Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
She followed him through the rain into another entryway and took the elevator to the top floor. When he’d said that his place was being renovated, she’d thought he’d been making it up, but the place was in disarray. White sheets on all the furniture. Nothing on any of the walls. No curtains framing the French doors. A giant ladder stood sentinel in the center of the room along with paint supplies and construction equipment.
“Through here,” Graves said.
She tiptoed over the wreckage into a bedroom off of the main living area. Graves tugged a sheet off of a lamp and plugged it in, illuminating the space, which consisted of a king-size bed, set of dressers, and little else. The walls looked freshly painted, as if the bedroom reno had already been completed but they hadn’t bothered putting anything back into its rightful place.
The curtains had been cast open, revealing the most spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower sparkling in all its glory. Rain splattered against the windowpane as Kierse stepped up to the double French doors.
“What a view.”
“That is why I kept this one,” Graves said.
He removed the cloth covering the four-poster. She glanced at the bed. Was there another? This couldn’t be the only bed in his whole apartment…could it? The place wasn’t large by Graves’s standards, but surely there wasn’t only one bed.
“I probably have a change of clothes for you.” Graves disappeared and came back a minute later with a wool sweater. “Everything else is in storage. The bathing chamber is through there.”
“Thanks.”
She took the sweater and followed where he’d pointed, finding a bathroom with a clawfoot tub and giant double vanity. She dropped her ruined dress to the floor and changed into the sweater, which reached to the tops of her thighs. She removed Estelle’s ruby pin before wringing the rainwater out of her hair. She braided it and used the pin to secure the end.
When she returned, Graves had opened the envelope that Estelle had given her and was reading a small card.
“What is it?”
He glanced up and did a full double take as she stepped into the room. His eyes roamed up her bare legs, stopping at the point where the sweater hit her thighs, then up across the oversize thing to her face. He sucked in a sharp breath before returning to the paper.
He cleared his throat. “There’s to be an auction for the cauldron.”
“Where?” she asked, fighting a satisfied smile at his reaction to her.
He held it out for her. “New York.”
“Of course,” she whispered as she read through the letter she’d rightfully won. “‘Join me at the New Amsterdam Theatre Aerial Gardens for a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Dress to theme.’”
Graves waved his hand dismissively. “That’s all fine, but I’ve never even heard of the company who is hosting.”
“That doesn’t sound like you.”
“I’ll investigate before the auction.”
“Sounds like fun,” she said as she tossed the invitation back to him. “Who doesn’t love a costume party?”
Her magic drain was hitting her hard. She felt like she was going to pass out at any moment.
“You should sleep,” Graves said.
She dropped onto the bed. “Probably.”
Graves began to unbutton his shirt, and her eyes landed on the strip of bare skin.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He gestured to the bed. “There’s only the one.”
“Yeah, but…”
“You’re exhausted, and you need to sleep.”
“Together?”
Graves shot her a look as he stripped out of his shirt, giving her a spectacular view of his muscled chest and the tattoo that crept up to his shoulder. She swallowed and tried to stop staring but found it difficult. The last time she and Graves had shared a bed, things had been very heated.
“What? You can’t sleep next to me?”
“I mean…I can,” she said.
His hands moved to his trousers, popping the button and pulling down the zipper. Kierse swallowed hard at the peek of black boxers underneath. The pants hung loose on his hips, and he smirked as she forced her gaze upward.
“Excellent. Then we’ll share.”
He let the pants fall to the ground, and she gulped.
“But…”
“Are you so affected by me?” he challenged.
Kierse set her jaw. “You know what?” she told him. “Fine.”
She lay back in the bed, letting the sweater ride up high on her thighs. It wasn’t as if she were the only one affected. He had absolutely responded to the sight of her in his sweater. And even if he hadn’t, she wasn’t about to let him win this one, too.
She glanced his way only for her eyes to get caught on the bulge in his boxers. He absolutely was not unaffected by her. Not with the length of him on display as it strained against the material. Fucking hell. She jerked her gaze away as he slid under the covers.
Graves pulled the string for the lamp, casting them into darkness except for the dim glow from the window. She could reach out at any moment and touch him, and it suddenly felt intimate.