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“Have you watched security videos of me since I moved in here?”
His responding silence made me sigh.
“I should be a lot more surprised by this than I am,” I told him, starting to peel my face away from his neck.
His arms tightened around my back, holding me in place. “I was promised a complete pardon.”
“I made no such promise, and you damn well know it.”
“Please?”
I groaned. “You’re a damn nuisance, Alexander.”
“A beautiful one, though.” He kissed the top of my head. “I’ll let you free as soon as you’ve pardoned me and promised not to run away.”
“Running away would be a shitty idea. I’m not running away. But I don’t know if I’m going to pardon you, either.”
He was silent for a moment.
Finally, he said. “I can settle for one or the other. A complete pardon, or a promise to stay with me.”
“Staying it is.”
He made a noise of agreement. That time, when I pulled away from him, he reluctantly let me go.
I rolled onto my back beside him, and stayed there. “Why did you hate me before we met in the coffee shop?”
“I couldn’t have hated you if I tried, Miles.”
“You avoided me at all the family parties I attended with Tatum, and ignored me if we were ever in the same place at the same time,” I countered. “The only time I can even remember having a conversation with you is at the Thanksgiving party we did together.”
“On Thanksgiving, you weren’t a potential mate for me. That didn’t happen until you became a vampire. I was friendly because I had no reason not to be. Ever since, you’ve been mine. If I let myself talk to you, smell you, or spend time with you, I wouldn’t be able to look away. I sure as hell wouldn’t be able towalkaway. Everyone around us would’ve realized what you were to me, and I didn’t think you were ready for that. Plus, my mom would get involved.”
I grimaced.
Anastasia Villin was one of the kindest women I’d ever met, but she was clever, and shereallywanted her sons mated. If she had put two and two together, she would’ve moved to Scale Ridge and done whatever she had to, to get me and Zander together. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to prevent her from stepping into our relationship.
“Now that you mention her, I’m kind of surprised I haven’t seen her since we moved in together.”
“She doesn’t know. I programmed my brother’s phones to shut off every time they start to say anything related to me while talking to her, and I threatened to lock them out of their houses. Wisely, they’ve kept their mouths shut.”
I snorted. “You’re blackmailing them?”
“All’s fair when it comes to brothers, Sweetheart.” He rolled to his side and kissed my forehead. “I wanted to talk to you at all those damn parties. I hope you know that.”
My face warmed.
Ididn’tknow that, but I was starting to believe it just a little bit.
It would take time to process the truths he’d told me, but hehadtold the truth. That counted for something, in my book. “You’re not keeping any other secrets from me, are you?”
“Only about the filthy things I’d like to do to your body.”
My face flushed, and I smacked him on the arm. He laughed, and I couldn’t hold back the tiniest of smiles in response.
“I don’t have any other secrets I’m keeping intentionally, Sweetheart. If I come up with something, I’ll tell you. I’ve beenalive too long to have all my dirty laundry at the forefront of my mind.”
That, I could believe too.
