Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 139076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 695(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Blinking his eyes several times, he stared at the spot on the bed on his right, trying to pull together his sluggish thoughts. His bed hadn’t been empty when he fell asleep. No, Fox had been there. His warm slender body and soft skin had been pressed up against his own. Gentle, steady breathing had lulled Winter deep into sleep. Fox’s heady scent mixed with the lingering smell of sex had filled his nostrils.
But now he was alone.
Shoving upright, Winter’s eyes darted over to the clock on the nightstand, where it read just a bit after sunset. He would have preferred to wake with Fox still in his arms, but that wasn’t practical. The man had probably woken a couple of hours earlier and gone to find something to eat. Winter couldn’t force him to survive on vampire hours. It wasn’t logical.
His good mood crumpling a little, Winter got to his feet and headed to the bathroom where he quickly took care of necessities before pulling on a pair of dark-blue sleep pants. He wanted to see Fox first, reassure himself that the man was okay, and then he could properly shower.
On a whim, Winter paused outside of his room and instead of going down the stairs, he peeked into the guest room he’d given Fox to find the blankets were rumpled and his clothes from the previous night were piled at the foot of the bed. Winter was sure the bed had been made yesterday and all those clothes had been in Winter’s room.
Fox hadn’t gotten up a couple of hours earlier in search of food.
He’d crawled out of Winter’s bed during the middle of the day and returned to his own bed. He’d rather sleep alone than with Winter.
Unexpected pain and anger surged through him, knocking him an unsteady step backward. Why? Why would he do that? They’d laughed and talked after sex. Fox had been comfortably settled in his arms, warm and protected. The man had obviously found his release with Winter. He’d fucking cleaned it off the man’s stomach and cock before falling asleep.
Why leave?
Was he still worried about being a threat to the Variks? After their passion cooled and Fox had time to think, had he come to regret it all?
Winter clenched his teeth, his anger turning to acid in his veins. He had no desire to be anyone’s regret.
But maybe this new distance was for the best. Once Damon was taken care of, Fox would be returning to his life in Denver. There was no sense in risking some kind of crazy attachment to the man when he was only going to leave.
Silently descending the stairs, he found Fox in the kitchen, placing the milk back into the fridge. A bowl of cereal was on the center island waiting for him.
“Good morning! Er…or rather evening,” Fox said cheerfully. He gave a little shake of his head. “I’m still getting used to that. With the shutters over the windows, my brain just makes wild guesses at what time of day it is.”
“Don’t worry about getting used to it. You’ll be heading to your normal life soon enough,” Winter mumbled.
Fox’s smile disappeared and his brow furrowed. “I figured getting laid would put you in a better mood when you got up today. Are you always a grumpy vampire after sex?”
“I’m not grumpy,” Winter snapped, which only made him sound grumpy, but he ignored it. “And you know quite intimately that I don’t sleep in a coffin.”
Fox’s smile was back in a flash. “Oh, I know.” His voice was the most delicious purr. “That was the best sleep, and I woke up all toasty with a vampire wrapped around me.”
“But you didn’t stay in my bed. You got up and went to your bed to sleep,” Winter accused. The words were out of his mouth before he could catch them, and he was immediately cursing himself. He hadn’t meant to broach the topic like that. He’d just wanted to make sure Fox was okay and not upset by what they did. This…this was a fucking disaster. He should have had a glass of blood prior to allowing words out of his mouth. His brain worked better when he had a drink upon rising.
Fox’s smile slipped a notch and he looked a little confused. “Sure. I thought it would be best if I did. I’m sure we broke enough of your rules last night about keeping things casual and anonymous.”
Shock slammed into Winter’s chest at Fox’s words. “You moved to your bed out of consideration for me?”
“Yeah.” Fox shrugged just one shoulder this time. He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his new jeans, looking adorably awkward. “We agreed sex was just supposed to be fun. Sleeping all day together kind of felt…intimate.”
“How would you have preferred to wake up this morning?”