Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
“Jake and Stephen were his bodyguards, but there were usually two others with him. But I see through glamours and never saw anything unusual about them.”
“Wizards can pass completely for human. But they have powerful magic.”
“Like your boss? Xavier?”
“He’s a sorcerer, not a wizard. Wizards have some natural magic but theirs is mostly learned, studied. Xavier’s magic is a part of him, immense, and doesn’t have to be studied—though he always does anyway. So, there is at least one wizard left with Kemper. Come on, let’s go back and let them know. You can help tell us everything about the house where you lived.”
“Let me wash my mouth out first.”
A smile pulled up the corners of Alaric’s lips. “Of course.” Then that smile disappeared. “Ezra, you need to get ready. We’re going to have to go after your ex, and we’ll have to do it tomorrow. With that price on your head, the assassins will be relentless.”
His stomach still all twisted, Ezra could only nod.
Chapter Fifteen
Alaric
Xavier had left with the promise to return in the morning. Bain had gone home to be with Clive. And now, with both Finn and Callan guarding the house, Alaric could try and get some sleep. But instead of drifting off, he could only lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling, because all he could do was think about Ezra. They had some kind of weird connection that pulled at him. Deeply. And touching him had been like experiencing the sort of pleasure he’d only dreamed of before. The man’s skin was like silk, and his unique scent appealed to Alaric on some intense inner level that made him want to just breathe Ezra in. Hold that scent in his lungs. Hell, he’d wanted to put his dick inside Ezra so badly, he’d been blinded to the world around him.
He needed to get Xavier alone and talk to him. Surely the sorcerer, who was one of the oldest beings he knew, would know what was going on. Just how old Xavier was was still a mystery, but they’d all guessed he’d been around a lot longer than Alaric’s parents, who were pretty old themselves. His dad was over a millennium.
Rolling to his side, he punched the pillow and nestled his cheek into it. He forced himself to close his eyes, but all he saw was Ezra and the way he’d looked when watching Alaric do yoga. That sheer lust had transformed him from the mouthy prince into someone with more levels—it had humanized him for Alaric.
And the pride he’d felt knowing he’d caused that response was so out of his realm of normal behavior, it had stunned him. He liked—no, loved—knowing his body caused that reaction in Ezra.
Then there was the kissing. Fuck, nothing in his life had been hotter. And the shared blowjobs, which had been beyond anything he could have dreamed.
He really wanted to talk to Sammy about all this again, but then she’d get all excited and insist he’d found someone again. She believed he needed someone, and a part of him worried she’d finally let herself go if she believed he wouldn’t be alone. That terrified him, but at the same time, he needed to accept that she wasn’t going to be in his life any longer.
A knock on his door made him lift his head. “Yeah?”
“Alaric, can I come in?”
Of course it was Ezra when he was feeling all out of sorts. But he sat up and made sure the covers were over him since he’d slept naked. “Come in.”
The room was too dark to see more than the outline of Ezra as he came into the room and shut the door. He did hear the man turn the lock, which sent his entire body into a state of high alert.
“What do you need? Is something wrong?”
Ezra came to the bed, and finally a bit of moonlight from the open curtains fell on his face. Not enough to really read his expression, though. But Alaric could feel tension radiating from his body. And in the quiet of the night, he heard a sudden, shaky inhale.
Understanding and compassion loosened his shoulders, and he patted the bed. “You’re scared about tomorrow. Sit and tell me what you’re worried about.”
“It’s not that,” Ezra blurted out. “It’s—”
When he didn’t continue, Alaric reached out to grab his arm and tug him onto the bed. That wonderful, musky scent hit his nose, and as always, his body began to respond so he was thankful for the darkness…and the bedding.
“We’re going in with some of the most powerful preternaturals on this planet. Kemper can’t hurt you. We’ll make sure of that.”
“I’m not here about tomorrow, Alaric.” He took another shaky breath, then let it out. “I’m here because I want you. I want you so much I can’t sleep, and though tomorrow is playing in my head some…all I can really think about is this. You and me. I want to know how it feels with us before we do this. Because if something goes wrong, I need to know.” He paused. “I’m rambling, I know. But I just need to know.”