Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 638(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 638(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
In truth, Larkin was his own personal catnip, because she was a warrior through and through. One that was lethal and powerful and downright captivating. He had the distinct feeling that one taste of her would intoxicate him quicker than any liquor.
Her wide eyes missed nothing. At times, they were a striking gray-green, but there were some occasions when they became an equally striking gray-blue. It happened sometimes with harpies—the shade of their irises varied slightly whenever their inner demons were close to the surface. Like a warning system to those nearby. So whenever her eyes were gray-green as they were now, he knew her entity was close.
His own demon was often near the surface when she was around. It liked her. Liked how prickly and no-nonsense she was. At that moment, it was sending Teague mental images of the many indecent things it wanted to do to her.
Things that Teague would sure be happy to do to her.
But he hadn’t acted on his attraction to her for very good reasons, and it wasn’t solely about the oaths he’d made to Khloë.
Inside the spacious VIP box, he swiftly took in the position of every individual. Larkin’s Primes stood near the mini bar, talking among themselves. Their young son, Asher, sat on a seat beside Raini, swinging his little legs. Levi was eyeing the selection of finger foods on the buffet table while munching on a carrot stick. Devon was rolling her eyes at Keenan, who held her infant daughter away from his body as though she was a ticking bomb. The little girl was reaching for his face, wearing the cutest dimply smile.
Anaïs was approximately nine months old but, since demonic babies were more advanced than human infants, she looked more like a one-year-old. A hellhound like her father, Tanner, she had his liquid-gold eyes. Her hair was a short mop of ringlets that were the same ultraviolet color as her mother’s longer locks.
Devon sighed at Keenan. “Stop being a drama queen.”
The incubus frowned in affront. “There’s nothing dramatic about wanting to live.”
“Anaïs isn’t trying to kill you,” Devon insisted.
“She tries to kill everyone.” Keenan’s head jerked when the hellpup snapped her teeth at him. Anaïs then chuckled like a loon.
“She only placed her hand over your mouth to stop you from talking. It wasn’t an attempt to suffocate you.”
“Are you forgetting the part where she held my nose with her other hand so I couldn’t breathe?”
“That was a coincidence,” Devon upheld, but Teague noticed a few others furtively cast her skeptical looks.
“All six times she’s done it, it was a coincidence? Really?” Keenan’s voice dripped with disbelief. “And how about when she unsheathed her claws and went right for Levi’s eyes? Are you going to tell me that’s—dammit, Devon, get this kid’s teeth out of my arm.”
With another eyeroll, the hellcat crossed to him. She dislodged her daughter’s jaw from Keenan’s skin—and no, it wasn’t an easy feat—and then took Anaïs into her arms.
Rubbing at the little bite mark, Keenan looked at Tanner. “You need to do something about . . . ” He trailed off as he drank in the sentinel’s expression. “What’s going on?”
Tanner cleared his throat, earning everyone’s attention. “Apparently, Larkin has something she needs to tell us.”
All eyes turned her way. Eyes that were quick to drop down to where her hand was joined with Teague’s. The other adult males in the room predictably tensed.
She didn’t shy away from the scrutiny. She lifted her chin, set her soda can on the high table beside her, and then spoke. “Those rumors you heard that Teague and I are dating? They aren’t actually untrue.”
A stunned silence descended on the room. People glanced from him to her or exchanged looks. A short crackle came through the intercom followed quickly by an announcement, which seemed to snap everyone out of their shocked states.
“I’m confused,” said Knox, his tone as carefully neutral as his expression. “If the rumors hold truth, why were you so angry about them?” he asked her.
“Because I’d wanted to keep our relationship on the downlow for a while. You guys make it impossible for me to officially date people,” she added, sweeping her gaze over Knox and the sentinels. “You start sticking your noses in where they don’t belong and I didn’t want that to happen this time. I wanted to see if it could go somewhere without you interfering, so I kept it quiet.”
Hmm, she was much better at deception than Teague had expected. He kind of liked it.
She let out a sigh. “But Teague’s right, it’s unfair of me to keep him a secret. And I don’t want to hide it anymore anyway.”
Levi gave his head a little shake. “You two are together? Like a couple?”
She did a slow blink. “That is what it means to be in a relationship.”