Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“I didn’t say anything.”
“No, your face was speaking for you.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Who knows,” she replied with a shrug. “They lost custody when I was five and dropped off the face of the earth.”
“You want me to find them for you?”
“Jesus, no.” She paused. “Wait, you can do that?”
“Money helps.”
“I fucking knew you were loaded.”
I couldn’t stop the chuckle that came out of my mouth.
“Dear God,” Reese murmured. “Laughing makes you more attractive. How is that possible? Do it again.”
“Ha.”
“No, laugh. Do it.”
“I can’t laugh on command.”
“Fine, I’ll tell you a joke.” She hummed and tapped her finger on her chin. “Okay, got one. What does one traffic light say to the other traffic light?” She paused. “Stop looking at me. I’m changing.”
“Was that supposed to be funny?” I asked, my lips twitching.
“It’s hilarious!”
“To a five-year-old.”
“I don’t even know any five-year-olds,” she grumbled.
“No nieces or nephews?”
“No siblings, period,” she said with a snort. “I do have Rena. She’s my best friend. We’re practically sisters. She doesn’t have any kids yet.”
“The magazine reader?”
“Oh, yeah. She loves that shit. Says she wants a Vampire of her very own.” She let out a huff of laughter. “Man, she’s gonna be pissed. Do you have any siblings?”
“Four—three brothers.”
“You don’t know how many brothers you have?” she asked dubiously.
“Had four,” I replied quietly. “Three now.”
“Oh,” she breathed. “I’m sorry.”
I nodded. The reminder of Zeke was like a splash of cold water.
“Are you close with them?” Reese asked cautiously. “I always wondered what having siblings would be like.”
“Yeah, we’re close.”
“That’s cool.”
The car was quiet for a while. I wasn’t sure what Reese was thinking about, but I couldn’t get over the fact that Zeke would’ve loved her. Their personalities were startlingly similar now that I thought about it. The same sharp tongue, the same compulsion to get the last word, the same ability to irritate me.
“Wait, where are we going?” Reese asked, leaning forward as I pulled onto my driveway. “This isn’t a restaurant.”
“Our place.”
“What do you mean, our? It’s not my place.”
“My family’s.”
“You’re taking me to your parents’ house?”
“Calm down.”
“You still live with your parents?” Her voice rose with each word.
“Jesus, calm down.”
“I didn’t agree to this.”
“We’re already here.”
“No,” she snarled. “Take me back.”
“They know we’re here,” I said, tightening my hand on her thigh. “At least say hello.”
“Mother of God,” Reese breathed as we pulled up in front of the house. “This place is fucking massive.”
“Yes.”
“No wonder you still live here,” she mused, leaning down to see better. “I’d never move out either.”
“I have a fucking apartment to myself,” I muttered defensively. “It’s not like I’m still in my childhood bedroom.”
I didn’t know why I felt defensive. Most adult Vampires lived with their parents. Some moved out when they were mated, but even then, there were a lot who stayed put. It was a community, more than anything. When you lived in a world where those who understood your life were few and far between, you tended to stick close to the ones who did.
“I can’t go in there,” Reese whispered, trapping my hand between her thighs as she clenched them. “I can’t—” She looked at me worriedly. “It’s getting bad again.”
“Hurts?” I asked quietly.
“Like I’m going to come out of my skin.”
“You hid it pretty well.”
“I was trying to ignore it.”
I nodded. Instead of hitting the button to open the garage, I circled back around and pulled back down the long driveway.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Reese asked as I found a spot in the grass halfway to the main road.
“You’ve got two options,” I said, throwing the car in park. “You can stick it out until we’ve made it through introductions and dinner.”
Reese groaned.
“Or I can satisfy it here.”
“Someone could see us.”
“No one’s going to see us.”
“What if someone drives up?”
“They won’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
“What’s your choice?” I asked, refusing to keep going back and forth.
Reese bit her bottom lip and glanced out the windows. “Here.”
“Good.”
I got out and rounded the hood before she could change her mind.
“What, you mean out in the open?” she asked as I opened her door. “This is dumb. This—”
She wasn’t resisting. Her mouth might be going a million miles an hour, but she was pliant as I helped her out of the car and ushered her toward the trunk.
“No one will see us,” I assured her, spinning her toward the car. My hands were at the waistband of her jeans in a moment, and they were so loose that they fell to her ankles as soon as I’d unbuttoned them.
Our fingers tangled as we shoved at her underwear. I held back a laugh at the sight of them. Boxer briefs. Almost an exact match to the ones I was wearing. This woman was so fucking wrong for me.
I swallowed hard as Reese bent over the trunk, her back arching as she pressed backward against my hips.