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’d just attempted to move the conversation cheese, and I wasn’t having it. “Why did you bring me here?” I asked again.
He set my dress next to my bra. “I chose this location because you are safe here. Safe to explore your new life as a vampire. There are no humans on the island, and every staff member has been through the same transformation. They are sympathetic to your needs and will ensure you’re made comfortable. Any request you make will be satisfied, with the exception of leaving. Other than that,” he spread his arms, “consider this your personal playground.”
Playgrounds were fun, filled with swings, slides, and monkey bars. This sounded more like a pig in an Easter dress. Cute, but only until you lift the ruffles. Pigs were filthy little things.
“Welp,” I swung my feet to the floor, “I appreciate the sentiment, but I want to go home.” Leiper’s Fork was familiar to me, and given what I was going through, I needed to be close to family, even if I couldn’t see them for a few weeks.
“Masie, we just arrived here. You must at least see the island before fleeing.”
“Are you saying I can go if I take a tour and don’t like it?” Because I was perrty dang sure I’d just heard him say that leaving was not on the fun-menu, and I wasn’t on board with that.
He dipped his head. “You are not a prisoner. You are my mate. You have just as much power as I, and that includes coming and going as you please.”
Oh, look. I finally found something Stark sucks at: gaslighting. A little surprising given how his entire existence depended on deceiving humans. No, no, Miss Riding Hood, I’m not staring at your neck. Nom nom.
“Wanna know what I think?” I said. “You’re hoping I choose to stay so you can avoid a confrontation. In fact, I bet if I walked outside right now, headed for the dock, and tried to put myself on whatever boat you got going on here, there’d be a big strong vampire waitin’ to stop me. Am I right?” I folded my arms over my chest.
His mouth flapped for a moment. “I would never allow another man to lay his hands on you.”
Oh, so we’re playing dodgeball now? I’d just chucked a big pink bouncy ball his way, and he’d ducked. Stark had avoided answering the real question.
“Am I allowed to leave or not?” I snapped.
“I am merely asking you to consider everything I have said: humans are unsafe around new vampires. The bloodlust will become overwhelming, and you have no reason to doubt me on this.”
So it was in my best interest to be somewhere I couldn’t hurt anyone. Got it. But he should’ve put his plums on the table and discussed coming here with me first.
On the other hand, he probably knew I’d say no, and Stark wasn’t one to ask permission. He was a powerful vampire, accustomed to being obeyed.
Gotta work on that with him. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if I really loved him, I’d give him space to figure out this new life together, just like I expected from him.
“Fine.” I got to my feet. “Let’s go check out the island, but if I don’t like it, you’d better come up with an alternate plan that involves getting me closer to home.”
“Your well-being and happiness are all that matter,” he said, his eyes filled with a deep adoration that made my pulse amp up. “But first, you should shower and dress for dinner. I shall return in two hours to show you the island.” He left in a hurry, slamming the door behind him.
That was strange. My suspicion perked up. I might be in love with Stark, but I was still dealing with an ancient creature whose instincts to conceal things went hand in hand with survival.
Ain’t that funny? I kept thinking of him as “a creature” when I was one of them now. Didn’t really matter if I still felt like good old Masie, I was embarking on a journey that might last thousands of years. I would get to witness the world change in ways humans only dreamed about or saw in movies—living on Mars, flying cars, an end to cellulite. And if all went well this next month, I would get to live that long, happy life with the man I loved.
Then why were things feeling so…off?
CHAPTER THREE
As I slid on my black dress and combed my hair into a sleek, low ponytail, my mind whirred and clicked like an old pickup truck.
I trusted Stark. I did. But my gut was telling me he was up to something. Maybe good. Most likely bad.
No, I didn’t believe he would hurt me, but he wasn’t above your basic scheming.