, it wasn’t in the least bit surprising. Unlike Thatcher, he didn’t appear dour. Nor was he displaying any “fuck you” language. No, he seemed intent on ignoring the attention and was in fact chatting amiably with Malden.