Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“You belong to me,” he finally murmured.
“Yes. I do.”
“And so you know, even without a mark on me, I know who I belong to as well.” He tightened his hold, pressing his lips to my forehead.
“Is it me, the guy who was just screaming your name?”
“Yeah,” he said, sounding very smug and happy. “It’s you. And I loved the screaming.”
“I know you did.”
NINE
Years ago, I had a very loud doorbell that sounded like Gothic church bells. Ondine had told me, on a number of occasions, that the sound reminded her of the Inquisition, a time she did not care to be reminded of. Hard to argue that with her. Teague had said that as the church had never been fond of the fae, he wasn’t a fan of the resonant tolling of the bells either. So I’d changed them, of course. Didn’t want people in my life, under my roof, traumatized.
I had updated the chimes many times over the years, and now, like many people, I had a whole security system. When the bell rang, a small monitor on the wall above my nightstand showed the interior of the whole house, and with the push of a few buttons, I could see a beautiful three-sixty view of the back door and the front.
When the bell rang, I untangled myself from Cole, which I didn’t really want to do, got up, and checked to see who was outside.
“Why are you up?” Cole whined, which I found adorable. “Come back here. I’m cold now, and I don’t wanna be cold.”
There was no possible way he was cold under that mound of blankets and with the fire going in the far corner of the room.
“We have company,” I informed him before turning to leave the room.
“No,” he barked.
When I turned back to look at him, he was sitting up, rubbing one eye and scowling at me with the other. “Clothes first, then you can go see who it is.”
Sleep shorts and a T-shirt seemed reasonable to wear to the door to let our visitors in out of the cold, but apparently not. “I can see three troopers from the West Virginia State Police, and two women in suits and trenchcoats.”
“So, cops. Got it.” He threw the covers off and rolled out of bed. He was also wearing sleep shorts, but unlike me, he wasn’t wearing a T-shirt, so his wide chest was bare. “But they can wait until we’re both covered. Tell them through your fancy system that we’ll be right there.”
“I hope that didn’t wake up Evan,” I said worriedly after I spoke to the law enforcement on my porch.
He scoffed. “Wake up Evan. You’re funny.”
I smiled at him. “You’re saying the kid can sleep through a tornado?”
“And me standing over him and yelling at him to get his ass up. Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”
“I find that endearing.”
“You won’t when you’re trying to get his ass to school on time.”
He went first to a basket on the floor, pulled off the sleep shorts, yanked on a pair of briefs, then went to the closet for cargo pants, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a heavy shawl-collar cardigan. He also put on thick wool socks. When he turned to me, he scowled.
“What?”
“Why aren’t you getting dressed?” he asked after a moment.
“I like that sweater.”
He grinned lazily as he walked over and wrapped me in his arms. “It’s old, but if you like it, it’s yours.”
“I like looking at you in it,” I murmured, a bit overwhelmed on this Tuesday morning by what I’d found. It was crazy. There I’d been, living a little life in a tiny place in the wide world, and now all at once, here he was.
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m just…thankful.”
“Me too,” he said hoarsely, clutching me tight. “Now put on clothes. It’s gotta be freezing out there.”
I chuckled, and he let me go, to dart to the bathroom.
“You should brush your teeth while you’re in there,” I called.
“Hell no,” he grumbled. “They’re waking me up, they get morning breath.”
I was smiling as I got dressed.
Cole answered the door while I called Paris and told her I wouldn’t be in because I needed to take a personal day.
“You do? You?” She sounded as though she didn’t believe me.
“Yes.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “I’m telling you now, all of us—and I speak for your entire staff when I say this—will need a full report about needing a personal day and what has changed for you.”
“I don’t think questioning me about my personal life falls within HR guidelines.”
“Well, it’s certainly lucky we don’t have any HR anything, then.”
“I think we should. Don’t you think we should?”
She was quiet a moment. “I’ve worked here for ten years and we’ve never had an issue, so I’m gonna say we just don’t worry about it, and furthermore, when you come into work tomorrow, we’re going to expect all the details.”