Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“What are you doing?” Xavier asks, taking his eyes off the road to look at me. We’re driving home and this time, Antonio and Devon are in the backseat.
“This makes it not as bad.” I shrug. “Or so I’ve heard.”
“It’s true,” Devon says. “Itching makes the histamine reaction worse. Huh, I just realized I’ll never get another bug bite again.”
“Not fair,” Antonio laughs.
Silence falls over us and I fight the urge to text Marie. The way she just stood there is more than a little unnerving. The fancy hotel she’s at isn’t far from here. Is it out of the question she could be out and about, getting late night munchies or just going for a walk?
A part of me questions if that was actually her at all. The two times I’ve seen her, she’s been wearing long dresses that swirl around her feet when she walks. The hoodie and jeans don’t fit her vibe, but there are times when I look like Adam Sandler and times Mabel dresses me and I look like a princess.
And both looks feel fitting at the time.
I start feeling anxious as I run through all the possible scenarios in my head. The best one is that Marie heard the sirens and stepped outside to be nosey, just like a bunch of other people did. The entire situation was aired on live TV, and anything with Xavier is trending on social media at the moment.
Charlotte has always had a nice nightlife, and it’s been revived even more since so many vampires live here now. There’s stuff to do at all hours of the night. Maybe when she’s not wearing fairytale princess gowns and writing about century-old woodwork, Marie is getting down at the club?
It’s possible, sure, but doesn’t seem that likely. And I hate the more likely scenario that’s going through my head, which is that this random fight between a couple who had come to the city to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary was caused by witchcraft.
“Are these events usually this eventful?” Antonio asks when we finally pull into the driveway.
“They have been since Wren started coming with,” Xavier states. I look at him and smile, but he doesn’t so much as cast his eyes in my direction. Swallowing the tiny bit of hurt that rises in my chest, I regret lying to him all over again.
Even more so if it turns out Marie can’t be trusted.
We go into the house and I go right upstairs to shower and change. Expecting Xavier to join me in the shower as usual, I take a longer time than I normally would. He doesn’t come in, which causes another bad feeling to start to form. God, I really need therapy.
I check my phone as soon as I’m out of the shower but have no texts from Marie. Maybe it wasn’t her. I’ve only seen her twice; it would be easy to mistake someone who looks like her for her, right? It’s dark and she was all the way across the street and—I’m gaslighting myself.
I know what I saw.
Wrapping my hair up in the towel, I sink into bed , burying myself under the covers. I distract myself with doomscrolling and maybe half an hour later, Xavier comes into the room.
“Are you mad at me?” I rush out because the thought of him being mad scares me almost more than facing the demon alone.
“I’m not mad.”
“You’re disappointed?” I raise my eyebrows.
“No.” He takes off his suit jacket and belt and sits on the edge of the bed, hand going to my thigh.“I can’t protect you if you’re not honest with me.”
“I don’t always need protecting.”
“Your track record says otherwise.”
I purse my lips, staring at him. “I’m quite capable. I’ve told you that before.”
“You have, and you have proven yourself to be. But you’re a human, Wren. That alone makes you much more vulnerable than me.” He’s not saying it to be insulting or belittling, but to state the fact. And he’s right. He is immortal. He can take a literal bullet to the chest and heal within seconds. He won’t get sick, never has to worry about stepping funny off a curb and rolling his ankle, and doesn’t even get annoying mosquito bites. “You have magic, and that makes you powerful. But it doesn’t make me not worry about you.”
The words come out of his mouth a little awkwardly. He’s never felt this way about anyone before and vampires are protective and possessive by nature. Add that to his already domineering personality, and stepping back and letting me go into the metaphorical forest alone isn’t something that will ever come naturally to Xavier.
Which I like, of course. There’s nothing less attractive than a man who doesn’t know how to properly lead, allowing me to be myself but not overstepping into the world of being controlling.