Page 37 of Bullets and Blood
“No one is a normal person.And I want more than pretend, Lance.I want safety.I want someone who knows what I am so I’m not hiding.I want you…but for all my planning, I don’t know how to make it happen.I know you don’t want to talk about it until the day before, but we need to make plans.”
“Let’s wait and see how my family reacts to your purchases.We have time.”And he didn’t want to waste it talking about the end when they’d barely begun.He stepped down and embraced Nix.
Nix slipped his arms around Lance’s waist and rested his head on his shoulder.“Do you actually want this place?”
It wasn’t the place—it was Nix.“It has a certain charm.But honestly, I’d rather drink beer than wine.”
Nix drew back.“You mean that all this time, I’ve been plying you with the wrong alcohol?”
Lance smiled.“You were stealing it anyway.”
“I prefer to think of it as getting familiar with the range.”He turned in Lance’s arms and stared over the vines.“This is the end game.To get here, there’s so many other moves.”
“We’ll figure it out.Together.”
Nix leaned against him and covered Lance’s hands with his.For a few moments, Lance let himself pretend that this was their place and their biggest problem was getting the possums out of the roof and picking paint colors.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Several empty beerbottles and an empty wine bottle were forgotten on the coffee table.They hadn’t so much disarmed as disrobed, and they’d made it as far as the sofa.Takeout had arrived, and they’d eaten and drunk, but they hadn’t moved from the sofa yet.They lay tangled together, Nix’s head on Lance’s chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Lance’s fingers trailed through his hair, and Nix wanted to fall asleep.He wanted to stay and wake up in Lance’s bed.But there could be no more of either.He’d known that at his winery.Lance had damn near ripped his heart out, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.For a little while, he’d been able to pretend that his life was worth living.
He closed his eyes, wanting a few more minutes before he got up, dressed, and went home.Lance was right; he did like to walk first.And every night that he stayed in Lance’s bed would make the end that much harder.
Nix sighed.
“This feels like goodbye,” Lance whispered.“You’re going to do that thing where you make the first cut.”
He squeezed his eyes tighter shut.Was he that fucking obvious?“This can’t continue.”
“Are you going to run?”
Despite having all the gear and a wad of cash, he’d discounted that.He wasn’t an oath breaker and didn’t want that to be his last act.Nor did he actually want to be running forever.“No.I swore I wouldn’t.”He lifted his head so he could look at Lance.“The truce is still in effect, but this…this has to stop.”
“Because you’ve decided that’s enough?I don’t get a say?”
“No, you don’t get a say because you’ll be all ‘it’ll be fine, we’ll worry about it just before’…but what difference will a few more days make?”
Lance kissed him hard.His lungs burned, and Nix didn’t want to breathe again.“How far could we get if we got on a plane tonight?”
“I have no passport.”He didn’t want to leave Zinnia either, but he couldn’t help it.They’d run, but for what?“I should’ve stayed and fought with the rest of my family.One more corpse for the morgue.”
“Then I’d have never met you, and I don’t regret this.”
“You will when your aunt finds out.”Nix pushed away, and Lance let him get up.Nix wanted Lance to hold him tight so he couldn’t leave.
Lance frowned, his lips drawn down.“I’ll beg the Reids to intervene.”
“They don’t want me and my blood causing trouble, and I don’t blame them.”He squatted down next to Lance.“I don’t blame you.”He kissed Lance’s forehead.“It’s been fun and…” He couldn’t spit the words out.It didn’t matter if he’d accidentally fallen in love with Lance or didn’t care a jot.
“And I’d do it all again in a heartbeat,” Lance finished for him.
“You wouldn’t.You’ll never accept another truce.You’ll be wary of handsome vampires who just want you for your ass.You’ll go on and…”
“Become like you.Blooded and scarred by the murders.”
“Yeah.”Nix stared at the floor.He had time to share one more truth.He ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth, finding the hard edges of his fangs.“Until I was blooded, I liked to be bitten.After that, I couldn’t stomach it.I’ve died once; this time, it will be final.I’m okay with that.”He had to be.
