Page 54

“Ah. Tragedy bringing you together, that I understand. Still, be careful, Dante. You can’t bring just anyone into this family,” he tells me, stepping closer and speaking only to me. “I learned that the hard way.”

My throat tightens. “Mom was a good woman.”

“With her heart in the wrong place.” He stares into my eyes, as if trying to see if I’ll pull away.

“She’s dead. Leave her the fuck alone, will you?” I step around him, ignoring his response.

I’ll probably get bitched at later for it, but I don’t care.

I turn down the hallway in the same direction I remember Ethan going. I’m not sure where he went, so I look into each room briefly before jogging down the stairs. I ignore people trying to get my attention and talk to me. Right now, I need to find him.

As I get to the end of the hallway past the living room, I notice that the curtains to the sliding glass door leading to the garden are pulled open. I head that way and yank the door open with ease, seeing Ethan standing in the cold just a few feet from the door. The moon shines down on him, and he’s got his arms wrapped around himself.

I step back inside for just a second to grab a throw blanket from the couch and bring it to him. I close the door behind me, then drape the blanket over his shoulders from behind.

Ethan gasps, slightly started, but then pulls the blanket tighter around himself.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

I nod and stand beside him, my eyes taking in his shaken features.

My body is still tense from my interaction with my father. I want to reach out and touch Ethan, but I don’t. Instead, I shove my hands into my pockets and set my heavy gaze on the array of bushes and flowers that aren’t taken care of anywhere near as much as they used to be.

“Are you okay?” Ethan asks me.

My eyes dart back to his. “Me?” I ask. “I should be asking you that.”

He looks me up and down. “You seem tense, too.”

I shake my head. “Just my father being an ass.”

“About me?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Ethan turns to look at me. “Clearly this whole thing means something to you,” he says. “If your family doesn’t want me here…”

“It seems like you’re the one who doesn’t wanna be here,” I snap at him.

Ethan frowns. “Excuse me if watching two people cut themselves and then lick each other’s blood is a little off-putting,” he huffs back at me. I watch his throat move in the dim light as he swallows. I can tell he’s blushing.

“You liked it a little bit, didn’t you?” I smirk.

He looks away from me, not speaking. I grab him by the jaw just at the top of his throat and force him to look at me.

“Tell me, puppy.”

He places his hands on my chest, the blanket almost falling off his shoulders.

“You are so incredibly bossy,” Ethan says, but he doesn’t pull away.

I lean down closer. “You like that too, don’t you?”

His face gets even redder. “Maybe. B-But…the ritual was really unnerving. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

I tighten my grip on his jaw just a little bit and nudge my nose against his.

“Now you have…so you know what you can look forward to.”