“I know. Your old-man shirt.” I rolled my eyes.
Dorin leaned down until we were nose to nose.
“I. Ain’t. Telling. You. Shit,” he mocked.
“You’re such an ass.” I slumped against the wall dramatically. “I cannot believe you would withhold vital, life-altering information.”
“Cut the woe-is-me act. Don’t be a child. You’re acting like Cezar.”
“You motherfucker, come here, Dorin. DORIN!” I ran after him, but this guy had the audacity to hide behind Cezar. Seriously?
“What’s going on with you two?” Cezar laughed, shielding Dorin from me.
“Whose side are you on?” I asked him, waiting for his response to determine his fate.
“Oh, Petal, you know I’m always on your side,” he replied, tone sinful enough to make Dorin practically gag behind him, “but I still like to play.”
“God, you and your pervertedness.” I laughed.
Cezar’s presence did that to me. Everything softened. Everything felt lighter.
He finished packing our things—bags lined up, jacket ready, that faint excitement he tried and failed to hide gleaming across his face. His mood was contagious.
It had been years since I’d gone anywhere. Not since my parents were alive. I tried to bury those memories, but thistime… it wasn’t as painful. He had this unsettling habit of digging up parts of me I thought were long dead, only to show me they weren’t all tragic.
Some of them were still good.
Chapter 47
ADELINA
Cezar was running around the house like a man possessed. I offered to help him several times, and he dismissed me every single time. Apparently, he wasfineand I was supposed torelax. He was absolutely an over-packer. At least he’d be prepared for the apocalypse.
The anticipation gnawed at me. I wanted answers, but the enthusiasm buzzing off him was too sweet to ruin.
He was adorable.
Annoyingly adorable.
Once everything was ready to go, I waited for his signal to leave. Instead, he stormed back into the room, scooped me up without a word, and—rather than sweep me romantically off my feet—threw me over his shoulder and smacked my ass.
I should’ve been offended. I wasn’t.
He deposited me into the car like I weighed nothing and closed the door with a stupidly handsome grin. I sat there, blinking like an idiot.
The supposed Nycto Reaper was reduced to a flushed mess by an unhinged man.
The first hour of the drive passed quietly. I could feel his nerves radiating off him in waves. We’d been alone plenty oftimes, but this felt different—stepping into a version of our lives that didn’t revolve around killing people. Well. Hopefully.
“Tell me a story,” I said, adjusting my position in the seat to face him.
“A story, huh? All right, I’ve got one for you.” His eyes glinted almost immediately.
The story was a bit sad, but it was also full of hope. It took us a while to get through it, and somehow, everyone in the story had a happily ever after. That never happened in real life, especially ours.
Still… it was beautiful.
“You’re a pretty good storyteller,” I uttered, rubbing his neck.
