“But he’ll never love me.” I didn’t know why I was so hung up on that. Was it that important?
“No, but if it’s feelings you’re after, I can do that bit,” he said as he laced his fingers between mine. “Now, let’s take all this upstairs, snuggle under the duvet and watch some cheesy romcom on my laptop. How does that sound?”
“Honestly? Like heaven.”
It was after midnight when Bishop said Byron was on his way back. He let himself out saying that it’d be best for Byron and me to have our own space, but he did put his number in my phone and said he’d be up for movie nights whenever I needed them.Which was sweet and made me start to feel like I really belonged somewhere. That I was part of a pack. Maybe even a family. Which I knew was crazy because I had Dara, but she was happily settled with Genevieve, and I always felt like an afterthought. Although, I was grateful she’d saved me and taken me away from the coven and my father, but I still wasn’t sure how I felt about her altering my memories. That was a churning thought in my mind. I understood why she’d done it, but had she done it for my benefit, or hers?
I’d spent the evening with Bishop sleeping a little and crying a lot and through it all Bishop had held me and comforted me and ate sugary goodness with me. I didn’t end up drinking that much. It just started to make me feel even more shit, so we switched from the rum to tea which I definitely found more comforting.
Would Byron just let himself in? I really didn’t want to move from my blanket fort and besides, we were probably past knocking. Did I stay in bed or go and greet him?
I heard his heavy boots coming up the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief. He strode into my bedroom and stripped his coat and boots off, flinging them carelessly onto the chair in the corner.
“God, I missed you,” he said as he threw himself onto the bed and wrapped his arms around me and all my blankets. He squeezed me tightly and sank his nose into the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply.
“I missed you too,” I replied, enjoying the way his weight settled on me. It was comforting and cosy and it made me feel happy. I untangled my arms from my blankets and wrapped them around him, pulling him closer. Then I pressed a soft kiss to the shell of his ear and trailed my hands down his back.
He hissed as I reached the bottom of his spine and I quickly pulled my hands away.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just underestimated the vampire I was chasing. He had more stomach than I thought. Ironically only after I’d ripped it out, though.”
“Jeez, Byron. Let me see.” I pushed him off me and emerged from my little blanket cocoon.
“You just want to get me naked,” he said with before sliding his turtleneck up his back.
I tutted at him and twirled my finger to get him to turn around revealing three deep gashes along his lower back. “Are they claw marks?”
“Yes,” he replied simply as if there was no reason why they wouldn’t be there.
“Do you ever come back from an assignment unscathed?”
“Usually, but I’ve been pre-occupied the last few times.”
“With what?”
He looked over his shoulder at me. “With you. You consume most of my thoughts. I can barely think of anything else for about four seconds.”
Oh. How wonderfully casually romantic that was. Sometimes he said things so matter-of-factly, it was hard to believe anything else was possible.
“Here,” I said, swallowing stiffly before placing my hand on his back. I called a little of my magic to the surface and eased it into his skin. It glowed purple beneath my hand and the claw marks started to knit themselves back together.
“Mmm, that feels nice,” Byron whispered as my magic healed him. “Like the sun touching my skin. I didn’t know you could do healing magic.”
“I can only do a little,” I replied. “And my sister is better at it than me. So don’t go getting shot in the heart or something stupid like that.”
He turned back around and pressed a quick hard kiss against my mouth. “For you, anything.”
“Really?” I scoffed.
He frowned at me, those dark brows descending in a severe slash. “Don’t you know yet? I’d do anything for you. You only have to ask.”
“But we barely know each other. We’re not in a relationship. Pretty sure you used to hate me, Byron.”
He tilted his head to one side, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. “You’ll come around. I’ll make sure of it.”
I snorted. “Have you not heard of consent?”