Riley
Apparently, Seth really liked his show, and that was not to be questioned. Lesson learned.
It wasn’t fair to keep Seth in the dark any longer.
“I think because I was a child, or maybe because we’re blood-related, my bite didn’t…
feel good, the way they usually do. So she was scared.
She hurt. And the only reason I didn’t k-kill her was that she fought me off.
My vampire strength didn’t match an adult’s yet, and she—she grabbed the nearest lamp and smashed it over my head.
I was so scared but still so hungry. So I ran, and then… he caught me. Again.”
He’d let the vampire part of him take over a lot in those early days. He’d trusted his strange new moms to watch over him, and he’d let go. He’d hunted for hours and hours in the woods, safe and secure in that blank, nothing state in the back of his own mind.
It had taken time and patience for his moms to draw him out, to coax him into inhabiting himself again. And even though they’d managed it, part of him had always wondered if he’d ever feel whole again.
But he did feel whole, wrapped in Seth’s slender, strong arms, letting his tears soak Seth’s T-shirt.
He was a person, wasn’t he, even after all that had happened?
Maybe a broken person—an unnatural creature with long, jagged cracks running along his center—but a person nonetheless.
His moms had done their part, and now Seth was helping hold those broken bits together by sheer stubbornness and kindness and bravery, and all Riley had to do was let him.
Those gentle fingers that had brushed Riley’s cheeks now stroked through his hair. “I’m sorry if I pressured you into biting me before you were ready,” Seth said. “I get a little single-minded sometimes, but I should have asked. I shouldn’t have just…bossed you around.”
Riley was too tired and worn out to pretend to be normal about anything.
He sniffed back tear-induced snot and told Seth, “You can boss me around all you want. Tell me what to do, tell me when to do it. Because you might not be mine, but I’m all yours.
” Riley burrowed deeper into Seth’s hold. “Every single part of me.”
One of the mysteries of Seth was that he could be so generous and so cruel all in the span of twenty-four hours.
“But I don’t want to go back,” Riley told him. “I want to stay here. With you.”
Seth met Riley’s eyes in his vanity mirror as he straightened his cloth headband.
This one had a yellow-and-orange checkered pattern, like a tablecloth made out of sunshine.
“I’m not banishing you, but you need to pick up some of your own clothes and check in with your moms.” Seth turned, assessing Riley’s outfit with a skeptical gaze.
“My pants are definitely too short on you.”
Riley looked down at the sweats he was wearing. Sure enough, he was flashing some ankle. He huffed. “I don’t care.”
“You look like a dork.”
“So what?”
Seth only laughed, then began rummaging through his tote bag, presumably checking to see if he still had the keys and lunch he’d packed only a few minutes before.
Seth had a system in the mornings, and it wasn’t a lingering one.
He didn’t eat breakfast at home, instead waiting to snag one of his own pastries at the bakery during prep.
It unsettled Riley in a vague way, like he knew he should have been insisting Seth sit down and eat something hearty to prepare for the day.
But it would have been pointless, since Riley didn’t know how to cook anything, anyway.
And Seth didn’t shower in the mornings either.
He only splashed water on his face and dressed in a hurry.
He said there was no point to showering when he was just going to get all sweaty and covered in flour at work anyway.
He waited until he got home at the end of the day.
Which meant Riley couldn’t offer to wash his back either.
So basically Riley didn’t have anything to offer when it came to Seth’s routine. Instead, he was being shooed away like a pest.
Tote bag thoroughly inspected, Seth came over and placed his hands on Riley’s shoulders.
Even though he’d laughed at Riley and told him he looked like a dork, Seth’s gaze wasn’t dismissive.
It was warm. Considerate. “You feeding on me was kind of a milestone,” he said softly, giving Riley’s shoulders a gentle shake.
“Don’t you think you should share that with your moms? ”
That was reasonable. Sensible. Riley should graciously agree and make a dignified exit.
“It’s Violet’s training day,” he pointed out instead.
Seth laughed again. “Yes, yes, it is. And she doesn’t need you pouting at her the whole time she’s there.”
“I wouldn’t pout.”
“You would.”
Riley scowled. “Don’t bake any orange cakes with her.”
Seth’s eyebrows went up to his hairline. “I wasn’t planning on it. I’m just going to be showing her the basics so she knows a little more about what I offer. And she’s already run the register. We’ll go over closing duties and the little nitty-gritties. It’ll be boring.”
It didn’t sound boring to Riley, not if Seth was doing it.
He didn’t know why he was being so clingy, other than the obvious answer that it was in his nature. True, he was a little extra raw from his confession last night, but most of those sharp edges had been soothed by watching Seth sleep.
Maybe it was the unsettled mate bond tugging at him. There was this fear, underneath the peace Seth brought him, this sense that at any moment, all this could end.
Who was to say that Seth wouldn’t disappear from Riley’s life as quickly as he’d arrived? Riley had come to depend on him so fast, and everything was still so uncertain. Seth was human—not only could he leave; he could die.
There was no reason to think he would, but the possibility was always there, hovering in the darkest corners of Riley’s mind. Was it any wonder Riley felt a little unhinged about it all?
Seth planted a firm kiss on Riley’s scowling mouth. “You can come back tonight. I’ll make us dinner.”
Riley stole another kiss before asking, “Really?” He couldn’t help how hopeful he sounded.
“Yes, really. I told you I wasn’t banishing you.” Seth wrapped his arm around Riley’s as they headed out the door. “Do you want to take my car? You can drop me off at the bakery first.”
That was…nice. Domestic, really, sharing a car like that. Some of the tightness left Riley’s chest, even as he shook his head. “No. A run through the woods sounds nice.”
“Ugh.” Seth threw his head back. “It really does. I should go on one soon.”
“We can run together.”
Seth wrinkled his nose. “But you’ll be all composed and perfect, and I’ll be all ragged and sweaty.”
Riley nodded, pleased with that image. “I like you ragged and sweaty.”
Seth gave him a swat, but his cheeks flushed a very revealing pink.
Riley rode with him all the way to the bakery, kissed him senseless at the bakery door, and then went on his way. He wasn’t exactly feeling light as air, but he was slightly less disgruntled than he might have been.
It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have a bag of his own clothes and some spare books at Seth’s.
And yeah, Riley’s moms would want to hear that he’d fed successfully.
Mama Daphne probably had some wonderful gift she’d been saving for the occasion.
Or maybe she’d want to redo his bedroom to celebrate.
So Riley ran through the woods, relishing the rush of cold, damp air. It was comforting, the familiar scents and sounds of the forest. And Riley was full from Seth’s bite, so he didn’t need to terrorize the local woodland creatures. He could just enjoy it, taking his place as one of them.
He was momentarily distracted when he smelled something strange along the road, a kind of briny scent with an odd edge to it he couldn’t categorize. But it was too saturated with car exhaust and motor oil to make out clearly. Maybe someone had been hauling a catch of fish.
His moms’ cars were back at the house, just like Riley knew they would be. His belly clenched with nerves as he got to the front door. Would they be disappointed he’d let Seth out of his sight already? Would they think he’d been reckless to bite him so soon?
But it wasn’t Riley’s moms waiting for him on the living room couch this time.
Instead of the two women he loved most in the world, it was two grown men, sitting close together. One was blond and blandly good-looking, the other too sharp-cheeked and dead-eyed to be considered classically handsome. Not to mention the horrible checkered suit.
Riley scowled at the two of them. “What are you doing here?”
“Now, Riley,” Wolfe drawled, placing a possessive hand on Eric’s knee as he smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Is that any way to greet invited guests?”