Page 44 of Love Bites Extra Hard

Or that she was the reason my scales were falling. Or that they grew in smoother after they came out.

That conversation would’ve required admitting what we were, and she obviously wasn’t ready to be anything more than friends with benefits.

Which was fine with me. Minus the part where I couldn’t sleep.

But I could survive without sleep.

We stepped out on our balcony, and I pulled her onto my back before shifting forms. She didn’t scream in terror, like she had the first time—she just laughed when my body grew.

I carried her out to the place where the cell reception started, and flew in a slow circle to give her time to message her sisters. It had only been a minute or two when she raised her voice to let me know she was done.

Satisfaction set in as I carried her back to the castle.

She didn’t want to stay and chat with her sisters.

She wanted to go back home with me. Back to our life.

Which, yes, she still thought was temporary.

But eventually, she’d know the truth.

I wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret forever. Stella was already threatening to tell her, and shediddeserve to know.

I was just too fucking selfish.

Because as soon as she learned what we were, she was going to want to go home.

And I couldn’t fucking lose her. Not anymore.

ten

AVERY

A month wentby in the blink of an eye.

The baskets of scales Talon had given me had multiplied rapidly. Every empty surface in my apartment was covered in them, and there were still a dozen baskets full, placed strategically around the room.

I’d been resisting the urge to dump them in my bed and sleep with them for weeks, but Talon was in my room far too often for me to pull that off without letting him know how weird I was about them.

The phone service was finally going to be completed that day, and I was thrilled.

I’d finally get to talk to my sisters again. Regularly. As much as I wanted.

I loved living in the castle—mainly because of the tall, dark, and handsome king I was screwing—but I still missed my family desperately.

Glancing at the time, I frowned when I realized Talon was late with the food.

He’d never been that late before.

Maybe he had slept in.

I padded over to the door and reached for the handle, but stopped when I heard a voice outside my room.

“When was the last time you slept more than a few minutes?” Stella demanded.

I’d spent far too much time with her not to recognize her voice.

“It doesn’t matter,” Talon grunted.

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