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)
Sky smoothed a hand over his hair and offered a half smile. “We don’t know for sure. Yes, it’s a possibility, but there’s a chance that she died a short time after that hide-and-seek game from injury or illness, and the game with her brother was her last good memory. If you can, I’d focus on the idea that you’ve come into possession of something you know made someone happy.”
“That’s true,” Gideon murmured.
Fox placed his hand on Gideon’s shoulder and squeezed. “If you’re not comfortable with it here, Winter and I can store it for you.”
“Thanks. Let me try living with it for a while. The way Sky put it, I feel like Elizabeth entrusted it to me. If I still have trouble, I’ll call you.”
The ghost settled, Ryder saw Fox and Sky out, leaving them in Winter’s hands. The sneaky vampire was waiting outside the building to find out the result of the ghost hunting. Ryder was happy to let them go. His primary concern was Gideon.
He ran up the stairs and walked in to find Gideon sitting on the edge of the sofa, his shoulders straight and tense. His smile returned the second he saw Ryder.
“You know, it’s weird having the condo to myself. My ears keep straining to hear giggling and knocking,” Gideon said, laughing tightly.
“If you want…you could come to my place. We still have a few more episodes to watch of that show, and all your stuff is there.”
Gideon was off the sofa in a flash and in his arms. “You sure you don’t mind?”
Ryder happily answered that silly question with a long, draining kiss. No, he didn’t mind having Gideon in his space, in his bed, in his heart. And he would keep kissing him and holding him and supporting him in a hundred little ways until he understood that Ryder always wanted him right there in his life.
Chapter 9
Gideon
Gideon had a problem.
At least it wasn’t a ghost problem.
It was a sleeping problem. As in, where the fuck was he supposed to sleep each day as the sun crept above the horizon?
He slumped on the bench, wrapped in the deep shadows near student housing on the University of Hartford campus. Hunting college students really was the best and easiest. It wasn’t difficult to find one that looked strong and healthy enough to donate a bit of blood. And thanks to his young appearance, it wasn’t hard for him to blend in with the other students heading to the dorms or library with a backpack slung over one shoulder. After the Variks had moved to Connecticut, Winter had even gotten him a working student ID in case campus security ever stopped him.
Unfortunately, the campus was a bit of a hike from his place and the nightclub, which meant he couldn’t hunt here on the nights he worked. Most of the time, he hired a ride-share to bring him up for a couple of hours, then hired another to take him home.
Hunting away from home also gave him a chance to think.
What was he going to do about Ryder and that condo?
A warning tingle on the nape of his neck had Gideon lurching to his feet and twisting. His fangs descended, but he kept his lips pressed together, careful not to reveal them. He clenched his fist on the strap of his bag, ready to run. He knew his strengths, and fighting wasn’t one of them. However, he was a quick runner, especially after having just fed. He could run all the way to Phoenix and never be touched.
“Aren’t we touchy this evening?” a wonderfully familiar voice drawled.
Gideon relaxed, his fangs sliding away as Rafe stepped past some trees to stand beside the bench. Gideon skipped to Rafe and tightly hugged him.
“I haven’t seen you in weeks,” Gideon chided, giving his master an extra squeeze before releasing him.
Rafe sighed his usual extravagant sigh, as if all the troubles of the world rested on his narrow shoulders, but his little smirk accompanied it. “You know how it goes being the son of the king. There are always vampire troubles that need fixing.”
Gideon snorted. “And you hate being a prince among vampires.”
Rafe allowed himself to be led over to the bench. The older vampire sat first and draped his arm across the back.
Gideon paused and glanced about, his eyebrows puckering and lips turning down. “No Philippe?”
“Mon ange is monitoring Phoenix for a bit. We’ll be heading over to irritate—I mean, visit—Bel and his mongrels.”
With a roll of his eyes, Gideon dropped onto the bench, put his bag against the far corner, and leaned into Rafe, resting his head on his shoulder. All his life, he’d been a touchy-feely kind of person. He loved cuddling, snuggling, and hugs. His maker had broken him of that for a long time, but Rafe had helped him find it again. Whenever he had a quiet moment with his protector and master, he snuggled in close.