Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
I sit all the way up. “Are you—no, you’re not. Are you?”
She arches her eyebrows. “Depends on what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not having sex with you,” I say slowly.
“You’re missing out then.” She pouts, holding my gaze for another few seconds. “Kidding. We both know Lucas would rather you stay horny and alone than move on. Even in death, he wouldn’t want anyone else touching you.” She pats my pillow. “You’re not used to sleeping alone, and this way I can be in the same room as Juliet.”
I’m about to tell her no way in hell, but then I see the emotion she’s holding back. She’s not so much worried about me, but doesn’t want to be alone tonight herself. “Fine. Just one night, okay?”
Eliza smiles then quickly goes stoic again. “Needy human.”
I lay back down, and she rakes her long nails across my back. Her touch is obviously not the same as Lucas’s, yet there is something to not being alone tonight. My eyes fall shut and I think of my husband, heart longing to have him here with me. I want to run my fingers through his hair, which was also slowly growing and getting longer. The ends started to curl, and I loved playing with them, wrapping it around my fingers before leaning in to kiss him. I lay in bed, unable to sleep, until Juliet wakes up.
Eliza gets her and changes her diaper, and then passes her to me so I can nurse her. We make an oddly good co-parenting team. This time, when I get Juliet back asleep, I lay down and fall asleep rather quickly, probably thanks to Eliza scratching my back again. We trade on and off, taking turns getting up with Juliet, until about eight the next morning.
I drag myself out of bed and downstairs, doing tummy-time with Juliet while my coffee brews. I send Evander a note, telling him I’ll be at the Covenstead at some point this morning. He must have been in his office and gotten the note immediately because he replies back right away, saying that he can meet me between classes, and that Tabatha is out with another High Priestess today.
“Shit,” I mumble, since I’d hoped she could watch Juliet while Evander and I got to work on the oracle. I’ll have to keep her here with Eliza, not that Eliza will mind, but dammit, I didn’t want to be away from my baby for long. “I’m not risking you, baby girl,” I tell Juliet, laying down on the floor so my face is by her. She lifts up her head, eyes wide as she looks at me. “Yay! Good girl!” She drops her head down with a little thud, even though she’s on her play mat. She immediately starts crying and I scoop her up to console her.
Gently rocking her, I rest her on my chest and kiss the top of her head. She settles down fairly quickly. “You’re still worn out from crying nonstop last night, huh?” I carry her into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee, feed my familiars and Scarlet, and take Juliet onto the front porch, sitting on the swing while I hold my baby and sip my coffee.
“It’s almost funny,” I tell her. “How my worries have shifted. Before I met your father, my biggest fear was being able to keep paying the mortgage on both my house and the store. I never thought I’d have a sugar daddy, let alone an undead one.” I look out at the front yard, waving to one of the landscapers, who’s pulling in with another truck full of mulch. They’ve been here for an hour already, according to Freya, who still doesn’t trust them. “Well, I did worry about getting kidnapped and forced into a laboratory again, but that’s a story for when you’re older. If I ever tell it to you at all.”
We stay outside a while longer, and Eliza is up and dressed when we go back in. She takes Juliet so I can go upstairs and shower and get dressed, pump enough for a bottle, and then set out for the Covenstead. I’m taking my time saying bye to my baby when Binx lets me know someone pulled in the driveway, and it’s not one of the workers.
He comes with me to the porch, and I recognize Easton’s truck right as Binx places his energy.
“Hey,” I call when he puts the truck in park and gets out. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he tells me and reaches into his pocket. “You left this in the truck.” He holds out a little red box and my heart skips a beat. “It’s from the warehouse, right? I figured you’d need it and I’m on my way to meet another hunter in Indy. Your house was on the way.”