Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40972 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40972 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Yes. Yes, they were.
But Emory had admitted to enjoying playing the field. He probably didn’t want a soulmate. Had that been what the hint of fear in his eyes was all about? This thought left Julien with mixed feelings that he didn’t know how to untangle. He didn’t know what to say, so he stayed silent.
Emory sat up, the covers shifting. He placed his hand over Julien’s heart. “Tell me exactly what you’re feeling.”
“I can’t because it’s all a jumbled mess. All except for one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
Julien licked his lips. “That I’m fully, one hundred percent, in love with you. It happened fast, I know, but I felt a connection right away that confused the hell out of me. Felt an attraction that confused the hell out of me. As you’ve probably realized, I don’t do confusion very well.”
Emory chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve realized that. I also know that I’ll throw your perfect world into turmoil. I’m not as neat. Not as organized. I worry that I’ll drive you crazy.”
“So you have thought of us together on a more permanent basis?”
“Yeah, Julien, I have.” Emory’s brows drew together, no hint of a smile now. “I’m in love with you, too. And I’m sure that you’re my soulmate. Soulmates come once in a preternatural’s life. I’ve lived over five hundred years without one, and yet I knew pretty fast that you’re mine. I fully accepted it tonight. Just knowing that someone is out to have you killed told me all I needed to know. That I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
Julien reached up and slid his hand into Emory’s hair, cupping the side of his head. “So what do we do about this? Try dating?”
Emory smiled. “We could do that, though I’m not that interested in taking things slowly.”
“We haven’t so far,” Julien pointed out. “But we need a plan.”
“A plan?”
“Yes. It’s time I really dig into all the information I’ve gathered and figure out what’s going on. Who is trying to kill me.”
“So put the dating on hold?”
He frowned. “Hell, no. I want you, Emory Sterling. I want us together in bed at night and having sex as often as we can. I wish I didn’t have to worry about what’s going on outside of just us, but I do. The plan is so I can get us back to living a regular life. Only it will now be together.”
Emory stared at him for long moments before he smiled again. “My first impression of you was all wrong.”
“And what was that?”
“Reserved. Someone who doesn’t share feelings easily.”
“No, you were right. I’ve never done this before and was actually called cold and unfeeling. You bring out a different side to me.”
“Maybe that side’s been there all along.”
Julien pulled Emory’s head down and softly kissed him before whispering, “Or maybe I just needed the right person to bring it out.”
Chapter Nineteen
Emory
Julien’s words crashed open a wall that had been inside Emory since his wings had been clipped. He sat up and stared down at the man who had sneakily slipped past his defenses with his surprising tender side and old wounds that had made him need safety above all else. Emory wanted to give him that safety, but he also wanted to give him something more.
Himself. Fully.
He got out of the bed, flipped on a lamp, and took off the briefs he’d planned to sleep in, the whole time meeting Julien’s eyes. Then he slowly let out his wings. He stood there, naked and completely himself, letting Julien truly see him, and the awe that filled Julien’s beautiful blue eyes made him flutter his wings. The exhaustion that had been shadowing Julien’s face had disappeared, desire blowing out his pupils, a flush coloring his cheeks. He sat up and lifted his hips to slide his pajama pants down before surprising Emory when he merely tossed them to the side of the bed.
Then he held out his hand.
Emory walked to him and straddled his lap.
“I thought you didn’t fuck with your wings out,” Julien murmured as his hands went around Emory to stroke down his wings.
Emory shivered, loving this man’s hands on him. All of him. “Having them clipped destroyed something inside me. It’s hard to explain but they became more of an extension of me rather than a part of me. I loved soaring through the sky. Loved feeling the wind against them. Loved feeling…whole. I haven’t felt that way in so long, but you, Julien, make me feel whole. I want you to see the true me, broken and all.”
“I don’t see broken,” Julien whispered. “I see a gorgeous angel, and these wings are a beautiful part of who you fully are. You’re stunning—inside and out. I want to know the whole you, and we’re going to have many years to learn everything there is about each other. But I also want you to know that if you’re more comfortable fucking without them, I’m okay with that, too.”