Free Changing Beauty (Book 2) (The Deadly Beauties Live On) by C. M. Owens Page B

quickly.
    He cocks his head to the side, and he gestures toward the door. “They’re my family. My only family now.”
    That confuses me. “Are you blood-related?”
    “Blood doesn’t equal family.” He shifts off the wall and comes to prop up beside me, careful not to spill his coffee on me as he leans against the headboard, pressing our sides together. “When I bought this house, I had a different family—one I also chose, but couldn’t trust. Then I found an entirely new family—one I trust with my life.”
    That has me smiling. He makes it sound so easy.
    “That smile is turning me on. You better hurry up and get to know me.”
    My laughter spills out, and he nudges me while kissing my shoulder. It’s oddly… easy to be around him, when only yesterday I couldn’t put two words together in front of him.
    “I want to know everything there is about you, Thad,” I tell him honestly, turning my eyes back to his again.
    Something flickers within the depths of his honey-colored eyes, and his smile falters.
    “That might take a while.”
    I settle back against the headboard, and in a moment of brazen abandon, I toss my leg over his waist and snuggle up against him as though it’s the most natural thing in the world. “I’m all yours for however long it takes.”
     

Chapter 7
     
    THAD
     
    “Hashtag—Thad is cranky,” Zee says, filling in for the annoying incubus who is off searching for his mother and her witch girlfriend.
    “Ha,” I mumble as we trek through the woods. “I’m not cranky.”
    Okay, so maybe I am. Frustrated would probably be more accurate than cranky.
    “You’re welcome for the sleeper spell I did to keep Roslyn at your house last night. And I did a birth control spell on her, FYI,” Ella says, appearing at my side with Kimber. Gage appears next, wrapping his arms around Kimber as though this is a romantic outing instead of a hunt for dangerous creatures.
    “Thanks, but it’s apparently not going to be necessary until she gets to know me.”
    I shift uncomfortably, cursing my cock for refusing to go down. Roslyn isn’t just under my skin; she’s crawling around inside me. This is getting ridiculous.
    “That sucks,” Zee says. “Considering you can’t really tell her anything too truthful.”
    Amy and Sierra stop ahead of us, studying a section of the ground. But the sight of both of them gives me an idea.
    “Zee, you’re from a weak bloodline, right?”
    “Yeah,” Zee scoffs. “That’s apparently why Gavin did this crazy shit to me that has me working with Gage and Kane all I can. I have to learn absolute control before I accidentally kill someone with power I shouldn’t have.”
    “Why only them?” I ask absently while the wheels of my twisted mind turn.
    “Because Alyssa and I have light magic, and Gavin gave him dark magic,” Ella answers, making me feel stupid instead of merely distracted.
    “Yeah. I knew that,” I mumble.
    “Why are you asking about Zee’s bloodline?” Gage asks me, ignoring the sidetracked conversation. I look over to see him studying me as though he already knows the answer to that question.
    My gaze returns to Zee, who seems oblivious to the meaning behind my initial question.
    “She told me she was mine for as long as it takes to get to know me.”
    Air hisses between Ella’s teeth as she shakes her head. “She has no idea what that means to one of us. She especially doesn’t know what it means to say that to an alpha changer who is already obsessed with her; a changer who has possibly already claimed her,” Ella points out, not realizing how damn true that is.
    “Yeah,” I murmur, still distracted.
    “What did you tell her about you?” Gage asks.
    “I lied and said I was from Ireland. And I told her a few other lies about my past. I can’t tell her the truth.”
    “What is the truth?” Ella pries.
    I snort out a laugh. “My past is my past. You wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
    Gage tenses, as though he