Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“You don’t have to thank me for that.”
“They didn’t have enough time.” I sighed. “They didn’t get to make enough memories.”
“They didn’t,” Ambrose agreed, laying his hand on my back. “But I think that would’ve always been the case. It’s never enough.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I wish I could’ve seen them together,” he said with a sigh. “Just once.”
I glanced at my backpack.
“We all waited so long. It’s hard to explain. Humans fall in and out of love so easily—”
“Hey,” I protested.
He let out a huff of laughter. “I just mean that there is one person for Vampires. One soul that is our perfect match. There is no good enough or okay for now. It’s that one or nothing.”
“Are you telling me you’re a virgin?” I gasped mockingly.
“Fuck no.” He poked me in the side. “I’ve had plenty of sex. I was having sex before your parents were born.”
“That is not the flex you think it is.”
He poked me in the side again.
“Don’t worry,” he said dryly. “I’ll know what I’m doing.”
“You seem pretty sure of that.”
“Positive.”
“For all you know, I’m into weird shit,” I countered, turning to face him. “I could want you to meow like a cat while you go down on me. I could ask you to lie perfectly still and play dead while I ride you.” I leaned down so I could see him clearly. “I could ask to paint your dick with hot sauce.”
Ambrose’s smile was so big it transformed his entire face. “Meow.”
The word was so surprising that I let out a loud bark of laughter. Slapping my hand over my mouth, I looked at the bedroom door and waited, but Charlie was still snoring.
“You’re a freak,” I whispered.
“You’re the one who wants to paint my dick with hot sauce,” he whispered back.
“That was an example.”
“It sounded like a fantasy.”
“Bullshit.”
“Baby, I’ll do whatever you want.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back up. Carefully, I swung my feet over the side of the bed and padded over to my bag. It only took me a moment to find what I was looking for, and I carried it back over to Ambrose, crawling in beside him. It was so dark in the room that I had to power up the camera by memory as I lay back until we were sharing his pillow.
“I’m going to leave the sound off,” I said softly as I scrolled backward through the photos until I got to the beginning. “I don’t want to wake Charlie up.”
“Oh.” Ambrose breathed as I stopped on the first photo I’d ever taken of Zeke and Charlie.
Zeke was standing behind my brother, his arms wrapped around Charlie’s chest, his chin resting on Charlie’s shoulder. Their heads were tilted toward each other so that their temples rested together. Both were grinning. Huge.
The next photo was the two of them walking down the street. Zeke’s hand rested on Charlie’s lower back, and Charlie’s head was turned, only half of his smile visible as he looked up at his mate.
The next photo was of the three of us. We were sitting on a grassy hill, lined up. Charlie behind me with his arms around my shoulders. Zeke behind him, with his arms the same on Charlie’s shoulders. Our heads formed little steps from the left, first mine, then Charlie’s, then Zeke’s. I was caught mid-word, and the other two were laughing. I was pretty sure I remembered setting the timer, and I’d been telling them to smile or else, but I’d misjudged how long I had before the picture was taken.
Then another photo of Zeke and Charlie. Sitting on the same side of the table. Charlie is telling a story, and his hands are out in front of him, mid-movement. Zeke is looking intently over at Charlie, his gaze soft. No smile that time, but more intimate.
Ambrose let out a choked noise, but shook his head when I looked at him, so I kept going. There were probably a hundred photos of the guys in my phone. I’d been so determined to get a picture of everything we saw that I’d bought the camera the week before our trip. I’d had no idea then that it would provide the only proof of my brother’s love story.
None of us had known then how short-lived our trio would be.
Eventually, we got to a short video I’d filmed of Charlie and Zeke. We couldn’t hear their voices, but my breath caught as we watched them move across the screen. They were roughhousing in a swimming pool. Zeke lifted Charlie in the air and tossed him to the side. My brother went under with a huge splash, and Zeke grinned proudly at me. Seconds later, he disappeared under the water because Charlie had yanked his legs out from under him. They came back up with a spray of water, both of them laughing hysterically. Zeke reached out and cupped Charlie’s cheek affectionately. Charlie turned and kissed Zeke’s palm. That’s when the video stopped.