Unbound: The Cursed Trilogy, Book One by Betty Legend (small books to read .txt) 📕

a strange dude, but if I wasn’t currently being held against my will, I might find him a bit fascinating. Taking another bite, I watch him walk toward the door. Tall, regal, broad-shouldered, with a nice ass that starts the length of his long legs. He’s wearing a white t-shirt and khaki shorts with brown leather flip flops. With his sun kissed skin, he looks like he’s used to living in a beach environment. Maybe this is his house.

After he leaves, I devour the rest of my food now that I don’t have him watching me. Once the plates are empty, I go to the door, testing it—my jaw drops. The door is unlocked. Opening it, I carefully step into a hallway with several more doors to my right and a stairwell to my left. I follow the winding stairwell, trying to be as quiet as I can, entering an entryway with a living room on the left and a dining room on the right. The front door is in front of me. I glance both directions again, then make a run for it. My hand touches the knob, and a blue light illuminates the door frame. It’s a strange glowing light that captures my attention as I try to turn the knob and pull open the door, but it won’t budge.

Griffin appears like smoke, standing off to my side with his arms crossed.

“Why won’t the door open? What is this stuff around the door?”

“It’s my essence.”

“Seriously! With this shit again? It’s time to knock it off.”

“Selene, stop. It’s not going to open unless I will it to.”

“This is ridiculous.” I release the doorknob. “Where am I? Your house?”

“Yes.” Griffin points upstairs. “Grab some shoes.”

Huffing past him, I go up the spiral staircase and into the closet. Slipping on sneakers, I stomp back downstairs.

“Where to, Yoda?”

“Really?” The corner of his mouth pulls down as his brows tighten.

“You’re the one who kidnapped me, so you can play Lord of the Rings.”

Griffin rolls his eyes, and the blue glow around the door evaporates. With an easy turn of the knob, the door opens.

“What the hell?”

“Essence, Selene. It’s my essence,” he grumbles.

Following him outside brings me into the soothing warmth of the sun. Ahead is a sandy sidewalk that leads to the beach in front of the house, as well as a sandy trail that leads left or right. Griffin walks left, and with no one here and no information, I have no choice but to follow him.

“Where are we going?”

“The woods.”

I abruptly stop. “No, I’m not. You probably have your friends there, waiting to gang rape me.”

Griffin runs another hand through his hair, and both ears twitch.

“This is turning out to be harder than I expected. I thought maybe you would know what you are.” Griffin puts his palms together in front of his lips and closes his eyes before sighing. “Selene, you’re a druid witch. You have special gifts, but I’m assuming you don’t know about them because your ancestors stopped practicing the craft.”

I laugh heartily at the insanity of his words.

“You. Are. Nuts. There are no such things as supernaturals. What I paint, it’s all imaginary. If you thought I’d be a great person to join in on your games because I enjoy the fantasy world, I’m sorry, you were wrong. Griffin, I’d like for you to take me home, please.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?” I step toward him, anger heating my face.

“Because the only way to leave here is through a portal. The only one who can make a portal is Cyrus, and he won’t be here until tomorrow.”

“You’re an asshole.”

Turning away from him, I head toward the beach. There must be other houses around here—someone who can call a helicopter or tell me when the next boat leaves port.

“Selene.”

Griffin calls after me, but I ignore him. Of course, he catches up with me within seconds without making a sound.

“Nothing so far has made you consider this is real? My ears, my essence?”

“Your ears are cosmetically done; the glow is remote controlled or motion sensored.”

“Why are you so reluctant to believe me?”

“Because I spent years wanting the fantasy world to be real. I’ve researched and traveled, and I’ve painted my dreams. I never found anything but fairytales.”

Griffin keeps pace with me as I walk down the beach, searching for the next house. The sand is sparkling in the sunlight, so beautiful, it looks like tiny bits of diamonds in the sand. My eyes linger over the water and its stunning turquoise color. It looks pristine and untouched. Wondering how warm it is, I remove my shoes to test its temperature. Griffin stays back a foot or so as I dip a toe in the water. It’s as warm as a hot tub, and I immediately want to go deeper. Taking several more steps, I relax in the heat of the soothing water.

Griffin passes me, shirtless and without shorts. My breath hitches at his nudity. He’s built like a golden god—curves and valleys of muscle, a tight, round ass, and when he turns to face me before falling into the water, I observe how well-endowed he is. He slips under the water with barely a sound and swims through the water as flawlessly as a dolphin.

Fuck it, I can have a moment of fun. Stepping out of the water, I remove my shirt and shorts and leave them in the sand. Griffin is still underwater. When he comes up for air, I’m already in the water up to my chest. He pops up out of the water, his golden blond hair tossing water sprinkles at me.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” I admit.

“Why have you searched for supernaturals and longed for them to exist?”

The pain of the truth knots in my chest.

“My father died when I was eight. It broke me. I was a daddy’s girl. He would tell me fantastic stories of adventure and fantasy worlds, and I was enthralled with every word he spoke. When he died, I wanted an escape from reality,