Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 159050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 795(@200wpm)___ 636(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 795(@200wpm)___ 636(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
“Really? That would be great!” Elliot stirred in the seat with excitement. “I thought I could try and cover him in armor…” Would Knight get the reference?
The skin around Knight’s visible eye crinkled, and he briefly looked at Elliot with a joyful smile. “Should I get a count then?”
“No! I’m not the Count anymore. You could add a line in your Family tree though…”
Knight groaned and hit the back of his head against the seat. “Damn it. I forgot about that. The family tree on my back is fucked up too. Will this never end?” he complained, but just as they were about to leave the property, Elliot noticed a figure between the trees. It was the Native American ghost he’d seen several times before. As always, he said nothing, just looked at their vehicle until his image dispersed in the backdrop of snow.
“You’ll always be a Mercier to me.” Elliot squeezed Knight’s hand. He wouldn’t say it to Knight’s face, but the tattoos covering Knight’s body always made him think that they were somehow more connected. That before they even met, Elliot had been already meant to be deep under Knight’s skin.
Knight smirked and put his arm around Elliot.
The Engagement
Beast was happy to relax. Being the club president came with a great number of responsibilities, but he still made sure to spend time with Laurent. Around Christmas there was far less going on, and some of the brothers even visited their families out of Brecon, which meant he had plenty of time to just chill out with his pretty boyfriend. Laurent was worthy of any pact Beast might have made with the devil.
He approached their door and opened it, rolling his shoulders to loosen up as he walked into the living room, which looked completely different drowned in the light of candles. It seemed Laurent had special plans for their evening together.
The furniture had been rearranged. Laurent had brought in a small table and two chairs, set it with tablecloth, and the scent of Chinese food was hard to miss. As soon as he saw Beast, he rose from his chair with a wide smile. Maybe it was a Christmas Eve thing that he was so dressed up and polished. Not that he usually wasn’t, since Laurent didn’t like to have a hair out of place.
Laurent stepped closer in the made-to-measure dark blue suit Beast got for him some time ago. Even the pocket square was manicured perfection, as if Laurent had folded it along a tape measure. Maybe he had. He hated getting things wrong.
“Hi. Did I forget something important?” Beast asked cautiously, only now noticing that the table was set with the ridiculously expensive porcelain Laurent had wanted for his birthday. Beast had offered to buy him pretty much anything at the mall, and Laurent decided on dinnerware. That ended up with Beast having to purchase a display cabinet for it as well. The set of modern china, white with a drip-design done with golden paint, never left its pristine spot—which Laurent illuminated whenever they had guests at the apartment—until tonight.
“No, I just thought this is a nice time for a special evening. It’s so quiet around the clubhouse that it will feel like just the two of us are here.” Laurent walked up to Beast and squeezed his hand before pulling him to the table. “I had Nao order your favorites. You know, from the restaurant we got food at when we first met?”
Beast swallowed. This couldn’t possibly be an anniversary, because Laurent had only crashed into his life back in April. What was it then? Why the ceremony? It couldn’t be anything bad, because Laurent was all smiles, but it was still unnerving.
Beast sat down and looked at the cheap yet delicious takeout lying in the middle of the elegant plate. On the day they’d bought the set, Laurent kept asking the saleswoman what patterns were considered fashionable and seemed very confused when she claimed that there was variety to suit everyone’s taste. In the end, he’d put across that he wanted something representative and modern, only to then grill her about the provenance of the maker and which important people owned sets from the same brand. Throughout the process, Beast kept his face still, not wanting to discourage Laurent’s idea, but later that day he did ask Knight why a man would be so adamant about getting pretty plates. Apparently, it used to be a status thing. So now he had plates they never used, because they were there to show off they had taste and cash.
Until tonight.
He was getting stomach cramps.
“That’s nice... General Tso’s chicken?”
Laurent smiled and sat opposite Beast who was feeling very underdressed for whatever this occasion was. Or was it just… Laurent wanting to try some new sex thing and being coy about it?