“I wish.”
“Well, now you have all the space you could wish for.” Bennie let out a laugh. “I mean, you have all the living space you could wish for. I highly doubt you’ll have more personal space. Quite the opposite. But I swear, if Eric chains you to the bed, I’ll come and save you.”
“Chances are, if Eric chains me to the bed, it’s because I want him to, and your interference would be both unnecessary and unwelcome.”
Bennie snorted out a laugh, nodding his head at me in a sign of respect. “Dude. That was brutal. I really don’t want to picture you and Eric fucking. That’s gross. He’s like… my brother.”
I laughed, but just for a second. Then my eyes flickered to the door. Eric still hadn’t returned from carrying down the box with the rest of my clothes. Perfect.
“Is he still?” I asked, raising my eyebrow at him. “Because you’re a bit… off.”
Which could very well be due to the fact that his old clan head had tried to get him killed. But I had the creeping suspicion it had more to do with the fact that Eric had gone a bit overboard killing those fledglings.
Right now, I’d really like to have my couch back, because this was a conversation that felt like we should be sitting down for. Maybe I should’ve waited until we were home, sitting on the absolutely not worn-out couch, playingMario Kartor whatever. It would have set a more relaxed scene.
Then again, Eric was never far away, and really, I didn’t want this to be a whole thing.
“Of course he is.” Bennie ran a hand through his hair. “Did he notice?”
I leaned my head from side to side. “Maybe? He doesn’t think it has anything to do with him, just that Ambrose trying to kill us all has really fucked with you.”
“It has. But I’d be lying if I said that watching Eric—proper, uptight, serious Eric—literally tearing someone apart and ripping their head off wasn’t a bit of a mindfuck. But I’ll get over it, I promise.”
“Good.” I nodded at Bennie and patted his shoulder. “If you need to talk about it, I’m here, you know. Like, literally, I won’t be more than a few rooms away.”
Bennie giggled. “You just said that I should be careful about entering Eric’s and your room because I might find you chained to the bed.”
“You did what?”
Eric stood in the open apartment door, one hand resting on the doorknob as he stared at me as if I’d just grown a second head.
Bennie grabbed a box and danced past me, winking at me as he left, leaving me and Eric alone.
That fucker had set me up.
His deflection game was superb.
Eric stalked over to me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me flush against his hard body, his gentle smile a stark contrast to his swift, confident actions.
“Thank you for being there for Bennie,” he whispered, leaning in to press a gentle kiss on my cheek. “I know this whole situation is hitting him harder than he’s letting on.” He shook his head, the smile on his face melancholic. “Today should be filled with joy. You’re moving in with me, and that feels like a dream come true, though I can’t help but think I’d rather you move in of your own volition instead of an asshole like Ambrose forcing your hand.”
I fucking loved this man.
“Don’t look at it like Ambrose forcing my hand. Look at it like… the situation is being sped along a little. Or as me making a logical decision. Me saving money on rent. Me using you for access to your private library.”
The arms around me tightened as Eric lifted me off the ground.
“You know, I highly encourage you to spend all your time in our library. At least you’re safe there.”
I snorted. “You do know that my new job starts soon, right?”
I felt Eric give a brief nod against my head. “Yes. But that’s a problem for another day. For now, I want to go home and celebrate with you and Bennie. If we’re feeling generous, we could invite Aries too.” He paused for a moment, then laughed. “On the other hand… let’s not. Today is just for us. For family.”
I smiled, my heart lifting as I thought about his words.
Our ragtag group of three was a family. I liked that. Family protected each other. And I knew deep in my heart that I’d do everything I possibly could to keep those two vampires—my two vampires—undead.
Epilogue
