Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 272(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 272(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Ryder didn’t flinch. If anything, his usual grim expression grew even darker, which was not the reaction Gideon had been hoping for.
“I’ll let you unpack,” Ryder announced suddenly and left without another word.
Gideon stood there, his mouth hanging open. Really? He left?
A hand landed on his shoulder. Gideon gazed up to see concern scrawled on Philippe’s kind face. “I don’t think you can do subtle with Ryder.”
A low chuckle rippled from Rafe, and Gideon rolled his eyes. “Yeah, subtle hasn’t worked so far. Don’t know why I thought I should continue that route. Next time, I’m hitting him with a sledgehammer.”
Rafe walked over and wrapped an arm across his shoulders, tugging him into a half hug. “Well, don’t hit him too hard. He’s my number-one guy for keeping you safe.”
Gideon wanted to roll his eyes at that, too, but he couldn’t deny it. For all his fresh start and independence talk, he’d never have been able to go through with this if Ryder wasn’t close by. Ryder kept him safe.
But he wanted more.
Chapter 2
Ryder
Ryder stood in the middle of his new living room, trying to unclench his fists. It would probably help if he stopped thinking about someone dating Gideon. Someone touching Gideon. Someone holding him, making him laugh, making him moan with pleasure.
A flickering reel of a faceless man giving Gideon everything he wanted was on repeat in his brain, driving him insane.
He needed to give up on the dream of ever being worthy of someone as precious and perfect as Gideon.
He didn’t know how much time passed before he dragged in a deep breath and exhaled it, along with his festering anger. Lifting his gaze to the empty room, he frowned. If he needed any more proof that he wasn’t Gideon’s type, he needed to search no farther than his own place.
Whereas Gideon had decorated his condo in cheery pastels, Ryder’s was in shades of pale-gray, black, and dark green. The floors in Gideon’s place were a warm honey oak; Ryder’s were a dark mahogany. Rafe had asked him what he wanted his place to look like, and he’d only shrugged. It had been over a century since he’d had his own place, and even then, he hadn’t been the one to decorate it. When Rafe had continued to pester him, he’d blurted out dark and peaceful.
Maybe Rafe had taken him a bit too literally, because the apartment was as dark and peaceful as a mausoleum.
To make matters worse, he had no things. He’d spent his existence as a vampire being shuffled from one place to the next. He’d lived with Lola, Rafe’s trusted right hand in all things, for several years. Next, he’d moved into the Varik house with Gideon for a bit. There were times he’d lived with the other nightclub bouncers. Because of the temporariness of his living conditions, he never accumulated things.
He shuffled into the bedroom, where a brand-new mattress rested on the floor. In one corner was a box of books, and leaning against the wall was the old, battered duffel bag he’d picked up at a thrift store about forty years ago.
Even if he wanted to have Gideon over to his place, there were no soft things for him to cuddle, no comfy places for him to sit. Gideon loved soft things. He loved squishy things. He loved to hold and pet silky things. Gideon would be miserable here. The vampire would take one look at his place and run away.
But how could Ryder fix it?
Sighing, he sat on the mattress and scrubbed a hand through his hair, shoving it from his eyes. Caroline would have known how to fix this.
Ryder closed his eyes, a ghost of a smile passing over his lips. It had been decades since he’d last thought of his wife. His human wife.
She’d done an amazing job of creating a home for their family. The place had always felt warm and inviting, a relief when he returned at the end of a long day at work. He didn’t know how she’d done it with the colors and the curtains and the pretty China tea set, but it was home.
He missed her.
But she was gone and never coming back. He’d made his peace with that years ago.
It was just…why couldn’t she be here now to explain to him how anyone could walk into a store with millions of options and know how to pick out the right thing?
With a groan, Ryder flopped onto the mattress and stared up at the dark ceiling. He wasn’t asking Rafe for help. The man would start laughing and wouldn’t stop until the end of time. Lola wasn’t any better. Philippe would help, but Ryder wasn’t comfortable asking him for something so personal.
Gideon enjoyed this stuff, but if he asked him, wouldn’t Gideon think he was a total loser? That wasn’t helpful in the least.