Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Sky beamed at him. “Not at all.”
The ride to the Hartford airport was absolutely silent, tension thickening the air until it was nearly choking. Owen pouted in the back seat, glaring occasionally at Sky, but every time Sky grinned at him in the rearview mirror, Owen paled and turned his head to the window.
At the airport, Sky parked in short-term parking and walked the brothers inside. True to his word, Nolan went up to the ticket counter and purchased the first open coach seat he could find. It was Owen’s good luck that it turned out to be a flight to Arizona. Not a terrible place to make a fresh start. At least the weather was warm. Ticket in hand, Nolan pulled out a thousand dollars from an ATM and escorted his older brother to security.
They didn’t say good-bye or even hug. The two brothers glared at each other for a second before Owen turned and wove his way through the empty lane to the security officer. It was only when Owen cleared security and disappeared into the terminal that Nolan’s shoulders slumped.
“I hope he takes this chance to make a new beginning.” Nolan gave a strangled laugh. “He probably won’t.”
Sky grabbed Nolan’s hand in both of his and squeezed. “Maybe not, but you gave him the best possible chance. Plus, he’ll be on the other side of the country. Out of the reach of the Sandor Clan. One less thing you have to worry about.”
“True,” Nolan murmured as they walked, side by side, to short-term parking. The predawn drizzle had stopped, and the heavy clouds were breaking apart, allowing shafts of golden light to peek through as the sun rose above the horizon. The air was cool and damp.
Nolan bumped him with his elbow and smiled. “That was awesome, what you did in the cemetery.”
Sky grinned and purposefully walked into him, bumping his shoulder into Nolan’s arm. “You sure you don’t mean creepy?”
“Well, as soon as I was sure I wasn’t in an old George Romero movie, yeah, it was cool.”
A cackle jumped from Sky’s throat. “That’s an old reference. I thought you’d at least go with The Walking Dead.”
The cute man beside him shrugged. “I like old horror movies. What about you?”
Sky’s heart sank, and he winced. “Not a fan of horror movies. I scare easily.”
“You’re kidding me.” Nolan stopped walking in the middle of the parking lot and stared at him with his mouth hanging open. Sky strode over, snagged Nolan’s arm, and pulled him along so he wasn’t in danger of getting hit by a car. “The man who can raise freaking zombies. The guy who knows real vampires. You don’t do horror movies?”
“Maybe it’s because life can be scary enough without help from movies,” Sky replied in a low voice near a hiss. “Besides, I don’t raise zombies. I wake up the dead. There’s a difference. Zombies don’t have a working mind or personality. Magic animates the body and compels them to follow a single command. My undead army still has some of their mental faculties and their original personality. They can choose to ignore me if they want.”
“You’re right. That is scarier.”
As they reached his car, Sky started for the driver’s side door, but Nolan caught his hand and pulled him close to where he was standing by the trunk. Sky stared up at his poor neighbor, who looked exhausted and maybe dirty after their romp through the graveyard at dawn. Yet, despite all that, the man still made Sky’s heart give a skip when those russet-brown eyes met his.
“About that date…” Nolan began, and Sky shook his head.
“Oh, that.” He forced out a choked laugh. “I was joking. You definitely don’t owe me a date or anything. I was happy to help. Besides, if the vampires killed you, I might end up with an annoying neighbor, who—”
He didn’t get the chance to finish because Nolan lightly pinched his chin with his thumb and forefinger, gently forcing him to tip his head up to meet Nolan’s stern gaze. Dear God, this man was sexy. His tongue was a fucking useless knot in his mouth. Whatever Nolan wanted, he was going to agree to it.
Raise an undead army to burn down Hartford? Sure.
Make him a basket of muffins every morning? Got it.
Become his willing love slave wrapped in black leather? Absolutely.
“I was going to say after the Variks take care of this mess with the Sandor Clan, would you be interested in checking out this great restaurant I found that specializes in authentic Greek food?”
“Wow,” Sky breathed. “That sounds like a proper date. Not pizza, Netflix, and chill.” The words were out of his mouth before he could catch them. Fuck, there was not a smooth bone in his entire body.
Nolan’s low, deep chuckle washed away his embarrassment, while the tip of his thumb brushed across Sky’s bottom lip. That was quickly shorting out his ability to think.