Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
He swallowed. “Interesting.”
“How so?”
He looked her over. She’d still been cold when she’d gone to bed, so she had donned one of his sweatshirts, thick socks, and yoga pants. “Do you notice anything else different about your body?”
“No.” She frowned. “Like I said, I’m sore.”
“Where?”
Okay, the embarrassment now heated her face. “Pretty much everywhere you can guess, Vero,” she snapped.
He crossed muscled arms. “Give me details.”
“What in the world? Do you need an ego stroke or something?”
He blinked. “No.”
Good point. The guy had a huge ego. He didn’t need a stroke.
“Then why are you fishing for compliments?”
He stared at her for several long, drawn-out moments. “You’ve lost me,” he finally said.
“Oh yeah? Fine. Yes, I’m sore. Your cock was huge. I was stretched—delightfully so. Is that good enough for you?”
Amusement quickly danced in his eyes, and his lips twitched.
“If you smile, I swear to God, I’m going to punch you in the mouth.” She meant every word.
He cleared his throat. “No punching in the mouth tonight, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart? It was the first time he’d used an endearment with her. She should not like that as much as she did, so she glared.
“That’s not exactly what I was talking about,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
He exhaled and held up his hand, palm out. “I’m talking about this.”
She paused, shock grounding her. The letter C marked his huge palm, surrounded and crisscrossed by wicked-looking barbed vines. The design struck a balance between beauty, menace, and raw danger. “What in the world?” she breathed.
He looked at his palm. “I know. It’s a demon mating mark.”
She had seen Paxton’s mark, which was a P for his surname, and had heard of the marks on other demons—once they met their mates. The whole thing sounded rather barbaric to her. “I didn’t know Kurjans got mating marks on their hands.”
He kept staring at his palm as if looking for answers. “We don’t.”
How did that make any sense? “You don’t even have last names. What does a C on a Kurjan palm mean?”
“No clue.”
Her mind spun off in several different directions. “Wait a minute, what do you mean ‘no clue’? There is a mark on your palm. What does that mean? I thought markings only appeared when demons mated—or met their mates, or touched their mates, or kissed their mates…” She trailed off, trying to recall everything Hope had explained to her. “I can’t remember all the details.”
He swallowed. “Yes. That’s my understanding as well.”
The world went silent. “Wait a minute. Does that mean—”
He dropped his hand, his gaze stark. “I have no idea.”
“Oh,” she whispered softly, realization dawning. His half-brother was part demon, and Paxton had been an experiment. “Do you think that you were an experiment as well?” she asked softly.
Vero stared down at the bedspread. “I don’t know.” Frustration darkened the planes of his immortal face. “I believe all the scientists who worked on the projects at that time were killed afterward. I haven’t been able to find any records.” He looked around the room, as if not seeing any of the beautiful furnishings. “All the computers and records from headquarters arrive tomorrow, but I don’t think there’s going to be anything there. I can’t explain this mark.”
“Can you conduct a blood test?” Urgency sped up her breath.
Vero exhaled sharply, his expression turning pensive. “We’ll have the lab equipment soon enough, but it won’t be as simple as you think. We don’t have a stash of demon blood. There must have been some at one time, but I’ve never seen even a trace of it in my lifetime. If I tested my blood, I wouldn’t know what to look for.”
“There has to be a way.” Though, did this really matter? Immortal was immortal, as far as she was concerned. Perhaps it would be good for him—that he and Paxton would share that uniqueness.
He paused, tilting his head as though considering the idea further. “I could compare my blood to Paxton’s, once he returns. Both of us have Kurjan markers, so I could isolate anything unfamiliar. Whatever I don’t recognize might point to demon DNA.”
Her heart quickened at the thought of him solving this puzzle. “You could also just ask the scientists at the Realm. Hope would help.”
“No,” Vero said sharply, his tone cutting through any chance of debate. “I’m not asking the Realm for anything, and I’m sure as hell not giving them my blood.”
She swallowed, trying to approach the matter carefully. “I’m sure the Realm has Kurjan blood stored somewhere. From what Hope told me, the queen takes blood samples from everyone to develop cures for human diseases. If they already have Kurjan blood, they wouldn’t even need—”
“Absolutely not.” For a brief second, the killer they’d warned her about showed in his eyes.
She leaned closer, willing him to see reason and trying to banish her sudden fear. Of him. “They’re our allies now, Vero. You need answers.”