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17
Wynn
Three days I waited for Piper to come to me and…nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not once have I found her asking about me or even coming to sniff by my bedroom door.
In fact, she only seemed interested in Marcus and Rayne. I suppose I couldn’t really expect to do better than our first meeting. It really was perfect.
The first day I saw her, sitting there on the couch twiddling her thumbs while she waited for Darren to come back, I didn’t know we would be here years later. It was that first stammered hello that drew me in. Of course, part of it was her lovely face and gorgeous body. Not to forget, the delectable scent of her blood when she fell over herself trying to get away from me. However, you wouldn’t hear me telling Piper that - at least not now - she wouldn’t find it amusing or endearing to hear about me getting hard from the scent of her blood.
In any case, I had finally decided to seek her out. Like an addict, a man can only go so long without getting a hit of his favorite drug and I was having withdrawals.
“I’m telling you, you have to try french fries in ice cream. It will change your life.”
I followed the sound of Piper’s voice to the kitchen where she sat between Rayne and Marcus as usual. Even the twins had a hard time getting between those two. I didn’t know what it was about the two of them, why she found them so compelling now when the first time around she’d hated the first one and barely spoke to the other one.
This should be easier than it is.
“Ah, there he is!” Rayne twisted in his seat at the island to grin at me. “Piper, this is Wynn. The last of the Durands.”
Piper’s smile stayed plastered on her face as she continued to explain to Marcus how to make her concoction, barely giving me more than a nod in greeting.
Frowning, I went to the fridge and opened the door. Grabbing my metal container, I twisted off the cap, taking a large drink. The cool liquid slid down my throat and barely sated my thirst for Piper. I wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in my arms and never let her go.
“You and me both, Wynn.” Rayne clapped me on the shoulder as he rounded the island. “You and me both.”
I grimaced and glanced over my shoulder at Piper, giggling at something Marcus had said. Maybe we had all been a little prideful about our relationship with Piper. We took for granted that she would always want us and we wouldn’t have to make any effort to keep her. Now, I saw myself unable to break through that barrier the second time around and it hurt.
“So,” Piper swiveled in her chair to finally look at me fully, “there’s no way all of you are related unless your mother had very different tastes in men.” She grinned and openly ogled all three of us.
I licked my lips and sat the container on the counter, leaning over it to meet her gaze. “We are more of an adopted family than blood related.”
Piper nodded. “Got it. So, your parents adopted you or you adopted yourselves?” Her brows furrowed, leaning her face on her hand. “How would that work exactly? Can I get adopted into a famous family now if I wanted to? Cause I can tell you I have quite a few of them on my list that I would love to be a part of.”
Rayne and Marcus chuckled at her words. I simply watched her. This Piper was so much different than the one that we knew before. So carefree and full of life. No stress of our lives or the hunters pulling her down. Part of me almost wishes that we could keep her this way. That we didn’t have to give her memories back just so she could be this happy and free.
A larger, more selfish part of me screamed no way. I could barely go three days without having her in my arms. There was no way I could let her go without a fight. I needed her to look at me the way she was looking at Marcus right now. Like I was the one thing in life she wanted more than anything. I needed to know the smell and taste of her skin under my mouth once more. If I had to give her up, I wasn’t sure that I could go on. Eternity seemed like such a long time alone.
“Oh dear God, Wynn,” Rayne groaned, bumping me on the shoulder as he walked out of the kitchen.
I frowned and followed after him, unable to handle watching Piper coo over Marcus while I got nothing.
“Man, could you be more morose?” Rayne shook his head and went to the basement door, throwing it open for both of us to descend. “I mean out of all of us you have the most advantage. She fell for you first. Why should this time be any different?”
I stalked down the steps following him into the basement. “Because she is different. This isn’t like last time. We didn’t have a chance meeting during her interview. There’s no mystery or danger in our meeting. A hello over the kitchen counter is not going to win me her affections.”
Rayne rolled his eyes at me, flopping down on his bed. “I still think you are being overly dramatic. We’ve only been at this for a few days. We have half a year to get her to fall for us. It doesn’t have to be instantaneous.”
I sank down onto the side of my bed. “For me it was.”
“Really?” Rayne glanced my way, arching a brow. “You fell for her right away?”
I nodded. “I didn’t know it at the time. I just thought she was a clumsy girl I wanted to take a bite out of. I didn’t know I’d fall in love with her strange habits of saying whatever was on her mind. Or that clicking thing she does with her tongue when she’s nervous.”
Rayne stared across the room. “Huh. Who’d figured the sex god himself was the one who was ensnared first.”
I snorted. “Do not act so surprised.” I threw my legs up on the bed, leaning against the headboard. “I will have you know before I became a vampire and had all these powers at my disposal, I fell in love quite frequently.” I stared down at my hands as if I could tangibly hold my gift in my hands. “I had a different woman every week who was the new light of my life. However, back then their husbands or fathers would chase me off because it was improper to have such affairs out of wedlock.”
Rayne threw his head back and laughed. “Fucking hell, you were a scoundrel back then as much as you are now. I’m surprised you could even keep it in your pants long enough to devote yourself to Piper.”
“Pardon me,” I shot a glare his way. “I will have you know that I was completely faithful to all the women I have been with up until I was run off. I have never once looked at another woman once I was set on one.”
Rayne inclined his head. “Sorry. I was only joking.”
A distinct giggle and then a moan had both of us looking up at the ceiling.
“Huh,” Rayne huffed with a laugh. “I guess Marcus is even further ahead of the game than we thought.”
