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“You want to?”

She sighs and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, of course I want to go to Sin City. Who wouldn’t?”

“Well, we can go.”

Fuck, Kian.

She fucking lights up like a damn Christmas tree.

Caving is easy, though. She didn’t even really ask, and this is something I can give her. Let her see the strip, the millions of people, the insane atmosphere. Maybe it can mend the bridge between us so she tells us what she’s hiding. Earn her trust, and she’ll open right up.

And… I wouldn’t mind seeing that smile again.

Yeah, I’m not sucked in too far or anything.

I want to see her smile again, my wolf grumbles suddenly.

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes and reach for her hand again. She’s still all lit up, her expression… well, I ignore the surprise and focus on the happy.

“One night on the strip,” I say.

“Three,” she counters. “For the full experience.”

“Two, and that’s as high as I’m going—or we’ll skip it altogether.”

“Deal.”

I shake my head and push her toward the door. Gently. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but at the same time… I think I’m going to enjoy her reactions. Every breath of excitement, every noise that comes out of her mouth.

This is as much about my pleasure as it is about hers.

“Go pack, little nightmare.”

Chapter 33

Astra

Kian got rid of his hunters. At least, as far as I can tell, they’re not following us.

We’re in the fucking desert, with no cars in sight. It’s wild how drastically the landscape has shifted from the woods of Colorado. The mountains that rise in the distance could be jagged teeth scoring into the sky. The mountains seem big now—I can’t imagine standing at the base of one.

And then there’s the city.

Las Vegas glitters like a mirage in the distance, a small cluster of skyscrapers that refract the sun and draw the eye.

Eventually, we get close enough that we’re coasting into town.

I lean forward. We pass a neon Welcome to Las Vegas sign sitting on a little grass island, surrounded by tourists.

We’re here.

I bounce in my seat, my excitement uncontainable. I’ve seen movies about Vegas, of course. A coworker at the paper I worked at once went for a bachelorette party and came home with fantastical tales of nightclubs and thundering music, male strippers, a hotel that looks like the Eiffel Tower and another that displays a huge water show out front. Casinos you can get lost in for days. A pool that mimics the beach.

I mentally add to my list of things I want to see up close one day: beach, Eiffel Tower, male strippers.

Kian smiles at something. “Close your eyes.”

I glance at him. “What? Then I’ll miss it.”