Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Gorya knew what she was talking about. He’d seen it. Alcohol and drugs flowed freely. Deliberately. Deals were struck. Men became richer. The women were nothing to them. They were going to be dead at the end of the night as the depravity grew. The woman who had been the closest thing to a mother for her had been subjected to that kind of evil, and his Maya had witnessed it all. No wonder she had turned to a life of vengeance.
He stood up and held out his hand to her, needing the connection even more than she did. “Let’s go outside. I need to breathe fresh air.”
7
The sun sank into the swamp, bathing the trees in shades of purple and dark blue with splashes of deep lavender. The lighter colors poured through cypress trees with the fading light, while the darker shades of purple crept like silent raiders through the veils of hanging moss dripping from branches that hung over the water’s edge. The sinking sun turned the duckweed carpet covering the water into a strange silvery blue.
Gorya inhaled the night. He always found he could breathe easier outside. The air was heavy with many scents, the humidity trapping the fragrances of flowers, shrubs and trees as well as rotting vegetation. The swamp was a world of its own, and it was one place he felt free to be himself.
He glanced down at Maya. She looked around her at the water as the wind gently played with little ripples on the surface.
She tipped her head up toward his. “This is a beautiful piece of land.”
“I agree. I tell myself I come here to stay sharp and run every night or let Rogue run to train, but in reality, I feel free when I’m out here.”
Groves of tupelo and cypress graced the water’s edge along the inlets and banks. Several great blue herons walked on sticklike legs, dipping their long beaks in the water, fishing, before spreading their wings and rising toward the large, bulky nests high in the trees. Bats were out in abundance, wheeling in formation, dipping and darting at the multitude of insects hovering over the water.
Several raccoon families made their way through the heavy brush and fallen trees to the water’s edge. A fox barked at them from where he stood on an old log, warning them away from his den. They paid him no mind but continued toward the bank. The flutter of wings overhead told Gorya an owl had joined them, watching the animals congregate along the banks. It was very still, in hunting mode.
The swamp came alive at night. The sounds were louder than ever. The steady drone of insects. Rustling mice scurrying in the vegetation to gather up the last of the seeds to take to their nests before they retired. Lizards using little stop-and-start motions as they foraged for food. His hair acted like a guidance system, allowing him to read air currents, supplying him with information about his surroundings in the way his leopard’s whiskers did.
This night was theirs, and he was going to make the most of it. Enjoy every moment he could with her. He looked down at her again. His. His other half. Made for him. He knew he was made for her. That truth came to him. He might have been so damaged that it was impossible to fulfill the destiny he’d been born to, but looking at her, he knew it was the truth.
The light from the small sliver of moon shining through drifting clouds caught her just right, spotlighting her. He saw her with vivid clarity. His breath caught. His lungs burned. His heart seemed to stutter. The various colors in the thick blond hair falling around her face—so light it could have been called a true platinum. Woven in were strands of gold and silver. Her eyes were large for her oval face, adding to the innocent look. The color was blue-gray, with flecks of green. Her lashes were thick and pale, like her hair and eyebrows. Where most leopards were dense and curvy, she was very slight, adding to her waiflike appearance. Despite that deceptive build, he knew she was all woman.
Color crept into her cheeks, turning her pale skin a deep rose. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He wasn’t going to lie to her. It was possible all he had to give her was truth. He cupped the side of her face with his palm and slid his thumb over her lips. “I have no idea how I realized so quickly that I was born to be your man, the one to care for you, but I know I was before my brothers and uncles fucked me up. Now I honestly don’t know if I’m capable of doing what I was put on this planet to do.”