Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Well, is everyone ready to go ice skating after breakfast?” Madeline’s father asked the table at large, after they had mostly finished eating. “You too, sweetie,” he added, looking at Madeline. “I know you always complain about how cold you are, but you know it’s a family tradition.”
“Actually, I have a feeling I’ll be just fine, this time,” Madeline remarked, and shot Grath a sly wink.
She certainly ought to be fine, he thought dryly. He’d pumped enough essence into her system that she ought to be able to keep herself warm all damn day! Its effects probably wouldn’t wear off until nighttime.
“I’m not sure we’re going to be able to find ice skates to fit Grath, though,” Madeline’s mother said, frowning. “What size do you wear, honey?” she asked, looking up at him. “A fifteen? A sixteen maybe?”
“Actually, I have some ice-sliders in my ship,” Grath told her politely. “They might not look exactly like what you humans call ‘ice skates’ but I think they’ll work.”
“Ah—I see you did your homework before you came down here,” Madeline’s father said approvingly.
Grath nodded.
“I did study some of the cold weather activities and sports you humans engage in—I wanted to be prepared for anything.”
Although the one thing he wasn’t prepared for, he thought, was the fact that he was apparently going to be proposing to Madeline tonight during the Yule Ball.
He pushed the thought out of his mind. There were other things to concentrate on—such as finishing his bowl of oakmeal and going ice sliding with Madeline. He would worry about tonight later.
THIRTY-ONE
MATTIE
Mattie had never had so much fun ice skating in her life. Usually it was a miserable experience—she wasn’t very good on ice skates because the thin blades made her wobble and she always felt like she was going to fall or twist an ankle. Also, she was always freezing cold, no matter how much she bundled up.
But Grath had solved both those problems. First of all, his essence flowing through her bloodstream kept her effortlessly warm. Mattie could feel the freezing temperatures all around her, but it was like the cold couldn’t affect her because her body warmed itself automatically.
Also, as it turned out, the ice-sliders he had been talking about weren’t some special kind of shoes—they were little devices that fit on any pair of footwear and made them slick enough to skate on ice. Not only that but they had automatic stops on them—kind of like invisible brakes that made it easy to slow down and stop whenever you wanted to. They made skating on the slippery ice as easy as walking across the street in summer.
These two factors combined meant Mattie was having more fun than she could ever remember. She glided effortlessly over the frozen pond, feeling like a professional ice dancer as she twirled and spun and she never felt cold even for a minute.
But even better than never being cold and suddenly being able to skate like a pro, was having Grath there with her. In the past she’d always felt so left out—so alone. But this time the huge Hybrid was there, holding her hand as they raced across the frozen surface of the pond, laughing as she twirled around and around until she got dizzy, catching her when she jumped recklessly into his arms—(a move she certainly wouldn’t have tried with a smaller, human man who wouldn’t have been strong enough to catch her.)
It was so much fun and the best part was, it all felt so natural. It didn’t feel like they were faking it or playing parts. Everything between them just seemed to flow.
There was no doubt about it—they had crossed a bridge together last night, Mattie told herself. What had started out as fake was feeling realer by the minute. She could no longer deny it—she was falling in love with her Protector and unless he was the most amazing actor ever, Grath was falling in love with her too.
Still, she told herself not to get her hopes up. After all, she might be imagining all of this—maybe Grath was still just faking it—pretending to be in love with her to fool her family. But it certainly didn’t feel like that. It felt like he really loved her.
And every time he held her hand and laughed with her or swung her into his arms or pulled her close for a kiss, Mattie felt it more.
There was something there, all right—something real.
She was sure of it.
THIRTY-TWO
GRATH
Lunch was grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup—a simple but delicious combination, Grath found. He had heard a lot about cheese from the other Kindred warriors who had called Brides from Earth. Supposedly it was a substance made from the squeezings of a bovine animal’s mammary glands. This didn’t sound at all appealing, but he found that once it was heated between two toasty slices of bread until it melted, it was absolutely delicious.