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)
That was true. No one wanted to lose their club privileges. This was the one place where vampires could congregate with other vampires and not worry too much about a fight breaking out. Vampires weren’t allowed to feed on the premises any longer, but there was no saying that you couldn’t do some hunting among the humans out for a good time and then lure them outside for a quick nibble. The vampire was responsible for their messes anywhere near club property.
And the number-one rule was: don’t piss off Rafe.
“Okay. Contact your friend. Tell them the situation.” Gideon sighed. “I’ll be staying at Ryder’s until we figure out this ghost thing.”
“Gotcha,” Fox agreed. A slow smile spread across his lips. “Why does it feel like it’s not such a horrible fate for you?”
“Shut up,” Gideon mumbled, his face heating even as he snuggled closer against Ryder. Yeah, not a horrible fate at all. He wanted to enjoy his new condo, but he wasn’t going to complain if this ghost meant he was now spending his nights stretched out in Ryder’s bed.
No, this was an excellent excuse to get closer to his new boyfriend.
Chapter 6
Ryder
It took four days of Fox going back and forth between the witches and Gideon to schedule a time to meet at Phoenix. Gideon demanded they not tell Rafe anything about the haunted trunk. He was terrified that any mishap would cause the overprotective vampire to yank Gideon out of his new condo and put him in the Varik manor. Ryder tried to reassure him it wasn’t likely to happen, but Gideon wasn’t willing to take any chances.
Neither was Ryder.
He felt bad that Gideon was spending very little time in his place, but not that bad. It meant Gideon was curling up in his arms each morning to sleep. And now that he had a sofa, they’d snuggle up there in the evenings while Gideon introduced him to all the strange shows he liked to watch. Some of them were interesting, but mostly he was happy to be with Gideon, listening to him talk and watching his face light up when something surprised or delighted him.
What would happen to these cozy nights after the ghost was gone? Would he even want to watch his shows with Ryder?
And was Gideon interested in more than making out on the couch?
They’d been going slow so far, which he appreciated, but Ryder was craving so much more. He wanted to explore all of Gideon. He’d seen plenty of the man’s perfect body while he danced, but he’d never been given the chance to roam every inch of him with his mouth.
That was a thought he shoved aside as he watched for any sign that the witches had arrived. All they’d gotten from Fox was that one had brown hair and would be wearing a bright-blue shirt. The other one—the necromancer—would be in a gold vest. When they arrived, they were to go to the reserved banquette farthest from the DJ booth.
For a Wednesday night, Phoenix was doing brisk business and Ryder hated stealing the prime real estate that would make Rafe some serious cash during the night, but he was hoping they could get this meeting done quickly before Rafe or Philippe noticed. Lola was already eyeballing him from her spot at the end of the bar.
Just as panic was settling into his stomach, a man in an electric blue button-down walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. His brown hair was longish on top with a fade on the sides. Several earrings lined his right ear while the left appeared to have a small silver dragon wrapped around it.
After he paid for his beer, his eye caught on Ryder staring at him. Most people broke eye contact immediately and scurried away. This man lifted an eyebrow with a scar that cut through the center and walked over to him.
“You Ryder?” he asked, lifting his voice above the beat of the music.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
The man laughed. “Fox said to look for the scariest motherfucker in the place, and that would be Ryder.”
He rolled his eyes. Lovely.
“I’m Maddox. Skylar is on his way,” the witch introduced. He took a swig of his beer and smiled at Ryder, as if standing next to the scariest motherfucking vampire wasn’t a big deal.
Ryder nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket. He shot Gideon a text to say that at least one of the witches had arrived. Gideon was getting ready to perform, but he wasn’t scheduled to go on for another hour.
“I reserved us that booth along that wall.” Ryder pointed to the seats in question. “You can wait there while I fetch my friend.”
Maddox gave him a little salute with his beer bottle and weaved his way through the crowd toward the banquette. Ryder ignored the questioning glare he could feel burrowing in the back of his head from Lola and moved off the main floor to fetch Gideon.