Page 103 of Bite Me

Those words are a slice to the heart, through my spine, and deep into the marrow. How could it ever be that easy?

“Just like that?”

“My dad just recently stopped being an asshole, so I get it.”

Maybe Parker didn’t have that perfect family and the picket fence I imagined. And he still manages to be someone people like and want to be around. I sink into the water with the weight of my conviction.

“Maybe you can get me lifetime burritos or something from the culinary club as penance.” He isn’t mad at me in the least, and he doesn’t seem like the type to lie to make me feel better.

“You got it,” I say, nearly speechless.

“Hey, baby.” Parker’s head shoots up as Olivia sneaks into the gate. I didn’t hear her; he must have smelled her coming. She’s in a fluffy robe that’s pulled up to her ears. No doubt she uses the hot springs, too, as a ballerina.

Olivia’s stature is rigid, but she melts into Parker in an instant as she sits next to him on the edge of the pool.

I’ll be honest, Olivia scares me. I’ve watched her a few times onstage, and during a performance, she’s terrifying. So determined, all bottled perfection and structure. But she’s completely different around her mate. Lighter. A little less scary. She reminds me of my grandmother, who also has a piercing gaze that can cut steel.

“What are you two doing?” she asks.

“Bonding. Dacre confessed to being my forum troll.”

She raises a brow in amusement. “Oh?”

I sigh, knowing what’s about to come out of my mouth next. “I was one of your biggest haters before you two got together. I was convinced your relationship was fake. I started all the comment threads.”

They share a smile.

“I told him if he gets me burritos, he’s off the hook. What do you want?”

She eyes me. “Be nice to my sister, then we’re even.”

“I’m working on it.”

Parker kisses her cheek, then her jaw, and she breaks into a smile. Emma’s family is so . . . warm. An empty feeling bores a hole in my chest as I recall my own family.

I spent so many days with my head in my hands, fighting boredom, as I watched my brothers bicker back and forth about money. Everharts don’t play outside or with toys. We work. Hone our skills. Compete for attention, show our worth with talents and ambition. Holidays were a nightmare of pomp and posturing, and gifts were carefully thought out ploys to get things that the other person wanted. It was a competition from the moment I was born.

But Emma’s family looks like the ones I see in the movies, with the toothy smiles, deep belly laughter, and most importantly, that secret ingredient: love.

“I’ll still gut you if you hurt Emma,” Parker concludes after dragging his attention away from his mate.

“Got it. It’s very much noted.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Emma

“Your cheeks are red. You have to be running a fever. Let me take you to the doctor, please.”

I attempt to shake my head, but the fainting feeling is coming again. Evangeline’s pillow is the only pleasantly cool thing I feel. Stelliea House’s rooms are small but cozy, like being in a cottage. All the sheets have embroidered hems and smell as if they’re cleaned with lilac. It’s helping with the dizziness.

“No, it’s fine. I’m telling you this . . . feels different . . . This isn’t a normal cold.”

It started last night when the culinary club got back to Doxlothia after a full day of travel. At first, I thought maybe I was just tired from the weekend, but the strange feeling turned into a fever accompanied by this intense urge between my legs. It’s slightly painful, but the throbbing ache of it is the most maddening part.

It’s hard to explain, but I know who could help me . . . And every new wave of sensation makes the urge to seek him out that much stronger.

“A good reason for you to go to the doctor.”