“He doesn’t realize it, but that piece of man-hunk is this close to professing his undying love for me. Just wait.”
I glance at Kade in the kitchen, opening and closing cabinet doors and drawers with unnecessary force, still grumbling under his breath, but too far away to hear. He doesn’t look like a man about to profess undying love.
“See ya in a bit. I’m going to go freshen up before my next patrol,” she says, and then zips up the stairs.
I stroll into the kitchen in time to hear Kade say to Becks, “Hypothetically, if Imogen has an ‘accident’ on the mountain—say, a boulder falls on her or she gets buried in snow and suffocates—how upset do you think Talon would be?”
I start to laugh, and then cover it with a cough when Kade scowls over at me. The man is a bit scary.
Becks gives him a firm pat on the back. “Maybe you can get Ensley to switch with you. She’s learned to put up with Imogen.”
“Already asked. She said she couldn’t because of girl code, whatever that means.”
“It’s just for a little while. If you can make it through the night, then we’re in the clear.”
“It’s going to be a miracle if both of us make it through the night,” he says, and then takes a bite of the burger he just made for himself.
Becks eyes the burger, looking like he’s considering second dinner. He grumbled through most of it about the lack of meat protein.
“Do you want me to make you one?” I ask him when Kade skirts us to sit at the table.
“Naw, it’s okay,” he says. Throwing an arm over my shoulder, he tucks me into his side and steers us toward the couch. “Want to play a board game? We can play that word game you love so much. I’ll let you win.”
“Let me win, huh? If I remember correctly, your shining moment the last time we played was the word ‘bear,’ for a whopping six points.”
He grins down at me. “I don’t remember you doing much better.”
“I was killing it until you decided to distract me,” I say, my cheeks heating when I remember what his shirtless distraction ultimately led to. I can’t say I’m sorry he pulled that antic.
He chuckles. “Have I ever told you how cute you are when you blush?”
Of course, I blush harder.
Leaning down, he kisses me on the nose.
Instead of playing a game, we sit on the overstuffed couch and cuddle in front of the fire, talking about everything and nothing in particular as we watch the flames lick the logs in the hearth.
It’s obvious Becks is trying to distract me, asking me questions like where in the world we should visit together, and what my ideal date night would look like, but it only works to an extent. Every minute that ticks by brings us closer to the eclipse and the blood moon, and with it my unease and feelings of dread increase.
“You promise Locklyn’s safe?” I ask, again.
Becks pulls me closer, his solid form next to me giving me strength and comfort.
“Yes, I promise. She’s fine. They’ve had a couple of incidents with the vampires, but nothing they couldn’t handle,” he reiterates patiently.
I nod. “But you said no sign of the demon yet.”
He shakes his head. “No.”
There has been one more check-in since dinner. Becks wasn’t overly elaborative about either conversation. He just assured me and the others that no one was hurt and everything seemed to be going to plan. And yet the ball of dread continues to grow.
Maybe it means nothing. Maybe we’ll all get through the night unscathed, and I’ll be able to breathe easier in the morning.
“Getting tired?” Becks asks.
I am. It’s late, just before midnight, about two hours until the blood moon. My eyes have started getting heavy as I’ve been staring at the flames, but I shake my head.
“Hmm. You sure about that?” Becks asked, amused.
