Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
A wave of dizziness overcame her, forcing her to pull back. “I am really hungover.” She kissed him softly one more time before letting him straighten so she could lean against him again. “I don’t remember the last time I was this hungover.”
“It’s the cheap booze. Mass quantities certainly don’t help, but the quality makes everything ten times worse.”
He took a sip of her drink—his drink now.
“I can’t not know—did I slap you last night?” she blurted.
His lips curled even more. “Twice. Don’t talk about it, though, or I’ll get hard again—too late.”
“Are you super mad and just too nice to say anything?”
“I am super turned on, just like you were when you slapped me. Twice. And when you kissed me soundly.” He took another sip of his drink, watching the people in the bar. “Probably not so much when you passed out on me.”
She slouched even more. “It really wasn’t my finest hour.”
He chuckled. “I don’t know, I was pretty entertained.”
“That’s what Phil said.” She paused. “And crying. Did I cry?”
“Yes, and you had good reason.”
“Which was?”
“Ulric’s singing. He sounds like a bullfrog getting choked.”
She barked out a laugh before covering her mouth. “That’s mean.”
“But it’s true.”
“Yes, it is true, but it is still mean.” She slipped an arm around his waist.
He stepped more toward the side of the chair so she could turn toward him and lay her head fully on his chest. His fingers curled a strand of her hair.
She liked this, pretending. There were no strings, no fears, no worry that he’d turn into the monster he claimed to be and hurt her or leave her. She got all the benefits without any of the drawbacks. If only she felt even a tiny bit better, she’d use the mate excuse and let him take her to his room. She’d finally relent and give in to her desires. As it was, she’d perform horribly, probably throw up, and that was not how she wanted to be remembered.
“My timing has always been incredibly bad, did you know that?” she asked as Aurora walked toward them with zero giddy-up in her step.
“I did not know that. And what should I do with that fascinating information?”
“Put it in your pipe and smoke it.”
“Hey.” Aurora’s attempt at a smile didn’t work. She looked like she’d just seen something horrific. “How are you faring?”
“Probably about how I look.” Nessa grimaced at her.
Aurora’s brows pinched together. “You look amazing, like you’re just about to let Tristan fly you out of here. Why do you look so amazing when you feel like I do?”
“Firstly, you also look amazing—“
“Except for the dark circles under your eyes,” Tristan said, “and the violence you’re promising whenever someone says something you don’t like. Like I just did. Didn’t you get Jessie to heal you?”
“Jessie had important things to do earlier today, and I was supposed to just stand around and watch. I was prepared to handle it. I did not know that we’d have to run through the city and act menacing, nor did I know I would throw up in my beast form. I learned a lot of things this morning. None of them were pleasant. By the time it was over, Jessie was too tired to ask, and Indigo had stuff to do.”
“We thank you for your service,” Tristan said. “As messy as it sometimes is. Someone needs to call your dad and tell him you’re having too much fun.”
Aurora rolled her eyes, turning to face the bar. She did a bad job of hiding the smirk.
“Second, if I look amazing, it is because of Mr. Tom,” Nessa finished. “He was in charge of makeup and picking out the dress. When I tried to take over and do my own makeup, he told me that my time would be better spent taking notes.”
“Note to self, Mr. Tom will make you look great but feel rotten.” Aurora laughed, so rare that she should do so. “Anyway, I was going to—ah crap.” She turned back to us, her eyes squeezed tightly. “Damn it.”
Gerard walked toward the newcomer with his arms outstretched. “Unbreakable Sue, you made it!”
Nessa felt laughter bubble up. “Unbreakable Sue—good one.”
Sue stopped walking to chat with Gerard.
John, seated beside Nessa, had been silent and minding his own business all this time. “What’s the problem?” he finally asked.
Aurora didn’t get a chance to answer, and then she didn’t need to. Sue walked up to their cluster. Stopping beside Aurora, he looked down at her.
“Susan,” she said by way of greeting, straightening. She lifted her drink to her lips but didn’t take a sip, lowering it again. In a flat voice, she said, “Nice to see you.”
“I see you’ve crawled out of your hidey-hole,” he replied evenly.
Her lips tightened.
“What’s this now?” Tristan asked.
Sue looked at her expectantly.
Her chest barely rose with her inhale. “After the third time I threw up, I figured it would be better for the pack image if I just crawled into a hedge and stayed there until it was over.”