Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
“I’m not worried about that.”
“I am!”
Sky covered both of Nolan’s hands with one of his before he could clap at him again. “Then tell me what’s going on. How did you fuck up? Who’s the man who keeps bothering you?”
When Nolan dropped his head in his hands, his forehead was resting on the back of Sky’s hand. There was something so calming about being able to touch him. “His name is Christoph…Christoph Sandor. He’s the head of the Sandor Clan.”
“Oh, that is bad,” Sky whispered.
Nolan turned his head to look at the witch beside him, and he found Sky’s lips parted slightly in an O and his eyes staring off at some distant point. He had a feeling that Christoph wasn’t the type to be handed the role of vampire clan leader. That was likely to be something a vampire earned from being the strongest and possibly the most deadly. Sky had handled Colette and Aldo easily enough. Even some of their bodyguards. But a vampire clan leader had to be a different matter altogether.
“Okay…not good,” Sky continued, his voice low and steady, as if even he were fighting to stay calm. “But I don’t understand how he could get into your house with the wards I put in place. Those bastards would stop any vampire—clan leaders or regular scrub. Did he say something to convince you to let him in? Did he threaten my life?”
Nolan gave a small, single nod. “But that wasn’t how he got in.” He pulled one hand free of Sky’s grip and grabbed the neck of his hoodie, pulling it aside. Sky leaned forward to get a better view of Nolan’s throat. Nolan didn’t need to see Sky’s reaction. The witch’s gasp cut through the silence of the room like a knife.
“He bit you!” Sky launched to his feet, looming over Nolan. His entire body was trembling, with his hands balled into fists at his sides. “That fucking bastard stuck his fangs in you? I’m going to turn him into a mosquito and squash him with a fly swatter!” Nolan looked up at his flushed face and winced when Sky turned his gaze on him. “But how?”
“Tonight wasn’t the first time. He bit me for the first time…at that nightclub, Phoenix.”
Sky jerked a full step away from Nolan, his mouth hanging open. Nolan could see the software in Sky’s mind had frozen as it tried to process that new bit of data. His brain rebooted and the witch held his hands out toward him. “Nolan Walter Banks! How could you not tell me?” he screeched.
But now it was Nolan’s turn to stumble. Walter?
“What did you call me?” Nolan asked.
“Walter.” Sky paced away, both of his hands shoved into his hair as he continued to mutter under his breath to himself.
“That’s not my middle name.”
Sky swung to face him, eyes wide. His hands hung in the air, opening and closing as if he wanted to grab Nolan and shake him. “I’m sure it’s not. I don’t know your middle name. We haven’t gotten to that part yet, but I had to call you something. Oh, my fucking God! Nolan! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nolan jumped to his feet. “Because that first night was confusing enough with the vampires, and then there’s this witch who lives across the street from me and has these scary minions. I didn’t know what the hell was going on!”
“But after?”
His arms dropped to his sides with a slap, and Nolan’s shoulders slumped. “After…my memory was so hazy about that night. I didn’t really remember it happening until Christoph stopped by the night after we sent Owen away. I just had this feeling…of shame. And embarrassment. I…I was afraid to tell you. Now he keeps calling me his pet.”
Sky was across the room in a flash, wrapping his arms tightly around Nolan. “No, baby. No. You have nothing to feel ashamed about. I’ve got you. This isn’t your fault at all. When you went to Phoenix, you had no clue as to what you were facing.”
Nolan’s arms automatically closed on Sky, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he rested his head against Sky’s. His throat tightened so that he could barely swallow, let alone get out more words. The crack in his chest eased, the pain receded slightly. God, he hadn’t realized he’d needed a hug so badly.
“But I knew he was dealing with vampires…” Nolan whispered into Sky’s soft, golden hair.
“That doesn’t count for shit.” Sky squeezed him even tighter. “Most of what you’ve read in books and watched in movies about vampires is wrong. You didn’t know what you were truly facing.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away.”
Sky released him to cup his cheeks with both hands. “No, you were right. That first night was too much. You didn’t know if you could trust me. The important thing is that you tell me these things right away. That you know now you can trust me with anything. I’ll always be there to help you.”