Page 75 of Don't Bite the Botanist
Tressa’s legs went limp and fell to the ground. When she spoke, her voice was coated in misery. “I… I understand, Ethan. You need more time. You need—”
“I needyou,” he growled, then kissed her again to make sure he shut that nonsense down before it even got started. The last thing he wanted was more space from her.
“So what’s wrong?” she asked when he pulled away a second time.
“We’re vampires,” he answered.
She jerked back a bit and gave him a confused look. “Yes. And?”
“And if vampires exist, then who the fuck knows what else exists. On the off chance that ghosts are a thing, I’d rather not get caught feeling you up less than twenty feet from my mother’s grave.”
Tressa’s explosive laugh echoed through the cemetery, bouncing off the headstones. “Okay. That’s fair. I haven’t heard anything about ghosts, but better safe than sorry.” She ran her nose along his neck, nuzzling the spot just behind his ear. “In that case, where do you want to go?”
“Hang on, lovebirds,” a male voice interrupted.
They turned to see Saiden and Derrick strolling toward them.
Tressa gently extricated herself from Ethan’s arms and hissed at her cousin. “I thought I told you to stay by the rental until I called for you?”
“Oh, you did,” Derrick said, amusement twitching at his lips as he scanned their mussed clothes and hair. “But I thought you might want to know Baylin pinpointed Renata’s location, and she’s here in Seacliff. Arrived shortly after we did. Still interested in taking her out?”
Ethan stiffened at the words. Renata. The rogue. The mission that had been so important to him was now within his grasp.
Except… he didn’t harbor the same hatred in his heart. The unending drive to seek revenge for Jake’s death no longer haunted him. He loved Jake like a brother, and he would feel the loss for the rest of his days, no matter how many of those he ended up having. But it wasn’t Ethan’s fault. He had no way of knowing his research would lead to a vampire attack that should have killed both of them.
He would never forget Jake, but that didn’t mean he needed to die along with him. Not when he had something to live for standing by his side and biting her lower lip as she looked up at him.
And yet…
That bitch had slapped his mate in the face.
He didn’tneedto kill Renata, but he sure as hellwantedto.
“What do you say?” he asked Tressa. “Want to go stake a vampire?”
She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Nobody actually uses stakes anymore, babe. That’s so old school and extremely impractical. Too much opportunity for something to go wrong.”
“She’s right,” Saiden said, stepping forward and opening his jacket to reveal an assortment of weapons tucked into various pockets. “We’ve upgraded since the dark ages.”
Ethan scanned the arsenal, then grinned at Saiden. “In that case, load me up. I might not be as skilled as you guys, but if I’m going to be part of the cadre, I guess it’s time for my initiation.”
Saiden and Derrick exchanged a brief look, then turned back to Ethan with big smiles on their faces.
“Welcome to the family, cousin,” Derrick said, and something in Ethan blossomed at the words. He knew the cocky vamp hadn’t meant anything much by them, but still. A family. It had been so long since he’d had one of those. The last time he felt anything like that was…
“Do you mind if we make a stop somewhere first?” he asked as they headed toward the road.
“We don’t know how long Renata will stay in one spot,” Saiden answered. “Why? What do you need?”
“There’s a woman who lives nearby,” Ethan said as they left the cemetery and crossed the road to the waiting McLaren. “She was friends with my mom. Kind of like an aunt to me. I couldn’t bring myself to see her after…” He shut his eyes for a second, then continued. “My mom always told me I should go to her if I was ever in trouble. Said she was a powerful witch. I never gave it much thought, but with this whole ‘vampires are real’ thing…” He shrugged. “Who knows?”
Tressa slipped her hand through Ethan’s and squeezed. “Of coursewe can go see her real quick. Like you said, who knows?”
“Fine,” Saiden grumbled as they reached the car. “But you get to drive the rental. Nobody lays a finger on Selene ever again.”
Tressa paused with her hand just shy of the door handle and slid her eyes over to Saiden. “Selene?”
Saiden ran a hand through his hair and looked away. “Cora’s become fond of the McLaren, so she named it Selene,” he muttered. “Said it was fitting since the car was hot, sleek, and badass. I don’t get the reference, but it made Cora smile, so…”
