Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Theo’s eyes narrow, knowing Xavier is passing Colin off on him, but he doesn’t miss a beat. Xavier and I are able to sneak away, with Devon trailing behind us. We make it halfway across the room when another vampire flags Xavier down.
“I will handle this, darling,” he tells me, lips close to his ear. “Not everyone deserves to be in your presence.”
Taking it as a nice way of saying not everyone can handle being around a witch, I nod. He lets go of my hand and looks Devon in the eyes. “Do not harm her,” he says through gritted teeth before kissing me and walking off.
“So, this is what VC meetings look like,” Devon says, pulling his arms close to his body. He’s dressed in a suit, with his hair swept back. He used to have a slight flush to his cheeks that I never noticed until it was gone.
“Yeah. It’s kinda boring.”
He chuckles. “And this whole time I thought I was missing out.”
A young vampire who I met at my last VC meeting comes over to say hi and wants to take a picture for her Instagram stories. We make awkward small talk for a few minutes before she leaves. Exhaling, I move over to a window overlooking the city. We don’t have as good of a view as last time, but I welcome the distraction of watching cars drive by beneath us.
Devon, not knowing what else to do, follows me. He’s looking around and steps back, elbow knocking into my side.
“Sorry,” he says, realizing he bumped into me.
“It’s okay,” I automatically reply.
“Really, Wren, I am sorry.” His eyes meet mine and I know he’s not talking about accidentally nudging me.
“I am too,” I say slowly. “I told them you didn’t want…you didn’t want things to go the way they did...that it was your last request not to…to be changed.”
“It was? Why would I say that?” His brows push together and he shakes his head. “I don’t remember the last couple hours before, uh, the event.”
“You don’t?” My eyes widen as a bad feeling runs down my spine. I look around, knowing we need to find a quiet place to talk, which is going to be hard in a room full of vampires with supernatural hearing. “You came to see me at work,” I press and wait a beat to see if he’s following.
“I know what happened as far as the excitement in the parking lot. Xavier filled me in.”
“But you don’t remember why you were there?”
“No. The last thing I remember was being told Mabel was missing and you came home and had a plan to find her and you were holding a sweater or something.”
The trauma from being shot and almost dying could be responsible for his memory lapse. Maybe? Or could it be from being turned? I don’t know, and I suppose it doesn’t matter why Devon can’t remember.
Whatever he was going to tell me was bad—like get out of town now bad. Pair that with Marcus Henry’s weird offer to also get me out of town… My intuition has been one of my most powerful tools, and also one I’ve been discouraged from using. But right now, there’s no denying that something terrible is going to happen.
And I’m not talking about the Malus family trying to get revenge.
Chapter
Thirteen
“There’s a bar downstairs,” I tell Xavier, turning my head so I can look into his gorgeous eyes. The second he looks at me, my breath hitches in my chest. It wasn’t that long ago I couldn’t stand the sight of him. Now, being near him brings me an equal sense of excitement and comfort. “I think maybe it would be a good idea if I went down and got some junk food and had a drink—or five—before the actual meeting starts.” I put my hand on his chest before he can go into his noble my wife speech. “Sometimes knowing when to sit quietly in the background is the smartest thing.”
His jaw tenses, and I know he agrees but doesn’t want to admit it.
“And I’m hungry.”
“Well, in that case,” he starts and reaches into his jacket, pulling out his wallet. “You should eat.”
“Thank you.”
He kisses me, hands going to my waist as he dips me back. I slip a hand around his shoulders as his tongue pushes into my mouth, unable to help the soft moan that escapes my lips. I’m fully aware we are in a room full of people and those people have been glaring at me since the moment I walked in.
“I’ll meet you there when we’re done,” he whispers after he stands me back upright. I let my hand slide down his back, eyes lingering on his.
“Okay,” I breathe and lean in, kissing him once more. My heart swells in my chest and for the first time, I don’t try to quell the feeling. Despite my protests that I’m capable on my own, Xavier walks me to the elevator, seeing that I’m safe inside.