Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 123477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
That brought all the vampires in the yard to a sharp halt. They stared at the three witches who were bickering amongst each other about how Moon was exaggerating.
He wasn’t. Not even a little.
But it all stopped at the sound of a low chuckle. Xiao Dan pressed his hand to his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter, while his shoulders were still shaking. Sean, Junjie, and Meimei soon echoed his laughter. Even Winter grinned.
Moon turned to look at Chen to find the vampire’s handsome face twisted up with confusion. “Is all of that true?”
He leaned back so that his shoulders were resting on Chen’s chest. “Totally. Sky’s even got pictures of the fungus and the pig. I’ll try to get him to show you.”
“And what have you done recently?” Chen inquired.
“Huh?”
The hint of a smile had returned, making his full lips even more tantalizing. There was even a sparkle in his dark eyes. This man needed to be kissed. “You’re close friends with them,” Chen murmured in a low voice that made Moon forget there were others around them. “I refuse to believe that you haven’t found your way into trouble recently.”
Moon reached up and tickled under the vampire’s chin. “I have. My trouble’s name is Chen Bo Cheng.”
A disgruntled noise leaped from Chen’s throat, and he pushed Moon off him, dissolving the moment like snow on a summer sidewalk.
Xiao Dan cleared his throat and lowered his hand. “I think it would be best if we try to put this misunderstanding aside. Let me invite our guests inside for refreshments, and we can discuss what has brought our clan to the United States.”
Winter appeared hesitant, but in the end, he nodded and moved first. He walked up to the porch and followed Xiao Dan into the house along with Ming Yu, Junjie, and Meimei. Chen remained glued to Moon’s right side while Sean stood on his left as Moon’s friends walked over.
“Assholes,” Moon muttered.
Maddox, of course, threw his arms up first. “You call us assholes because we’re trying to look out for you. You’re not the type to just disappear, Moon.”
“We might have let it go if those two vampires didn’t get killed as well,” Red added. “We didn’t know if you had something to do with that or if something worse had happened to you.”
“Secreting in the Varik can be forgiven considering their concern for you,” Chen stated before Moon could argue with them further. “They were trying to save you. I might have done the same for one of my clan mates.” Moon’s heart recovered from his frustration, only to crash when Chen continued. “We should go inside. The sooner we locate the fae door, the sooner you can return to your life.”
And that was exactly what he didn’t want to do.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Chen wasn’t getting rid of him that easily. He was going to become absolutely fucking indispensable to this clan, even if he had to save Wu Yichen himself.
Chapter 10
Chen Bo Cheng
With all their guests settled in the large meeting room, Chen offered to make some tea. And he grabbed Moon’s elbow, dragging the witch along to “help.”
Naturally, Moon was all smiles as he hurried along with Chen, seeming unbothered that he didn’t have the chance to catch up with his friends.
“I apologize,” Chen said as he put on two kettles of water to boil. He turned to face Moon, and his eyes widened to find that he was already pulling out cups similar to the one he’d used last night. After just twenty-four hours, was he that comfortable in their home?
“For what?” Moon flashed a wide grin as though he knew why Chen was so rattled.
“I didn’t consider that your friends would notice your absence so quickly. I caused them distress and created trouble between you and them,” Chen replied. He moved toward the pantry where he had several containers of tea he’d mixed.
Maybe a peach oolong. It was naturally sweet with a soothing floral bouquet.
Or maybe something a bit more robust. The Formosa bai hao was sweet with spicy undertones.
The white tea with strawberry and basil was also nice, though. Soothing with a small tingle.
Or…
A hand landed on his hip, and Chen almost jumped. He twisted but stopped when Moon rested his head on his shoulder while staring into the pantry with him. Chen froze, not sure what to do or how to move next. His heart was racing while the most pleasant tingles were racing through his body at Moon’s familiar touch. No strawberry and basil required.
“You have so much tea. I wouldn’t know which to choose either,” Moon said. The devilish witch tipped his head up and smirked. “And you don’t have to apologize. It’s my fault. I got so wrapped up in a certain sexy vampire that I didn’t think about things like texting my friend to let him know I was safe. And it’s my dumbass fault for not realizing that one of them would poke their head in at my place.”