Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
He pursed his lips. “About thirty decades.”
“So Seth never had a mom growing up either.”
“No.” Cain dropped his hands to her waist and gathered the ends of her tee. “By the time she woke, he’d moved out of the family home. He didn’t make much of an effort to build a real relationship with her because he hated going back there and being around Adam.” Cain peeled off her tee and let it fall to the floor. “It’s just as strange for Seth to have Eve here as it is for me.”
“Do you think she and her grandkids truly could be here on behalf of Adam or Abel?”
“Think?” Cain echoed, his gaze following the path of his hands as they skimmed down her body and caught the waistband of her jeans. “No, I don’t think they are. But I also don’t trust that they aren’t. You?”
“After all you told me about the dynamics between you and Abel, I agree with what you said earlier, he’d never send his kids here. But that’s not to say that Adam wouldn’t do it—he doesn’t seem to have the kind of scruples that would stop him.”
“Which is why I don’t want you anywhere near Eve or her grandchildren.” Cain pinned her gaze with his. “Adam is cruel enough to send them on what would potentially be a suicide mission if it meant getting what he needs to stop Aeon from falling. That is you.”
“Hey, I wasn’t planning to seek them out or anything,” Wynter assured him. She would have liked to talk to them and get a feel for whether they were lying their asses off, but it wasn’t as if she couldn’t have faith in Cain’s judgement on that score.
“If there comes a time when I can trust them around you, I’ll be more than happy to introduce you to them. But for now—”
“I get it. I’m not offended; I don’t feel like you simply don’t want to introduce me to your mother.”
“Good.” He lowered the zipper of her fly. “Lose the jeans and panties.”
She happily shimmied out of them while he took care of whipping off her bra. As she stood naked before him, he dragged his eyes over her body, so intensely focused on her that it made a delightful shiver run through her.
His gaze returned to hers, and something decadently predatory flared there for a moment. He stalked forward, herding her toward the bed. “Lie back. Good. Now spread your legs, give me something pretty to look at while I undress.”
Wynter parted her thighs, watching as he fisted the back of his shirt and then tugged it off. Well, damn. His upper body was just . . . gah, so much to scratch and lick and bite.
Her thigh muscles clenched as the rest of his clothes disappeared. Adonis had nothing on this dude. Seriously, Cain had the most spectacular body. Hard. Toned. Sleek. Tattooed.
“There’s something I need from you,” he said.
Right back atcha. She swallowed, her eyes fixed on the long, thick cock that was currently standing loud and proud. “I do hope it’s sexual, because I’m getting all hot and tingly already.” Her toes almost curled at the low, deep chuckle that rumbled out of him. The man was just a delight to her senses.
“Not sexual.” He knelt between her thighs on the mattress. “You agreed to be my consort. I want you to wear something that signifies that.”
She felt her brows dip. “And what would that be? If it’s jewelry, you’d be better off skipping it. I have a habit of losing jewelry, and I couldn’t trust that Delilah wouldn’t steal it—she likes pretty, shiny stuff.”
“It’s not jewelry.” He palmed her knees. “It’s a seal.”
“A seal?”
“Shifters leave bites. Demons leave brands. Vampires have Binding knots. My kind mark what is ours just the same. We call that mark a seal.” He smoothed his hands up her inner thighs. “I want mine imprinted on your skin.”
“I already wear your mark.”
He took her branded hand and breezed his thumb over her palm. “This only tells people that you’re in my service and under my protection. It doesn’t signify who you are to me or who I am to you.”
Personally, Wynter didn’t see why that wasn’t nonetheless enough. But she could see that this was important to him. Maybe more important than he was letting on.
The hand holding hers slid up enough for him to swipe his thumb over her sensitive inner wrist. “The seal would go right here. It would stay there for as long as you’re mine, which means it would be permanent.”
“Would it hold any power over me or anything?”
He shook his head. “It would simply be a symbol of who you are to me and serve as a warning to others that you’re claimed.”
“Would it give you additional rights to my soul?”