Chapter 34
Finn
Acouple of months, hell, a few weeks ago, I’d thought I’d stay in this little shithole apartment with the clanking heater and the unreliable water pressure for years and years on end.
That I’d start my new job, pay off my student loans, save up money for an emergency fund, and then I’d start looking into getting a bigger or nicer apartment.
What I hadn’t considered, not in my wildest dreams, was that I’d find a vampire boyfriend—sorry, vampire mate—and would move in with him within weeks. But here we were. Standing in my almost empty apartment.
The furniture was already gone. My threadbare couch had found a new owner in a girl who’d moved into an apartment on the third floor.
She’d also graciously taken my old table, one of the rugs, and my bookshelf.
I’d let her pick whatever she wanted, then asked her if any of her friends needed anything.
It’d taken two days for everything to find new owners—and I hadn’t even had to brave the horrors of Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist to get the stuff off my hands.
The only things left were a couple of boxes. Not many, mind you, because without space to store stuff, one tended to become a minimalist.
“That’s everything you own?” Bennie asked, raising his eyebrows.
I turned my head toward him and laughed. “Where exactly did you think I was hiding my stuff?”
I knew he’d been here at least once before. The night I’d been drugged. Which apparently had been Eric’s fault. Well, Eric said it was Aries’s fault, while Aries insisted that Eric shouldn’t order things he didn’t know.
I’d suggested not drugging people, but that’d been a hard no for Aries.
So, if the police ever came around asking about people getting drugged at CRAVE, I was now an accomplice.
Perfect.
Let’s see how long I’d be able to keep that fancy new teaching position.
Bennie shrugged, giving me a smirk. “Maybe you’re a wizard, and there really are a ton of hidden doors all over the apartment.”
“I wish.”
“Well, now you have all the space you could wish for.” Bennie let out a laugh. “I mean, you have all the living space you could wish for. I highly doubt you’ll have more personal space. Quite the opposite. But I swear, if Eric chains you to the bed, I’ll come and save you.”
“Chances are, if Eric chains me to the bed, it’s because I want him to, and your interference would be both unnecessary and unwelcome.”
Bennie snorted out a laugh, nodding his head at me in a sign of respect. “Dude. That was brutal. I really don’t want to picture you and Eric fucking. That’s gross. He’s like… my brother.”
I laughed, but just for a second. Then my eyes flickered to the door. Eric still hadn’t returned from carrying down the box with the rest of my clothes. Perfect.
“Is he still?” I asked, raising my eyebrow at him. “Because you’re a bit… off.”
Which could very well be due to the fact that his old clan head had tried to get him killed. But I had the creeping suspicion it had more to do with the fact that Eric had gone a bit overboard killing those fledglings.
Right now, I’d really like to have my couch back, because this was a conversation that felt like we should be sitting down for. Maybe I should’ve waited until we were home, sitting on the absolutely not worn-out couch, playing Mario Kart or whatever. It would have set a more relaxed scene.
Then again, Eric was never far away, and really, I didn’t want this to be a whole thing.
“Of course he is.” Bennie ran a hand through his hair. “Did he notice?”
I leaned my head from side to side. “Maybe? He doesn’t think it has anything to do with him, just that Ambrose trying to kill us all has really fucked with you.”
“It has. But I’d be lying if I said that watching Eric—proper, uptight, serious Eric—literally tearing someone apart and ripping their head off wasn’t a bit of a mindfuck. But I’ll get over it, I promise.”
“Good.” I nodded at Bennie and patted his shoulder. “If you need to talk about it, I’m here, you know. Like, literally, I won’t be more than a few rooms away.”
Bennie giggled. “You just said that I should be careful about entering Eric’s and your room because I might find you chained to the bed.”
“You did what?”
Eric stood in the open apartment door, one hand resting on the doorknob as he stared at me as if I’d just grown a second head.
Bennie grabbed a box and danced past me, winking at me as he left, leaving me and Eric alone.
That fucker had set me up.
His deflection game was superb.
Eric stalked over to me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me flush against his hard body, his gentle smile a stark contrast to his swift, confident actions.
“Thank you for being there for Bennie,” he whispered, leaning in to press a gentle kiss on my cheek.
“I know this whole situation is hitting him harder than he’s letting on.
” He shook his head, the smile on his face melancholic.
“Today should be filled with joy. You’re moving in with me, and that feels like a dream come true, though I can’t help but think I’d rather you move in of your own volition instead of an asshole like Ambrose forcing your hand. ”
I fucking loved this man.
“Don’t look at it like Ambrose forcing my hand. Look at it like… the situation is being sped along a little. Or as me making a logical decision. Me saving money on rent. Me using you for access to your private library.”
The arms around me tightened as Eric lifted me off the ground.
“You know, I highly encourage you to spend all your time in our library. At least you’re safe there.”
I snorted. “You do know that my new job starts soon, right?”
I felt Eric give a brief nod against my head.
“Yes. But that’s a problem for another day.
For now, I want to go home and celebrate with you and Bennie.
If we’re feeling generous, we could invite Aries too.
” He paused for a moment, then laughed. “On the other hand… let’s not. Today is just for us. For family.”
I smiled, my heart lifting as I thought about his words.
Our ragtag group of three was a family. I liked that. Family protected each other. And I knew deep in my heart that I’d do everything I possibly could to keep those two vampires—my two vampires—undead.