Page 72 of Marked By the Pack
“I’ll love whatever color you choose.” He kissed my cheek that wasn’t covered in paint. “I trust you.”
I swallowed hard. I wasn’t sure I deserved his trust. Callum had specifically asked me not to hang out with the guys at the local bank. And I was making a quick stop there before lunch. “Mhm.” My voice came out squeaky and weird.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just need to go or I’ll be late.” I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him before he could ask me any more questions. I’d tell him about talking to Bennett after I did it. It was always easier to explain things after. If I had another option, I wouldn’t be doing it at all. But I needed to get to the bottom of this stupid blood oath I took. It was driving me crazy.
“Well, tell Zoey I said hi. And that I haven’t killed you.”
I laughed. “She’s not worried about that.” Another lie. Why did I keep lying to him?
“She’s definitely worried about that. She texts you dozens of times whenever I’m alone with you.”
“I was hoping that you hadn’t noticed that. Zoey’s just having some adjustment issues. She’ll come around. I know she will. I mean…she has to. You and I are forever, right?”
He nodded. But he’d lowered his eyebrows in that way that made it feel like he could peer into my soul.
I grabbed my coat, gave him a wave, and hurried out the door.
I’d been tiptoeing around questions I had for Callum. We needed to just sit down and talk. I wanted to know if he wanted to be human again. If it was even possible. And if he couldn’t…would he really never turn me into a vampire? And what did that look like if we just stayed the same? Could we have kids? Because now that we had a home…my mind had started wandering.
For so long I’d just been obsessed with seeing him again. And now that we’d found our way back to each other…I was finally able to think about what else I wanted from life. I wanted kids. With him. And I wasn’t even sure it was possible. It was one of the reasons why I hadn’t brought it up. I was scared of the answer.
I tried to shake the thought away as I made my way down Main Street. Callum and I would figure out a solution. He just wanted me to be happy. As long as that meant me staying human.
I only had a few minutes before I was meeting up with Zoey. But this wouldn’t take long. I walked up the steps of the bank and opened the door.
There was one older gentleman talking to Otto at the counter, but otherwise the bank was empty.
Otto handed the guy a slip of paper, told him to have a nice day, and waved me over. “Hey, Emma. Skeet skeet.” He winked at me.
What?
“What’s up?”
“Oh. Um. Is Bennett here? I really need to speak with him.” Zoey had mentioned that Bennett was back in town. I hoped he was back at work too.
Otto put his elbows on the counter and leaned forward. “Why? I thought the two of you called it quits.”
I had actually never seen Otto look so serious. Unless you counted when he was purposely pushing Callum’s buttons. And even then he’d been joking around.I think.“It’s not about us. I just have a question for him.”
“Ah. Well, good.” He tapped on the counter. “He’s in his office. You can go right in. But just to warn you…he’s in a shit mood. No idea why.”
Great.I walked over to Bennett’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” his muffled voice came through the door.
I walked into his office.
Bennett was sitting at his desk. His arms were folded across his chest and a frown was etched onto his face. He looked up at me and his frown only intensified. “Emma.”
Why was he looking at me like that? “Hey, Bennett. I have a question for you.”
“I have one for you too. Is that…” he shook his head. “What is on your face?”
Huh?I reached up and touched my cheek. I felt the dried paint under my fingertips.Oh my God.Otto had said “skeet skeet” to me. Did he think that was semen on my face?! “It’s paint,” I said way too defensively.
“Oh.” He nodded. “I didn’t realize you painted too.”
