Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“Better mine than yours. You never know how your roses are going to react to the appearance of all these witches.” Nolan leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Besides, this is a nice thank-you. I think the witches could use a new friend, considering what’s coming.”
The fae…
Chapter 10
Nolan Banks
Nolan grinned as he lounged in his chair, ten feet away from a crackling fire. There were about twenty witches in his yard, drinking and laughing. Someone had made a dip. Someone else had brought all the ingredients for s’mores, which were pretty good with gin. It was his first impromptu party at his house.
He’d never been a social person, had never had a large circle of friends. He was more the type to have one or two close friends.
But now happy people surrounded him.
Not just any people, though. Witches.
Real fucking witches.
Since they’d arrived at his house, he’d seen both drinks and books floating through the air as if summoned and carried by their own wings. The fire in the pit didn’t require kindling or a match. After they settled the logs, the fire simply burst into existence. Another witch grew an entire tree so she could hang a swing from one of the sturdy branches.
Amid all this magic happening, no one blinked an eye at it, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He was grateful for the tall privacy fence lining his property, making it harder for his nosy neighbors to see what was happening.
He lifted his plastic cup at Sky as he stepped out of the house with another small group of witches. Mad had been teasing Sky about his dangerous roses when another witch overheard. She’d demanded to see these unique roses, which led to Sky taking a group of women over to his front yard to inspect his strange and unique guard-dog flowers.
Nolan pushed to his feet and wandered over to meet Sky. His exhausted necromancer boyfriend wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned into him.
“Did they like your bloodthirsty roses?” Nolan teased.
Sky lifted his head and glared at Nolan. “They are not bloodthirsty. They’re misunderstood. And yes, they loved my roses,” he finished with a wide, proud grin. “I have three requests for roses just like them, which is going to be tricky.” Sky leaned up on the tips of his toes and whispered, “I kind of made them by accident.”
Nolan tossed his head back and laughed. Of course he had.
“But I think I know how to replicate what I did.”
“Are you going to give them your pickle recipe as well?” Nolan prodded.
“I have to! It’s the only way to control them, and the pickles make my babies so happy.”
“You were gone a long time,” Nolan commented, hoping it didn’t come off sounding needy or that he was too worried about him.
Sky rolled his eyes and rested his head on Nolan’s chest. “Well, the roses got us talking about plants, so naturally I had to show them what I had in the backyard as well. Nothing as interesting as the roses, but still good spell-casting plants, which got me some orders for trimmings. And then Grammy saw us, so she had to come out and say hi.”
And that explained why they’d been gone so long.
The necromancer tipped his head up and smirked. “Does this mean that you missed me?”
“My boyfriend is very good at finding trouble. I like to keep my eye on him.”
As expected, Sky’s expression lit up. “Boyfriend, huh?”
“Definitely. You need someone to boss you around. Make sure you’re eating right and staying safe. A mere neighbor can’t do that. It was time I upgraded myself to boyfriend. Plus, we owe each other so many dates after what’s happened; it’s easier to say that we’re officially a couple.”
“Really?” Sky scoffed. “Eating right? This from the man who knows most of the local fast-food workers by name. And staying safe? The first time we had a proper conversation, you were picking a fight with a vampire.”
Nolan shrugged, determined to brazen this nonsense out. “All right. If you don’t think we should be a couple, I’m fine with—”
“No! No! No! I didn’t say that!” Sky slammed into his chest, arms wrapping him so tight Nolan could barely draw air into his lungs. “We are dating. We are now the most adorable couple in all the Hartford metro area.”
Chuckling, Nolan hugged Sky, loving the feel of this crazy man in his arms. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Skylar. I’m glad you were there to save my ass at Phoenix.”
“Well, it’s such a sexy ass. Someone needed to save it,” Sky quipped. He resettled his head on Nolan’s chest, but lifted it again, frowning. “What’s that?”
“What?”
Sky shifted out of his arms and reached for the stone hidden under his jacket.