Page 46 of This Blood that Bonds Us

When they heard the news about Sarah’s disappearance, did they talk all night before they went searching themselves?

And when they got their memories back about Sarah’s death, how did they cope together? Did they get time to grieve?

All those secrets got taken with them.

I’d never thought about any of those things before. I was ashamed to admit it, but I thought they’d had it handled. It was their problem, and they’d dragged me into it, so it was up to them to solve it, but these problems weren’t theirs. They had always been ours. Or they should have been.

I placed a hand on my chest right over my heart where that familiar weight ached. I’d grown to like the agony of it, because it was like I was shouldering the weight of their pain from however many miles away.

I’d finally taken up my guard post, and I was on the night shift feeling their pain. Hopefully, they felt a little less because of it. I had a lot of time to make up for, but I’d make up for it by being the one to bring them home. As I searched the skies above, I focused on nothing but the thought of fulfilling that promise.

“Hi,” Kimberly murmured.

“Hi.” I ran my hands through her hair, replaying touching her and tasting her in the way I’d been craving for much longer than I was willing to admit. I was still in awe of it. Kimberly Burns, the girl who’d done everything alone, had given me a part of herself she’d never given to anyone else.

“Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know.” My thoughts weren’t spinning anymore, so I didn’t have as much trouble being honest.

She waited for me to elaborate, and I touched her neck where I’d bitten her. “I just . . . didn’t really want that to be how our first time would go.”

Her features remained unchanged as she fought to open her heavy eyelids. “How did you imagine it?”

“Less biting—actually, scratch that. No biting. Maybe more romance. Candles. Rose petals. The whole nine yards. Not me going animalistic and trying to eat you would have been preferred.”

In our brief window of being together as a human and a vampire, I’d thought about it a few times. Everything I’d wanted to put in place to make it perfect, and I’d wondered how long until I’d have enough self-control not to hurt her during. That felt like a lifetime ago, and I was a different person. I liked this version of me better. I was less of a dumbass and a better brother.

She smiled. “I didn’t mind the biting.”

“I know. I just feel like I made this about the monster thing, and that’s not what I wanted. I wanted to give you something normal.”

“I don’t need normal. I never have.”

I touched her soft lips, okay with that answer. I could never give normal. “This is enough?”

She ran her fingers through my fringe. “This is everything.”

“Do you feel okay?”

“I feel very relaxed. But sore.” She traced circles on my chest. “It’s okay, Aaron.”

I squeezed her hand. “I know.”

We got up at first light, which was around 10:00 a.m. That would take some getting used to.

The minute I opened the door to the main cabin, I came face-to-face with my little brother.

“Whoa,” I said, taking in the sight of his darkened hair. It was now dark-chocolate brown, and the remnants of hair dye had stained his ears and neck.

Kim’s eyes widened. “You dyed your hair.”

“Yeah, I didn’t want you to be the only one. Plus, I needed a change.”

Kimberly buried him in a hug and smiled in pure delight. “I love it.”

“So, guess you guys made up, huh?” Presley asked as we funneled toward the dinner table where Mom sat reading. The fresh scent of coffee permeated the air.

“Why do you ask?”