I’ve waited eons to feel something like this. And now I have to clean up my sibling’s diplomatic disaster because Renato is simping over some lost little vampire.
My grip tightens around her waist, a possessive knot of shadow and flesh.
The Disciples. The desperate. The divine. Let them try to take her.
I’ll rip the stars from the sky and burn through Laniakea itself before they touch her.
She belongs to me.
And I’m not known for letting go.
Aurora
It’s late. Or maybe it’s early. A cool shadow tendril strokes my cheek, pressing against my jaw, already sensing the shift in my breath.
A whisper threads through the dark, curling around my name. Behind my closed eyes, last night flickers like a silent 8mm film—Ezra’s hands, his shadows, his voice.
When I shiver beneath the covers, smooth, high-thread-count sheets caress my body.
Of course, Ezra tucked me into bed when I passed out from exhaustion.
My sweet, shadow-wrapped Grim.
“Ezra?” I murmur sleepily, my smile growing as his voice wraps around me. Something dark and familiar strokes the back of my hand just before it loops around my finger, then retreats.
“Good morning, little lupine. I’m sorry to wake you, but I did not want to disappear and cause you to worry,” Ezra says softly, running his hands through my hair.
“Why are you disappearing?” I ask, suddenly wide awake.
He’s leaving?
When Ezra leans away from the bed, I notice he’s fully dressed and has his messenger bag slung over his shoulder.
“I have to handle this mess between my sibling and the vampires,” he growls. “I won’t be gone long. Just a few days. Louie should be awake soon, and I know she’ll want your undivided attention. Will you be okay?”
Ezra presses a soft, lingering kiss to my lips before slipping something cool and metallic into my palm.
My phone!Oh, shit … Eve … my dad … work!
“I can see by your gaping mouth that you forgot about your little device. It’s good to know that I rank higher than a cellular phone,” Ezra says with a chuckle.
“Oh, my gosh!” I groan, my stomach swooping like I missed a step.
Fuck. Fuck.Fuck!
I fall back into Ezra’s soft bed and pull the duvet over my head.
“What am I going to tell Eve? How am I going to explain the bruises on my neck? Where I’ve been? I don’t even want to turn it on.”
“I already turned it on, Aurora. Your friend is quite persistent. She even called my cell phone a few times, but alas, I was otherwise engaged.”
Ezra leans over, pulls the duvet down, and then cocks his head, once again making me think of his strange canine form. If he chose that breed to blend in, he chose wrong. I’ve never seen a dog so tall, lithe, and angular in my life.
“I would opt for a version of the truth if I were you. Jameson attacked you. The local handsome yetcreepybookshop owner just happened to be walking by and saved you. You’ve been asleep until this morning. Does that sound like an acceptable story?”
“Creepy?”
Shit, he probably heard Eve call him that earlier this week at The Cardinal.
