Page 35 of Love Bites Extra Hard

Or fifteen.

Oops.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a second.”

I loaded all of the books into the basket, and carried it to the door. The poor basket was straining under the weight of them as I pulled it open and held it out to Talon.

His eyebrows lifted, just slightly.

“Here.” I held it out toward him a little more. “You can have your basket back. And your books.”

He looked past me, into the room, and his eyes darkened when he saw the scales on the dresser.

I opened my mouth to tell him he could still have them back, but the words that came out were entirely different.

“They’re mine now.”

His lips curved, slightly. Like he was trying to fight a smile but failing.

He headed down the hall, and I headed with him. We only walked a few feet before he stopped in front of a door, and opened it.

I frowned.

Whose room were we going into?

I peeked in as he stepped inside, and my eyes widened as I saw the large, open space. There was a kitchen to one side, and a simple living room with a TV across from a comfortable-lookingcouch. Two doors stood open, and I could see part of a bed through one of them and a desk through the other.

The whole room smelled so thickly of Talon, there was no question it was his. I took in a deep breath, and something in me settled.

He set the basket down near the door, and I noticed two more identical baskets, both bigger than the one I’d filled with books. They were stacked together, with the medium one inside the biggest one. Both were empty.

“Want to look around?” he asked me, apparently noticing the way I was staring at everything, taking it in.

“I’m okay,” I said, forcing myself to stay put. “Stella is probably waiting for us.”

“She gets there at six every morning,” he agreed. “She only leaves every evening because she knows I’ll drag her ass to therapy if she doesn’t.”

He slipped out of the room, and we headed downstairs together.

“She seems to blame herself for his actions,” I said.

“She does. Hence the therapy.”

“Have you actually done it? Taken her to therapy?”

“Many times. I don’t think she’s really going to have closure until he’s dead.”

“I can’t imagine what the situation must’ve done to her,” I admitted. “It’s bad enough when you care about someone and they hurtyou, but to find out they did that to yourfriends? Hurt them? Killed them?” I shook my head, my throat swelling.

If Wendell had so much as touched one of my sisters, everything that had happened between us would’ve played out and ended much, much sooner.

Talon stopped.

Abruptly.

His hand was on my wrist, holding me in place. “Who hurt you?”

His voice was low.

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