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)
“It’s not—” I looked over my shoulder to make sure that Beau hadn’t come back yet. “I didn’t realize what it was, I guess. It’s not, like, sexual. Not really. It’s just the need to be near the other person, like an ache.” I huffed in frustration. “I’m not explaining it right.”
“That’s pretty accurate,” Mattie confirmed, nodding. “It’s the urge to be close to your mate, in whatever form that takes. Even just holding Erik’s hand eases it.”
“You’re still dealing with it?” I asked in shock.
“It’s not how it was in the beginning,” she assured me. “But we can’t be apart for long, even after all these years.”
I was just about to ask just how long they’d been together when the sound of Erik’s voice barreled through the wall.
“This is not how I raised you,” he shouted. “How dare you treat your mate the way you’ve treated her tonight? You’ve been given a gift, Bjorn.”
“More like a fucking curse,” Beau’s voice filtered through, making me burn with shame.
I curled my hands into fists on my lap.
“That sweet girl is doing everything she can to make a good impression, and you’ve sat there glowering at her from the moment you walked into the room.”
“She wouldn’t know how to make a good impression if it slapped her in the face.”
I focused on breathing. In through my nose and out through my mouth. I stared at the pie in front of me—some kind of berry—so I didn’t accidentally meet anyone’s eyes.
“If you ever put your hands on her again the way you did tonight—”
“I didn’t hurt her! I wouldn’t fucking hurt her!”
“If you ever put your hands on her in anything but a loving manner, I will take you out of this world,” Erik roared.
“Nice,” Beau spat back derisively.
“Better for her to live a human’s lifespan loved than a Vampire’s lifespan without it,” Erik replied, his voice lowering. “You, my most selfless son, have lost your way. You’ve given up too much, and it’s twisted you—”
“This conversation is over.”
“It’s over when I say it is.”
“I’ll make it work,” Beau yelled, cutting him off. “I’ll make it fucking work. I have no other choice, do I? I’ll deal with her inability to behave appropriately, and I’ll ignore the sarcasm that she can’t seem to contain and the self-confidence that seems to spring from nowhere.”
I really hoped that no one noticed the shaky hiccup that burst from my throat. They would be done soon. He’d stop speaking soon. Then he could take me home, and I could be by myself for a minute. It wasn’t as if I liked him either. He was a pompous asshole with absolutely no sense of humor. I’d had better. I’d had loads better. Other men fucking loved me. I’d never been short on partners. This was a Beau problem—it wasn’t a Reese problem. Reese was just fine exactly how she was.
“I’ll keep my touches loving, and I’ll fuck her—”
Beau’s words were cut off with a loud thud, and Mattie was instantly out of her chair and rounding the table.
“Stay here,” she ordered the boys, pointing at them without even looking at them.
I couldn’t hear what she said to Beau and Erik. She kept her voice too low, but less than thirty seconds later, she came back into the room. Erik was right behind her.
“I apologize,” he said kindly, his eyes on me. “I was unaware you could hear us.”
“You were being kind of loud,” I joked.
He dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “Vampire hearing is much better than that of humans. I always assume my family can hear, but I underestimated yours.”
“No worries,” I replied, shooting him an uncomfortable smile.
“Beau will be right in,” Mattie said, patting my shoulder as she passed my seat. “If you want to finish your pie before he gets here.”
“I’m pretty full,” I replied.
When Beau walked in a few moments later, it took every piece of willpower not to jump up from my seat and run toward the garage door. I wanted to get out of there more than anything.
“What?” Beau barked.
My head snapped up to find him staring at Daniel.
“You’re a fucking asshole,” Daniel replied, pushing up from his seat.
“Enough,” Erik ordered, making Daniel drop back down again.
“Sorry, Danny, this one’s taken,” Beau said snidely, setting his hand on the back of my chair.
“Could’ve fooled me,” his brother muttered. “Amazing how one person can fuck up the same thing twice.”
I jerked in confusion, my gaze moving back and forth between them. What the hell was Daniel talking about?
“Let’s go, Reese,” Beau ordered. He didn’t reach for me or even look at me as he said it.
“Thank you for dinner,” I said, my voice barely wobbling as I looked at Mattie and Erik.
“Absolutely,” Mattie replied.
“It was nice meeting all of you.”
As I stood, Erik stood with me.