Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1047(@200wpm)___ 838(@250wpm)___ 698(@300wpm)
My knees went soft.
I full-on grabbed his forearm and flicked my gaze up to him.
I opened my mouth…
And that was the last thing I remembered.
Not again.
Peering up at a ceiling that I didn’t recognize, I groaned.
What had happened? Had I fucking fainted? Again?
I opened my eyes even wider and started patting around the area beside me, feeling… a bed? Sheets?
WHERE THE HELL WAS I?
“About time,” a crabby voice muttered.
Oh. Angling my head, I found Alex right there, sprawled out on the bed next to me, on his side with his head propped up by a hand on his cheek. His face was smooth and relaxed, but his eyes….
“What are you pissed off about?” I asked, hearing the roughness in my voice and swallowing hard.
Moving my gaze around, I realized I was on a bed in a room I didn’t recognize, but it wasn’t just a room. There was crown molding. The wallpaper looked like it was made of silk. Even the furniture seemed like it was made of some ancient wood.
Flicking my eyes back to Alex, I barely heard myself ask, “Am I dead?”
If I thought he’d looked crabby before, he definitely did then.
Dragging my hand across the surface of what felt like an embroidered comforter, I rolled onto my side and pressed my fingers against a spot on his chest between his pectorals. His jacket was off, and that white, button-down shirt that was more formal than a normal one was stretched across his chest. It had to have been tailor-made for him because not a single button was on the verge of popping off over all those spectacular muscles.
I blinked slowly. “Is this hell? Are we stuck together forever?” I whispered.
His scowl was monumental. “You’d be lucky to be stuck with me for eternity.”
I blinked again.
“You’re not dead. Would you stop with that shit already?” he grumbled.
“I’m not?” I asked, moving my fingers to the side a little and finding… oh yeah. It was there, that ultra-slow thump pumping beneath the shell of his bones. “Oh.”
“Yeah. You see,” he confirmed, raising an eyebrow before flicking his eyes to the hand I still had pressed against his fancy shirt.
“What happened? Where are we?” I folded my arm beneath my head. “Did someone poison me?”
“What happened is that you came up to me, said you weren’t feeling good, and passed out. We’re still here. Agatha checked you out, your blood pressure was low. Maybe being around my grandmother had something to do with it.” His nose scrunched up. “No one tried to poison you.”
Oh boy. “I passed out?” That was fucking embarrassing.
He nodded. “How do you feel?”
“My head is funny, and I might die of shame, but my vision isn’t blurry anymore.”
He didn’t like that shit. His eyes narrowed. “I should have known. I didn’t think it was that bad.”
I hadn’t thought I was that bad either. I’d been through worse with him, way worse.
His voice was gruff. “You’ll tell me if you start to feel bad again?”
“Yes.” Was he worried? Or was he embarrassed that I’d done that in front of his family?
“Promise,” he grumbled.
“I promise.”
His eyelids dropped over his eyes, and I knew he didn’t totally believe me.
“Promise,” I insisted, earning me another long look from a face that made the guy who played Electro-Man in the movies look like a knockoff superhero. “What?”
His lips pressed together. “I thought you were dying.”
I knew it!
“You went limp, and you smelled wrong. I don’t like the way that made me feel.” His gaze moved to meet mine, and he pointed his index finger at my nose. “I mean it. No more fainting.”
It was so hard not to laugh. He genuinely sounded so put-out.
He’d been worried about me.
Friends worried about each other. Friends cared. They wanted the best for you.
And here we were.
“Control my bodily functions after spending time with your grandma and learning a bunch of crazy top-secret knowledge, got it,” I whispered sarcastically, watching his face, trying not to take it too much to heart.
But failing.
Because… I was sure he cared. About me. Alex cared, and I couldn’t show it on my face or I’d ruin it.
But it was like learning the earth really was flat.
“Exactly,” he agreed in that low, grumbly voice.
I had to keep my face straight. I couldn’t let my heartbeat get all funny or let my eyes water as I looked at the flawless features right in front of me, all concerned and irritated at the same time. I couldn’t react to the tip of the finger that was now barely brushing the tip of my nose. Definitely couldn’t do that.
His expression was sober. “No more fainting.”
I pressed my lips together. “No more fainting… if I can help it.”
“Promise me.”
I had to cling to my sarcasm so that my body wouldn’t betray me. I couldn’t fucking smile. “You’re really annoying when you’re bossy, but yes, I promise.” Okay, I smiled just a little, but just a little.