Amber gasped dramatically, and I swear I saw her take another handful of popcorn like this was just getting better and better.
“I thought you’d just vanished. Like once you got what you wanted, you left.” Her voice cracked—just a fraction, but it cut me deeper than any blade ever could.
And then her dad—who up until this moment had been quiet and shell-shocked—sputtered, “You did what?!”
Ira groaned again. “Oh, now it’s a family affair. Can we go back to the purring? I liked the purring.”
“Shut up,” I told him.
He blinked at Pauline, at us, back at Pauline. “What do you mean they left marks on you?! Like—biting marks?! On your neck?!”
Pauline turned to him slowly, her chin high. “Yes, Dad. That’s what mates do.”
I nearly swallowed my tongue.
“Okay,” I muttered, raising both hands.
