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I exhale a breathy laugh. “If I take a stand, Gabriel, it won’t be next to my parents… it’ll be against them.”
9
Calla
Aheart beats steadily against my cheek. I blink my eyes open slowly, a grin curling my lips as I realize I’m tangled up with Kade and Lex. I snuggle into Kade’s warm chest, peering down to find Lex’s arm snug around my waist, his cheek pressed against my back.
I close my eyes, breathing in deeply and feeling safe. Comforted.Loved.
And because I evidently can’t just let things lie, I force myself to picture a life without them.
I’d likely go back to Washington and finish getting my degree, then visit my parents in NYC for a while… maybe look for a job there.
But what about the hunters? I’d still have a target on my back, and while the guys said I would be protected if I chose to leave them, there’s no way I’d agree to take resources from them to protect themselves.
And if I went back to my life before the vampires, would I have to forget Tessa? The thought of giving up that friendship makes me frown, opening my eyes again.
There are too many questions I don’t want answers to.
Thinking about Tessa, I can’t help but consider my friendship with Brighton—yet another complication to my decision. If I decide to become a vampire, that is pretty much damning any relationship I could have with her.
Either way, I lose things that are important to me.
Kade shifts next to me, inhaling slowly and kissing the side of my head, lingering as if he can sense the turmoil inside me. He slides his finger under my chin, tilting my face up, and brushes his lips against mine. Warmth fills my chest as I kiss him back, closing my eyes, desperate to lose myself in something good.
“Morning,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Hmm,” I mumble back, dragging my tongue over his bottom lip.
He groans, kissing me for a moment longer before pulling back and splaying his fingers along my cheek. “You are beautiful, you know that?”
I lean into his touch. “With bed head and morning breath?” I tease.
“Bed head sounds like something I can get behind,” Lex says in my ear, his grip around my waist tightening and his erection pressing into my back.
I roll my eyes, though he can’t see it, my cheeks flushing. “You are insufferable.”
He nuzzles my neck, biting me playfully, sans fangs. “And you fucking love it.”
Kade grins at me as I keep my back to Lex.
Lex yawns loudly and stretches out, unwinding his arm from my waist. “I need a coffee,” he announces, sliding out of bed and walking toward the double doors that lead into the common area—completely naked.
Kade chuckles softly, kissing the tip of my nose. “Never a dull moment.”
“You’re not wrong,” I agree, admiring the view of Lex’s backside.
He pulls the doors over, shooting us a wink before disappearing.
“Where are the others?” I ask.
He listens for a moment. “Atlas is on the terrace talking to his father and he does not sound happy.”
I frown. “Atlas or Simon?”
“Both,” he answers with a grimace.
Sighing, I say, “He deserves better than them.”
