Blood's Fury (Deadly Beauties 1)

"What did they fight about?" he asks curiously.

"What do women usually fight about? A man."

"Ah," he says with a small smile. "So who won the guy in the end?"

Sighing, I mumble, "My mother, but he was no prize. He was a total creep, and she kicked him to the curb when she found him peeping in on me while I was dressing."

I shudder slightly, and his arm slides around my shoulders in response.

"Did Shay and your mother ever make amends… since she found out he was a creep, I mean?"

"No. I doubt Mom ever gave her the satisfaction of knowing. She's prideful like that. She has horrible taste in men, and that includes my father. Everyone in our community warned her to stay away from my father, but she was stubborn and in love. She kept their divorce a secret for years just so she wouldn't hear the I-told-you-so speeches."

He lets a small smile free, and I offer a weak grin of my own. I'm not used to so much sharing.

"So, did your Mom ever remarry?"

If he knew my mother, he'd realize I find that question to be rhetorical.

"Many, many, many times," I release with exaggerated exasperation while rolling my eyes and he lets out a laugh.

Not to mention the hundreds of times she was married long before dear old Dad.

"Do you ever talk to your father? I mean, he sent help to aide you in finding your mother."

From an outside perspective, I can see how that would seem like a sweet gesture. Unfortunately, I know Drackus Devall.

"One thing about my dad, he's calculated. If he's helping us, there's something in it for him."

"What could he possibly have to gain?" he muses, seeming genuinely interested in my fucked up family.

Power, release from his solitude confinement, the black diamond of Roth for himself… the list goes on and on.

"I don't know, but Dra… um, Dad doesn't do anything out of the goodness of his heart."

Because it's too dark to ever hold a speck of light.

"And I thought I had family drama," he chuckles out.

My eyebrows perk up, my interest very piqued.

"I thought you said your parents had passed."

"I was referring to my current family - Zee, Deke, Sierra-"

"And Amy," I grumble, my nose wrinkling as her name slips through my lips.

"Alyssa, Amy is just-"

"A roommate. Got it. So, how did you all meet?" I ask, trying to keep myself from sounding possessively jealous.

"That's a long story I'll fill you in on at another time," he murmurs softly while kissing my forehead.

He opens the door to his home for me, and I sigh as I walk in.

"Back so soon?" Deke asks as he walks through with a plate of spaghetti, a noodle slurping through his lips.

"We decided to spend the night inside instead."