Page 70 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

I gaped at the square black box he held out to me. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m used to getting a slice of cake and a paperback for my birthday. Three days of celebrating with you and your brothers is more than enough as it is. You guys don’t have to get me anything at all, let alone more than one thing each—”

Corry silenced me by pressing a finger to my lips. ”Shush. We’re going to spoil you rotten and you’re going to love it. Got that, Red?”

Swallowing, I gave him a nod.

“Good, now open it so I can give you the second thing.”

Lifting the lid off the black box, my eyes landed on a brand new smartphone. I’d seen ads for this model. “Wow, this is fancy stuff, Cor. Huge step up from the one you bought me at the pharmacy the night we met.”

He shrugged. “That was just meant to be a temp. With this, you can access the internet to get caught up with the world. You can take great pics and videos with it, too.” He sent me a suggestive wink. “And I’ve pre-loaded your contacts, so you have the numbers of every member that belongs to our coven, the Elders, and all the major coven leaders in this state loyal to us. I imagine that list will grow longer when you become more acquainted with everyone.”

“Wow, thanks.” I clutched the phone to my chest, allowing myself to get caught up in the excitement. “You have more for me?”

The youngest prince’s cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his skull with the flat of his palm, looking suddenly abashed. “I have two more presents for you. The big one is waiting for you outside. But the second one is in here.” Lifting the plastic bag, it crinkled as he gave it a shake. He moved to my bed and set the bag down. “Before I give it to you, I want to tell you something.”

Curiosity wound through me as I moved to the bed and perched myself on the end of the mattress. “What is it?”

Stabbing his fingers through his spiked hair, he took a great breath. “This is gonna sound super cheesy. I haven’t had years of practice with women like the others. I know you’re barely older than me. But I probably seem like such a kid compared to my brothers.”

He took a seat beside me, the mattress dipping, and I found myself leaning into him. I gave him a warm smile, gleaning his nerves by the way he fidgeted beside me.

“You’re different from your brothers. Not because you’re younger, but because you’re...normal. I get you’ve got fangs, and you’re still struggling with the baby vampire thing, but you’ve been my ally from day one. I might be a vampire princess, but I’m still mortal, and I need someone like you to remind me of that, someone who will always be on my side. So don’t compare yourself to your brothers. You’re perfect for me just the way you are.”

“Really?” he asked, his shoulders lifting as the most brilliant smile curved his lips.

“Yeah. All four of you are my mates. Or, you will be. But you know what you also are to me that they aren’t?”

“What’s that?”

“My best friend?” The wordfriendjumped an octave, spinning it as a question. Fuck, now who was the cheesy one? The way I asked Corry to be my best friend reminded me of something I’d seen on TV once where a kid passed a note to another student in class, asking them to a school dance with a yes or no checkbox. It was ridiculous, and I felt a little silly. But I didn’t know how this best friend thing worked. If it went unsaid, or what.

The embarrassment that made my stomach flutter evaporated with the sunshine-like warmth in the youngblood’s expression.

“Yeah. We are best friends,” he murmured with a gentle purr that made my forearms erupt with goosebumps. “But we’re still going to make the mating bond, right? Because my balls are kind of riding on that happening today. I mean, no pressure if you don’t want me in that way. I just—”

I didn’t let him finish. My lips clamped over his, consuming his words in a rough kiss. My entire body burned hot as a potent cocktail of happiness and desire washed through me. “I want you in any way I can have you, Corry Cross. ”

“Thank fuck for that,” he exclaimed in relief, kissing me fervently a few more times on my lips and the area surrounding them. “There is no way Eros and Vin would let me live down getting friendzoned.”

“So, what were you wanting to tell me?” I giggled under another assault of kisses, pushing him away even though I didn’t really want him to stop. “Or was smothering me in kisses my second present?”

Laughing, he finally broke away from me, the glint in his eyes simmering almost as hot as his body heat. “Everyone is talking about how you’ve changed now that you’re back from the Boston Coven. That you’re stronger. That much is true. But that night in the pharmacy bathroom, you didn’t need a sword or razor-sharp claws to prove it. You didn’t need to mate Feral and come out unscathed to prove it either, not to me. All you needed was that box of hair dye.”

I sat up a little straighter, my nose wrinkling in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“The moment you entered that restroom blonde and came out with cherry red hair, you’d left behind the girl you were. You stopped being the victim, and you became a queen. With no crown or any of the other stuff. I fell in love with you at that moment, Ruby.”

Reaching inside the plastic bag, he pulled out the second item and held it out to me. It was a bottle. I took it and read the label. Meeting his gaze with an arched brow, I giggled. “Red color conditioner?”

“You apply it in the shower every time you wash it to keep your hair vibrant.” His abashed smile melted into a wry smirk that pronounced the dimple on his cheek. “I was hoping you’d let me help you with your hair again. Like the first night we met.”

A pleasant, tingly sensation spread across my chest. There were no words to justify how much I was in love with Corry Cross. He was sweet, kind, wore his heart on his sleeve, and treated me like the girl I’d always dreamed of being beyond the bars of my bedroom window.

With the youngest Knight prince, I was truly free.

I placed the new phone on my nightstand and clutched the bottle of color conditioner to my chest as I practically skipped to the bathroom, sensing the youngblood’s eyes hot on my back. When I was in the doorway, I turned to beckon him with the crook of my finger and said the same words I had that night when I’d invited him into the pharmacy bathroom with me. “Come on, Corry.”

He followed without needing to be asked twice. “This time, can I bite you?”

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