Page 107 of Blood & Betrayals

“So, your parents will be cool with us… sharing a bed?” I look around and drop my voice. “Insin?”

Connor bursts out laughing. “What?”

I cross my arms, glaring up at him.

Connor manages to control his laughter just enough to reply to me. “We’ve been dating for months and you think I’ve beensinning?”

“Well, I don’t know. You’re an angel.”

Connor laughs so hard that he snorts. “Oh, babe, I guess you don’t know the big secret. That book that mortals are so obsessed with? It was written with separate agendas. They muddled the Almighty’s message. Greatly.” He pulls me in closer to him, still chuckling. “I mean, the fact they think the Almighty is amanis a big hint about the liberties they took.”

“Con, are your parents cool with you sharing a bed or not?”

“Yes, they are.”

I nod, only the barest hint of anxiety lingering. “Okay, then let’s continue the tour.”

“Babe,” Connor pulls me closer, “do you want to sleep in bed with me?”

I shrug. “Whatever.”

Connor’s grin is filled with male satisfaction. “You want to,” he says, brushing his lips over mine. I growl, but he just kisses me again. “And that’s really perfect because I want you to.” He smothers my face in kisses, and I can’t help but smile at being showered with such pure, playful affection. It is just one more way he shows me how much he cares about me.

I gently push him away. “Stop,” I groan, but I’m not really forcing him away, or even really wanting him to stop.

“But I love you,” he says, pressing a kiss to my nose and each of my cheeks.

I giggle and lift my face, softening against him. He’s turning me into such a mush. I have spent years pushing people away. I am very good at it. How did this angel figure out how to care for me in a way I would accept?

“And I’m excited to wake up with you tomorrow morning.”

I grab his face and kiss him deeply before pulling back. “The tour.”

Connor smiles brightly. “To Silver City!”

44

Summer

“Just let me get changed quickly?”

Connor nods and moves in closer. He bends his head slightly, kissing down my throat.

I moan softly. “How am I supposed to get ready like this?”

He playfully bites my neck. “Well… half of getting ready is getting undressed, and I happen to enjoy undressing you very, very much.”

I shiver, my fingers grasping his shirt. He slowly tugs my shirt up over my stomach, his lips leaving a trail of heat wherever he touches. He pulls back to slide my shirt off and throws it to the side, but then his mouth is on mine, and he is kissing me deeply. His tongue slides along the seam of my lips, begging for entry.

I open for him and tug at his shirt.

“Connor!” Farrah calls from downstairs.

He groans against my lips. “I’ll be right back, okay?” I nod and lick my lips as he pulls back. He groans again, his gaze locked on the flick of my tongue. “Seriously, Summer. Don’t move. I will be right back.”

I grin up at him. “I will be right here.”

Connor leaves the room at a near run, eager to get back. I sigh and look around. There is a stack of old notebooks on his desk. I smile and wander over, picking one up off the top and sitting on his bed, flipping it open. His handwriting is disjointed and young, filled with such innocence. I turn to the first page and start reading. It’s a personal profile with a small photograph of a mini Connor attached to the corner of the page, the familiar kindness in his blue eyes unmistakable. His features are boyish and soft, but the potential of what he will become is still there. His short blonde hair is windswept, and he smiles brightly at the camera, his wide grin revealing a missing front tooth.

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