Page 40

The poltergeist screamed and kicked up a howling wind that iced over the mirrors and a large chunk of the floor as it was sucked into the locket.

And then, after I latched it shut again, there was just the darkness.

And I was alone.

That unimaginable asshole,Michael swore, gripping me tighter, like he could somehow protect me from what had already happened, years and years ago.

I fought back the grief I still felt at my father’s passing.It’s okay.

You were still a kid, and he left you! On purpose!

He was in pain, Michael.Exhaustion flooded through me at the silent words. Because I knew they were true, but it didn’tmake anything better. It didn’t soothe the pain. All it did was diffuse the anger and soften the sting of betrayal. Without that, I couldn’t quite bring myself to hate him. And if I couldn’t hate him, the only thing that was left behind was the pain of being left behind. I added,He blamed himself for Kyle’s death. He wanted a way out.

By abandoning his other child? Anything could have happened to you! What if you hadn’t gotten the clasp open on the locket? He was wrong and you know it.

I did know it. And now Michael had just seen into me, into the deepest parts of me. The parts I hardly even thought about anymore, much less shared with anyone. What if he—

I’m in love with you. All of you. Even the parts you don’t like. And I will never fucking abandon you like he did.

His words hit home and for a long moment I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, or else I’d lose it. I wanted so badly to believe him.

But where did that leave us?

The darkness faded away and we were left clutching each other. Even though I was a vampire now and didn’t get cold, I still shivered. I wanted the darkness back.

“Do you fucking understand me, Danny?”

“Yeah,” I told him.

You are worth sticking around for. Nothing you could do would change that. I promise.

I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I believed him. I wanted to. But I couldn’t quite manage it. It was awfully easy for him to say, especially now that we were mystically connected by destiny or whatever the fuck, but it was different than actually figuring out how to make any of this work, now that I had become a vampire.

“I’m pretty sure we’re doing fine so far,” Michael flashed me a smile, but the stubborn set to his jaw was back. A classic MichaelI’m-going-to-dig-my-heels-in sort of look. “And however long it takes to undo the damage that fucking asshole did to you, I don’t care. I’ll make you believe me.”

And because I couldn’t do anything else, I kissed him again.

The sensation of kissing another man should’ve felt weird, but it didn’t. It felt really, really good. And because it was Michael, it felt way better than good. It felt fucking perfect to have his warm, firm lips on mine, his tongue in my mouth, his big hands on my back.

I wanted his weight on top of me. I wanted to watch his eyes light up with pleasure as he entered me. I wanted him inside of me, filling me up.

He pulled back, his eyes going comically big and round, his jaw dropping open. “Sorry,what?”

“Oh boy,” I muttered, half to myself. I flashed him an apologetic smile. “Lots of new urges. Sorry. Still figuring shit out. Probably going to be a little messy in my head for a while.”

“Messy is okay,” he breathed, still watching me. “Um. Are you—were you—”

And then the context of his thoughts supplied what his words didn’t. He wanted to know if I was serious.

And I was.

I really, really was. I’d spent months—possibly even years—in love with him, feeling frustrated that my body wouldn’t cooperate with me. Feeling terrified he’d wise up and leave me behind. And now that my body very, very much wanted to cooperate, I didn’t want to wait even a moment longer.

I wanted to try out all of the ways we were now capable of giving each other pleasure.

“We ought to shower first,” Michael informed me. “The house doesn’t have running water.”

“The motel is too far.”