Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 272(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 272(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Ethan was completely right.
Marcus dropped to his knees in the middle of the alley. His mate’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. He tried to escape, but Marcus held him in place by lightly gripping his hips with both hands.
“I’m sorry. You’re right, and I’m so very sorry. You are not something to be checked off a list. You are my fledgling, which means you deserve my care and full attention. But most importantly, you are my mate. No one is more precious to me. I can’t survive without you. I’d rather walk into the sun than have you leave me.”
His sweet mate tipped his head back and groaned loudly. “You weren’t supposed to be so good at apologizing.” Ethan looked at him, attempting to glare, but it was ruined by the smirk tilting his lips up. “I can’t be mad at you when you say things like that.”
Tightening his fingers on Ethan’s waist, Marcus stared into those beautiful eyes that watched him. “Will you forgive me, my precious love? I’ll do anything to earn your love and trust again.”
Ethan ran his fingers through Marcus’s dark hair, pushing it from his face. His gaze was soft and warm. “Of course. I could never stop loving you or trusting you. I do understand that Aiden and the clan and all the other vampires are keeping you busy. I guess I was just feeling neglected, and then I realized about the reminder. I kind of lost my mind,” he finished, wincing a bit in embarrassment.
“I understand, and I have neglected you. I’ll talk to Aiden about finding some help within the clan to manage things so I can spend more time with you. I am so sorry I haven’t been attentive to you.”
Ethan leaned down and captured Marcus’s mouth in the sweetest kiss. “No more apologies,” he whispered, their lips brushing. “We’ll both do better next time.”
Marcus stole another slow, deep kiss, loving how Ethan leaned into him. His knees ached on the cold, hard concrete, but just the pleasure of his mate pushed it to the back of his mind. Ethan truly was his everything. His sun and moon.
“How about we go home, you put on your favorite collar, and I spend the night showing you exactly how precious you are to me?” Marcus suggested in a dark voice.
A low moan vibrated up Ethan’s throat, and his eyes dilated with desire. “Yes. That. Let’s do that. Now.” As he spoke, he was pulling Marcus back to his feet. “Let’s go do that right now.”
And Marcus lost his mind for Ethan all over again.
Philippe Melts Rafe
Philippe lounged behind Rafe’s desk at The Phoenix, idly flipping through bits of paper while the lights turned and flashed just beyond the windows overlooking the nightclub’s dance floor. How in the world did a carefree and reckless vampire like Rafe manage to keep a nightclub running in such a tight fashion?
Everything was in neat and tidy order. Forms were filled out and ready to be filed. Philippe had seen his email in the past, and every item was dealt with in a timely manner.
But then, Rafe had run countless nightclubs over the years. He knew what it took to make them a success and who he needed on his staff to keep it running smoothly. This current club was no exception.
After Blush had burned to the ground, Rafe—in his stubbornness—had bulldozed the site and rebuilt it exactly as it was. Only the name changed. He’d christened it The Phoenix and filled the place with firebirds and dancing flames. Cheeky bastard.
There was no stopping his lover when he wanted something.
And amazingly, Rafe wanted him. Philippe felt it in his lover’s touch, in the caress of his eyes whenever they were in the same room, heard it in the rough tone of his voice. It was intoxicating to be loved so completely.
Maybe that was why he was so damn restless.
Rafe was out of town with Winter and Fox, visiting the witch Zelda, leaving him to keep an eye on the nightclub and the rest of the Variks. Not that The Phoenix or the Variks needed him. Everything was running smoothly with or without him.
In fact, all of the city seemed to have grown quiet in the past year since Aiden had officially claimed the position of king. There were still some grumbly shadows and pockets of trouble, but nothing like when the Ministry had been running things. His special gift of locating abandoned vampires hadn’t pinged in months.
It all left him feeling…useless.
Rafe needed him, of course. His sweet lover always made him feel desired and loved, but was it wrong if he wanted a little more?
He was accustomed to running his own clan and keeping up with the demands of his clan members. But now he was a Varik. Jullien had found his place within the Variks and was balancing most of his time between The Phoenix and Lola. The Variks were pretty self-sufficient, even if they were all a touch insane.