Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
He jerked his head at the crate. “I could not resist seeing your face,” he flashed a sadistic smile with a little fang, “when you realized the consequences of your actions. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Poor Charlie never stood a chance. Not even with his band of well-armed companions.”
In horror, I stepped away, realizing that Charlie never made it to the airport last night. It was why Stark looked like Mad Max when he’d turned up at my place last night. He’d gotten into a scuffle with Charlie’s men before nabbing him.
My eyes moved to the crate and tuft of hair. Charlie? “Do you have any clue what you’ve just done?” Who was going to stop the vampires now?
Stark’s grin melted away. “Did you believe I would allow another male to speak of fucking my woman? Did you think there would be no consequences for kissing you?”
“I’m not your woman.” I scrubbed my face with my hands. This was a nightmare.
“Yes. You are. And even though I know you were putting on a performance last night, my men witnessed your spectacle.”
His men. His little shadow lurkers. “Who cares? He didn’t deserve to die!” My eyes began to tear.
“I would disagree. As would every male in every coven across the world. It is a matter of pride, and if you had taken a moment to consider what it means to be a vampire—”
“I am not a vampire. I’d rather die in a vat of boiling water.” My eyes darted to the vat by my side. “Figure of speech.” I grimaced awkwardly.
Stark charged at me, grabbing me by the shoulders and putting his face in mine. “You might not have been turned yet, but you are part of our world now, Masie Kicklighter. And whether you like it or not, there are consequences for breaking our rules. For you. And for any man who lays a finger on you.”
This was crazier than a tiger rodeo. “Again, I’m not yours, and it’s exactly because of this! You care more about your vampire rules or how you look in front of everyone than you ever cared about me.”
“This conversation is over.”
I agreed. “And so is my involvement with you. Do you want to break the news to the vampire world, or should I?”
Stark’s fingers squeezed painfully around my arms, and I instinctively knew he was about to zap me with his eyes.
I clenched my eyelids shut. “Nope. Nope. I’m not letting you do that thing with the swirly colors again.”
“Open them,” he snarled.
“Nuh-uh.” I turned my head.
“Do it, or I’ll finish Charlie’s transformation,” he warned.
My eyes snapped open. “You didn’t.”
“Did,” he said smugly.
Oh. No… Stark had drained Charlie and given him his blood. Halfway to vampire. The final step was feeding.
I glanced up at the shiny silver insulated ceiling, praying for help, wisdom, superpowers—anything to stop this madness. “How could you? Charlie was a good man. He would never want to be like you.”
“Hello. That was the purpose of doing this. Are you so pure that you do not see my vengeance play? You are not very fun.” Stark tsked again.
What a jerk! “Yeah. I got that, Captain Coffin. But this is vile, even for you.”
“I could command him to obey you, Princess Smart Tits. That way, you may decide his fate like you did with Deedee’s killer.”
He knew how much that whole event haunted me. “You’re a monster.”
“You’re a saucy monkey.”
“Tick,” I threw back.
“Whiny snot otter.”
What the hell was that? “Okay, old man,” I replied.
Stark’s gaze locked on my lips as we stood in silence for a long moment. I suddenly realized he was breathing a little heavy. His gaze slowly moved down my neck, fixating on my breasts.
“Oh my god. Are you really thinking this is about to lead to some…stupid, explosive make-out moment?”
His eyes whipped to mine. “Vampires do not ‘make out.’ I was thinking about fucking you.”
“You’re disgusting.” I smacked his hands off my arms.
“And you are…weak. Also, your right eye is darker than the left, which makes you imperfect.”
What is wrong with him? It dawned on me that he was fighting like a child. Probably because he’d never actually engaged in a verbal argument with anyone in his life. He’d practically been raised by a vampire and then became one. A powerful one. From what I’d gathered, vampires didn’t do much discussing. They generally just killed the vampire they disagreed with or kept their mouths shut. It was why Stark always looked like he was having a fang pulled anytime he attempted to open up to me.
Well, whatever his trip, I was out of patience. He’d wrecked our chances of saving humans, and he’d destroyed a good man’s life. All because of his jealousy.
“You were right,” I said. “Millions are going to die because of us.” It was something he’d said back at the island.