Page 24 of The Fang Arrangement (Celestial Witches #2)

I expect to wake up with Warin wrapped around my body again. It’s embarrassing when I wake up disappointed that he’s not there.

Hecate, am I really upset that I didn’t wake up next to a vampire?

“Good, you’re awake. I have breakfast,” Warin says, and I startle, blinking to where he stands next to the bed.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” I ask.

“And give up the chance to entertain you all day, doubtful,” he replies.

“You’re staying awake to spend time with me?” I ask, grabbing a piece of toast and nibbling on the corner.

“I couldn’t manage getting us out of the house today, but we should be set for tomorrow. So I figured I’d give you the next best thing. Quality time with your favorite vampire.”

He grins, but despite his cheery words, I can swear he looks tired.

“Really? We’re leaving the house tomorrow?”

“You said it would make you happy. In the meantime, I was thinking you could work on some spells, we could play more card games, oh, and Samantha gave me this. I don’t know how it works,” he says, tossing a Nintendo Switch on the bed.

The smell of food must have woken up Gus, because his greedy little hands are grabbing everything he can. As he eats, he gets crumbs on the bed and Warin looks less than amused.

“So, you’re staying up so that we can play cards and I can show you magic spells?” I ask.

“Exactly. Let me go grab the grimoires.”

“Wait!” I say quickly, not wanting him to go into the safe just yet. I know without a doubt once he opens it, he’ll know I snooped. “Let me wake up first, maybe we could watch a movie.”

“Alright,” he says, grabbing a remote from his nightstand and a massive projector comes out of the ceiling.

“You mean I could have been watching my shows on a projector this whole time?” Gus complains.

I ignore him as Warin looks down at his clothes.

“Just a moment,” he says.

Again, with his vampire speed, one minute he’s in a suit and the next he’s shirtless and in sweatpants, and crawling into bed with me to watch a movie.

I glance over at him and clear my throat. He just smiles, and I can feel my cheeks heat.

Sure, we’ve slept in the same bed, but this feels different. It feels so easily domestic in a way that shouldn’t be possible.

“What should we watch?” he asks, handing me the remote.

“Twilight?” I jokingly ask and he glares at me.

“Really?” he questions, his brows furrowed, like he’d really watch it if I wanted to. I can’t help but to laugh, and his face transforms into something softer as he looks at me.

His gaze goes down to my lips and it’s so similar to what happened the other night. I feel my walls crumbling, logic about our situation falling away.

As badly as I want to kiss him right now, I know I can’t, not until he tells me the truth.

There’s something more here, and I just can’t put my finger on it.

Instead of leaning forward and kissing him, I plop back down on the pillows, flicking through the remote and finding a neutral show for us to watch.

Gus plays Animal Crossing on the Switch and the whole time we watch the movie, it’s like my body is on fire. I keep getting closer and closer to him.

At some point, my side touches his, and neither of us says a word, watching the movie in silence. I want to reach out, interlace our fingers together to see what it would feel like, but when I look over at Warin, I realize he’s fast asleep.

I shouldn’t do it, but he doesn’t move as I grip his cool hand in mine. My finger throbs and I make a promise to myself to figure out the truth.

Why does this vampire have such a visceral effect on me, and why do I love it so much?