Page 193 of Dark Love

Vex’s face falls.

Why can’t say this right? “It’s not that I don’t want you. It’s… I made these plans last year. My group gets together every year. We do silly stuff together. And Vex… you’re the opposite of silly. I don’t want to be the one to make the group awkward by bringing her super sexy boyfriend.”

“How will you sleep?” He brushes a finger across my cheek.

“I won’t, but we never do. It’s a week of unlimited caffeine, junk food, and giggling.”

Vex’s brow wrinkles.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” And for once I mean that. “Before I met you, this one week a year was the best time of my life.”

“Before you met me?” A smile spreads across his face. “Say it again.”

“Vex.”

“Say it again.”

The grin on his face makes me want to more than anything, but he still hasn’t said the words back. “We haven’t even kissed.”

He leans forward. His hands shift from the bar to my waist, sending shivers up and down my spine.

“You didn’t promise not to kiss me this weekend.”

“No, I didn’t.”

We’re so close our breath must be mingling.

Is he going to kiss me now? My heart starts beating like a hummingbird’s wings. We waited so long for this kiss to be right. Ending a fight with our first kiss doesn’t seem right. I lean back a little bit to give us space. “Why don’t I make you some brownies?”

Vex takes a long breath. “Bed now. Brownies tomorrow.”

“Fine, but that’s going to take time away from me raiding your library. Maybe we should take a little peek now.”

“Nice try.” Vex scoops me up into his arms. “You need sleep, woman.”

I yawn. “If I didn’t love you so much, I’d complain about all of this neanderthal behavior.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

He’s right, I probably wouldn’t. But I should at least pretend to.

There’s More

Dahlia

My man is rich. Nothing could exemplify it as much as the closet in front of me. It’s not like I don’t already have an excessive wardrobe at home, but this is just next level. “How do I pick?”

“What did you say, Dahl?” Vex pokes his head into the closet.

“This is ridiculous.” The amount of money he spent on me in one afternoon makes my head hurt. “Look around. The dream purses multiplied since I was last here.”

“And?”

“That’s it?” It’s like this was nothing for him. “All you have to say is and?” If he’s rich enough to own a jet that doesn’t do much, it was probably nothing.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

Do I have the wrong view? I’m basing his spending off of my own budget. But some of that money had to have come from illegal ventures. “Nothing.” Vex is a criminal, yet you still love him. You’re letting him buy you a billion bookstoday out of the same pool of money. Why keep stressing about this? “We’re going to the bookstore. Who eats before they shop? That’s what the café is for.”

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