Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
He can put on as much of a front as he likes, but it won’t fool me.
I’m already sipping on a can of Coke when the two loverboys finally make their appearance, and oh fuck. FUCK. They’ve checked out of their shorts and t-shirt look. They’re dressed up to the max – thank you, aircon. Both of them are dressed up for the viewing, and I mean seriously dressed up.
Heath is in a suit! One of the Count’s fucking suits, with the burgundy neck tie!
I’m open mouthed as he approaches.
He’s brushed his hair dead straight and walks towards me with his hands behind his back – casual Count style.
I squeak, I’m so excited. I clap my hands with an oh my God!
“Rewards are rewards,” he says, and takes a seat beside me. “You don’t earn them easily, and you deserve the full experience when you do.”
I shrug with a laugh. “How am I supposed to focus on the screen with you looking like that?!”
Josh clears his throat as he takes a seat on my opposite side.
“Excuse me, curva.” He’s smirking. “Turn your attention away from the vamp icon for a second please, will you?”
Fuck, I’ve been so caught up in the Count that I didn’t notice just how styled Josh is for the occasion, too. I’ve seen him in suits plenty of times, since he practically lives in them for work, but this one is different up close. He’s wearing a Nighttime Whispers style suit like Heath is. Not the same necktie, but a brocaded waistcoat under a jacket.
“Well, well, well. I’m one hell of a lucky girl,” I say, and give my boyfriend a kiss. “Two vamps for the price of one. I know you’ve got a bite on you too, Josh.”
Heath squeezes my knee. “Are you sure you want a premier today? Or shall we get into some real-life action?”
“That’s not fair!” I giggle. “I want BOTH!”
He licks his lips. “Maybe you’ll be an even luckier girl than you think you are. But in the meantime.” He takes a remote control from his jacket pocket and switches the massive screen on. “Time for episode one.”
I get shivers as the screen lights up. The familiar haunting theme tune of Whispers sounds out, roaring through the incredible speakers, and there he is. The Count, turning to face the camera with his beautifully evil smile on his face. Bats flock around his head, then zoom away, and the camera pans to the village of Kington Springs, surrounded by woodland.
My heart speeds up, wondering what will happen to Polly Anna, and there she is, too. Right from the off.
She’s running, just like she was in the cliffhanger, her breaths choking as she runs, exhausted. She stumbles over a fallen branch and takes a frantic look around her. Jeez, he must be close by. He’s always so fast in the woods.
I stiffen, listening as she pants. My eyes must be as wide as hers as I watch, already consumed by the tension. A crack of a branch behind her, and she’s off again with a whimper, trying to sprint. But she’s tired. Too tired to run. So she hides, pressing her back to a nearby tree trunk in the shadows as the crackle of branches grows closer.
“Oh, Polly… where are you, Polly?” The Count’s laugh is so cold. “You can run, darling, but you’ll never escape. You belong to me now.”
Polly Anna has been in love with the Count since she first arrived at Kington Springs, but she didn’t know his true nature then. No one in the village ever speaks about it.
Polly closes her eyes, and I feel her internal struggle. Fighting the urge of passion. Her heart belongs to the Count, but her head is screaming no.
I get that.
And I also get her curse of frustration.
I understand how hard it would be to run from someone you want so bad, even if it leads to your own demise.
Someone like Heath as well as the character he plays.
“Accept your fate, Polly,” the Count says. “We both know where your road leads.”
His shadow shows on the screen, approaching her so slowly. Stalking her like a wolf after a lamb.
She grabs a branch from the ground and leaps out to confront him in the moonlight.
“Stay away from me! This isn’t fate calling me, it’s you.”
“I am your fate. I’m the one who controls your destiny.”
“Yeah?” She steps backwards. “And what is that? You’re going to drink the life out of me and leave me here to rot, are you? Like so many others.” Her eyes brim with tears. “Don’t think I don’t know. The village can keep secrets, but the woodland can’t. I can virtually hear the ghosts all around me. People you killed, you evil bastard.”
The Count tips his head, smirking like Heath does. The moonlight through the trees catches his gorgeous face perfectly.