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)
Meg’s eyes are suspiciously bright as she nods.
“You feel fine?” I ask, looking my younger brother over.
“I feel fantastic,” Cian replies seriously. “The bond, goddess, Beck, it’s amazing. She’s always with me. I can sense her moods when she’s not hiding them. She’s perfect.”
Cian looks back at our wife, and she practically glows under his praise. It makes me remember the errand I went on before leaving the Vampire plane. I reach down into my pack and pull out the gift I bought for our wife.
“I got you a present, Meggie,” I say, holding it out to her.
I feel like an idiot standing there hoping she likes what I brought her. It takes her a moment, but finally she accepts the small package from me and looks it over.
“This is A Tale of Two Cities,” she says, looking at the old book with a growing smile. “Is it a vampire version? Does Sydney Carton eat the French Revolutionaries at the end? That would be cool.”
I frown and shake my head. Sometimes I don’t understand her humor. “No. It’s from the human plane. They promised me it was very rare. I thought you would like having something from your home. You said you liked books.”
She touches the cover reverently. “This is one of my favorite books.”
She stops, some unnamed emotion choking her words. Cian reaches out and tangles his hand with hers. It annoys me that Cian can calm her. It’s a selfish feeling and I try to ignore it.
“Do you like it?” I searched for hours trying to find something to remind her of the world she came from. “I could get something else if it displeases you.”
She shakes her head. “No, Beck, I appreciate it very much. It’s a lovely gift.” She sighs as though making a decision. “Thank you.”
She walks up and kisses me on the cheek.
It’s a start. My hands circle her waist. I hold her to me for a precious moment. I look down at her uncertain eyes and choose to be bold. I cup her face while I kiss her roughly. “I missed you, wife.”
She’s breathless when I let her go. Her hands shake slightly as she forces herself to back away. “I should go start dinner. I’ll put this up before I begin.”
She practically runs from the room. Something deep inside me eases. She still wants me physically. Everything will be all right. I can ease us into the relationship we both want.
“Damn it,” Cian says, slapping me on the back. “Why do you think I started the sex play early this evening, brother? I was trying to avoid Meggie’s cooking. Don’t get me wrong. The woman can make a damn fine cookie, but the rest of it is terrible. I’m dying here. I was going to exhaust her then slink off to Flanna’s and beg her to feed me.”
“It can’t possibly be that bad,” I say, shaking my head at my brother’s dramatics.
“Oh, it can,” Cian assures me.
And now I remember I have a bone to pick with my brother. I was distracted by Meggie’s breasts. “Why slink off to Flanna’s when there’s an entire festival going on in the village?”
My brother has the grace to wince. “We should probably talk about that.”
“Don’t feed me some line of crap about wanting the villagers to accept Meg,” Beck replied, cutting off that avenue of escape. “Did you think for one minute about how this affects things? Did you consider that Torin will know about her now?”
Cian waves me off. “Torin knew about her the minute you stepped into that arena. If I let you hide her, people will think we are ashamed of her.”
“Why does it matter?” I shoot back. “Who cares what people think as long as she’s safe?”
Cian’s gray eyes settle into a stubborn stare. “If you’re so fired up about keeping her safe, then let me take her to the Vampire plane. She’ll be perfectly safe with the Dellacourts. I’ll get a job at the university. Problem solved. You’ll never have to worry about either of us again.”
“I’m not letting you take her anywhere,” I promise, feeling a bit savage. Does Cian think he can waltz off with our wife? “As far as I can tell, you’ve been a bad influence on her.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Cian is obviously feeling a bit of my restless anger.
“It means she’s getting quite the reputation in town,” I explain. “Have you been letting her run wild? She’s met with goblins? She’s forcing the young people to do her bidding? This isn’t the way we run this village, Ci.”
Cian’s face twists in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about our wife taking whatever she wants,” I say, trying to keep my voice low. “Those are new clothes. I can tell. As we didn’t have a coin to our name when I left, I’m wondering where she got them.”