Page 14 of Underworld

I laugh. “Just come up here and snuggle with me, you fucker.”

He snorts, then grunts as he gets up. I feel him fall onto the bed beside me and grin. I snuggle closer to him, and he wraps an arm around me. “Better, Persephone?”

I hum in contentment as I close my eyes. “Much better.” We lie in silence for a few minutes before I whisper, “I love you.”

Zane’s arms tighten around me as he pulls me closer. I feel his lips press softly against the top of my head as he whispers back, “I love you too.”

Chapter Twelve

Jane

We seem to be driving to the middle of nowhere. And when I say nowhere, I mean NOWHERE. America never really recovered from the wars over half a century ago. But people often forget history, and it ends up repeating itself. Although let's be honest, the government wanted everyone to forget our history, and sadly they did. Me? I know what the fuck happened. The government got greedy like they always do, and the American people were too blind to realize that no one in high society gave a flying fuck about the little guys. Unless they got publicity for it.

So, by the time the people realized they couldn’t protect themselves, the three major powers of the World had decided that they wanted to see who was number one. Spoiler alert, there was no winner in that fight. Lands were destroyed, and in an effort to fix what they had done, the government rearranged the territories. The United States of America is gone, and in its place is just America. It’s been fifty years, and I’ve got to say . . . the people in power still don’t give a fuck. That’s why my boys are trying to make a difference.

We turn onto a road with a large gate in front, and I gasp. I look out the windows on either side of the car, and it looks like the gate goes on forever. Jace pulls up to it and puts in a code. The large black gate opens, and we continue down a long driveway.

I start bouncing in my seat when the house comes into view. Can it be considered a house if it's a three-story mansion? “Holy shit! Is this your house?!”

Jace laughs softly from the front and says, “This is OUR house. We have Hellhounds who guard the perimeter when we stay here. There’s a guest house outside the gate where they can stay in shifts.”

Once the car is parked, I crawl over Howe’s lap and open the door. I almost fall to the ground in my haste but manage to catch myself.

Howe laughs at me. “Slow down, Starlight. The house isn’t going anywhere.”

Jumping up and down, I yell, “Let’s go. Let’s Go!” I run up to the front door as the guys follow, laughing at my excitement. The last time I was in a house this big, it was my dad’s place. I can’t wait to see what they did with this big house.

Jace opens the front door for me, and I rush inside. Wow. I don’t know how else to describe it other than grand. “This . . . this is amazing.”

Howe comes up beside me and tugs on my hand. “We can give you the full tour later; let’s show you your room.” He drags me behind him as we walk up the extremely grand stairs.

“How did you end up with this big of a place?” I ask, staring around in awe as he drags me down a hallway.

Zane speaks up, and I jump a bit, not having realized everyone is following. “We bought this place at a severe discount. The house was run down and needed a lot of updates.”

“We thought that we needed a place away from the cave. A place where we can relax and just be ourselves,” Jace adds.

I snort. “This seems like a lot of room just for relaxing.”

Alec walks up next to me and smiles. “We also have a shooting range out back and a large gym in the basement.”

Howe hums. “And a huge kitchen.”

I laugh and ask, “Who cooks?”

Looking over my shoulder, I see Alec and Howe point behind them while Jace points at Zane with a grin. “He’s the best cook around here.”

Zane grunts. “I had to learn how to cook. Every single one of you idiots burned everything, and I’m pretty sure Alec burned boiling water.”

“How do you burn boiling water?” I ask; I didn’t even know that was possible.

Zane shrugs. “I have no idea, but none of them are allowed in the kitchen to cook anymore. We went through five sets of pots and pans before they realized they should leave everything up to me.

Howe rubs the back of his head. “I wanted to make sure I couldn’t learn how to cook.”

Zane shakes his head. “Well, you can’t.”

I bump Howe’s shoulder and say, “It’s okay. I can’t cook worth shit either.”

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