Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“And Beck got the darkness.” How isolating would that be? I know how it feels to be the one not chosen, to feel like I’m not good enough. What would it have been like to grow up with another me, one who was good enough?
Yet Beck seems to love his brother. That says something about him.
The door comes open and Beck is there, a big basket in his hands. He steps inside the brugh, and it suddenly seems so much smaller. “Sorry I took so long. I went into the village to check on a couple of our elderly folk. Is he all right?”
He might have gotten the dark side of the soul he shares with his brother, but there’s still kindness in him. “I combed out his hair and he fell asleep.”
Beck’s eyes widen. “You…he…” He seems to force himself to calm down. “Of course you did, love. That was kind of you. I’ll be in the kitchen. We’ll eat in a bit.”
He strides out of the small room.
I’m confused again and look to the vampire. “What did I do wrong now?”
Dante bites back a laugh. “The hair thing. It’s a very intimate act for the Fae. It’s something that’s only performed between lovers. Beck is jealous since he hasn’t had you brush his hair yet.”
“Well, Beck already got to fuck her so he’s still ahead,” Cian murmurs and tightens his arms around me like he won’t ever let me go.
He falls silent again, and I wonder what kind of trouble I’m in now.
Chapter Sixteen
Beck
I settle back in my chair after suppertime with a sense of peace I haven’t felt in a long time. The fire blazes in front of me, filling the cottage with warmth. Meg rocks in the chair beside me.
Things feel right.
“I didn’t know about the hair thing,” she says quietly, her gaze on the fire. “I didn’t know it was an intimacy.”
I’m not handling this as well as I should. When I walked in earlier, I was struck by how sweet she looked with Cian sleeping, his head on her lap. I felt a deep sense of gratitude because I knew I was going to get my brother back and I would have Meg to thank for it.
And then I realized that bastard got her to comb out his hair. I hadn’t been able to help the tiny flare of jealousy. I should have hidden it better. “I was being an ass about it. Don’t think we’re going to treat you like two dogs fighting over a bone.”
She turns her head slightly, and a curious smile curves up her lips. “You really think me combing your hair is erotic?”
She’s lovely in the firelight. She’s lovely at any time, but there’s something intimate about sitting here with her. Everything is going to be fine once she bonds with Cian. Once she bridges the parts of our soul, perhaps I won’t be so deviant. Perhaps I can be the man she needs me to be. “I find it highly erotic, and I’ll demand it of you, wife.”
Maybe I won’t need to use the word demand so often.
She sits back. “I think I can handle it, husband.”
I like hearing her use that word. I mean to be a good one to her. Better than that pathetic first husband she found on the Earth plane. “I think you can, too. You handled Cian well.”
She seemed perfectly content to sit in the living room while Cian slept. I cooked dinner while Dante entertained Meg with stories about how the Vampire plane works. Her laughter had been music, playing through the brugh and turning it into a home.
It’s everything I want. My family, content and happy.
“What’s wrong with him?” Meg asks.
“What’s wrong with Cian? The same thing that was wrong with me,” I reply quietly. “He’s out of balance. He needed to be bonded five years ago. For me, it came out as rage. For Cian, he’s dissolving into chaos. It’s worse than I thought. He’s better when I’m around, you see. I had no idea he was having episodes where he forgot years of our lives.”
Dante was the one to tell me that bit of news. Right after dinner, he pulled me aside for a long discussion. He explained that Cian barely remembered where he was when Dante spoke to him the night before. Cian was confused and slightly scared when Dante awakened him. The vampire had to explain the situation to Ci every time he woke.
“The sooner you bond with him, the better. You need tonight to rest, but tomorrow it should be done,” I say.
After the events earlier in the day and the arduous travel, Meg needs to rest. The bonding can be intense. I know what Dante told me should make me worried. Cian is pretty far gone and that could put Meg in danger, but then I remember how lovingly Ci wrapped himself around her before heading off to bed. Cian might not remember where he is, but he knows how important Meg is. He won’t hurt her. He’ll shut it down if he can’t control himself.