Page 83 of Wicked Bite
“Not quite. You can’t go out in the sun.” He gave me a sad smile. “It’ll take time getting used to it.”
I sagged even more. I would miss the warm sun on my skin and the way it smelled on the flowers in the summer. But if I was being truthful with myself, I was a night creature way before I actually became one. “I’m going to miss the beach, but it’s still beautiful at night. And truthfully, I used to sleep most of the day anyways. What else doesn’t apply? What about garlic?”
“Myth.”
“Will I light on fire if someone hits me with a cross?”
He chuckled. “No. Myth.”
“Glow like a diamond in the sun?” How cool would that be?
“Oh, if only. I wouldn’t need half my charm if I did.” He rose to his feet and offered me his hand.
“Holy water?”
“Myth.” He stuck his fingers under the water, then sprinkled me with it. “You can bathe wherever you’d like.
“Silver bullets?”
“Myth, and I believe that’s werewolves, but its also a myth for them. They’re quite difficult to put down, actually.” He opened a drawer and pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste then handed them over to me.
“Do we also have dentists?” I teased before loading up the toothbrush and scrubbing away.
“You’re a funny one, you are.” He handed me a dry towel.
I wiped my mouth on it and stood there for a moment staring at the white towel smeared with red. Flashes went through my mind, and I was back in a forest hunting. The pain in my chest was nearly unbearable. I sucked in a breath and bent over. Another memory hit me, and I tried to push it away. Blinding headlights, screeching tires, and metal hitting my body. I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his midsection, pulling him closer. I snuggled into his chest and stood there for a moment, trying to find comfort in him from the craziness of the day.
Grayson stiffened against me. I loosened my hold on him. “Too hard.”
“It’s not that.” He disentangled himself from me. “Piper, we can’t.”
I glanced around the bathroom. “Can’t what?”
“This.” He motioned between the two of us.
WHAT?
Then the memory hit me all at once. I froze. I’d been waiting for him. I’d gone looking for him the night of my death. He said he’d be there, and he never showed up. I went to find him, to confront him. I took a step back from him. “That night . . . you weren’t there.”
“Yes.” His face turned deadly serious.
“Then why?” I motioned to the opulent surroundings. “Why all this?”
“You’d gotten hit. I wasn’t fast enough to stop the car. I couldn’t let you die.”
“You couldn’t show up either.” I shoved him and he flew back, skidding across the floor.
“Piper,” he warned.
It was all becoming so clear. I was pissed at him that night. We’d been perfection. He’d been warm and loving. The trust was there. Then he hadn’t shown up. “Typical guy. Got too close, got scared, and bailed.”
He held his hands up. “It’s not like that.”
“Then tell me, Prince Grayson, what was it like?” I put my hands on my hips.
“I don’t have an explanation.”
I knew something was weird. He hadn’t tried to touch me, or kiss me, or even hold me close. Sure, when I first woke, he’d held my hand and tried to calm me. But besides that, it’d been all formal distance. I thought he was giving me space to adjust. But nooooo, he was putting distance between us. “The freaking picker strikes again.”
