Desire: #4 Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle Page A

watch was his dad’s.”
    He frowns slightly. “Drystan’s going to be a Paladin?”
    “I don’t know if he will or not. He’s having a hard enough time trusting anyone. I can’t say that I blame him. His uncle might’ve been trying to ease him into the idea of becoming a Paladin and joining the Order, but not telling Drystan the truth while he was here in the U.S. around a Corvus was a mistake. I know Mr. Wicklow regrets leaving Drystan unprotected and feels guilt over him being possessed by that demon, but I don’t see him forgiving his uncle for that anytime soon. He doesn’t trust easily to begin with.”
    “But he trusts you .”
    My attention drifts to Ethan’s clenched hand resting on his forearm. Even though he knows I see Drystan only as a friend, I guess he’ll always think of him as a rival. “Well, I’m glad he trusts someone. I think being possessed by that demon affected him far more than he’s letting on.”
    “What makes you say that?”
    “Hey guys!” Lainey says, strolling into my room. “Your mom was hanging a wreath on the front door and said you were up here.”
    More decorations? Sheesh, Mom! Of course only Lainey would manage to look chic in a puffy jacket with a fur-lined hood and bright red Christmas socks. She must’ve left her designer snow boots by the front door. When she pushes the hood off, revealing her naturally curly red hair, I grin and take the shopping bag from her. “I see you didn’t bother with the flat-iron.”
    “Why bother with this crazy weather.” Rolling her eyes, she shrugs out of her jacket, then tosses it onto my bed. “Can you believe they’re calling for a full-on blizzard tomorrow night?”
    “A blizzard?” I say, holding the bag out for her.
    “Yep. That’s why I’m here now.” She shakes her head and pushes the bag toward me. “Merry Early Christmas.”
    “Oh, it’s for me?”
    “I might not get back here for a couple of days if a ton of snow comes, so…” She nods to the bag in my hand. “Open it.”
    I pull a hot pink T-shirt wrapped in tissue from the bag and hold it up. Adder’s wheel keeper with certified street tread is printed across the chest in black letters.
    Ethan lets out a laugh and hooks an arm over my shoulders. “Love it, Lainey.”
    She nods, giving him a knowing smile. “Thought you would.” Pointing to me, she says, “And you’re wearing it the next time we see Ethan play with Weylaid.”
    “Um…I am?” Blatantly rubbing the fact that Adder’s taken in his fans’ faces isn’t my style. I look at Ethan for some help.
    He chuckles and curls his arm, his muscles pulling me close. Pressing a kiss to my cheek, he says, “She’ll wear it.”
    “You’d better.” Lainey huffs, putting her hands on her hips. “I don’t care if Ethan goes by a stage name, all those girls cat-calling Adder’s name need to know who holds the keys to his heart.”
    When I glance at Ethan, his blue eyes hold mine, full of sincerity. “Yeah, you do.”
    “If I didn’t have Matt, I’d be so jealous of you two right now.”
    Laughing at Lainey, I reach over and hug her. “Matt’s a lucky guy. Thank you for the gift.”
    Lainey hugs me back, then grabs the bag in my hand with a sigh. “Remind me never to pick you as my Easter egg hunting buddy. You suck at turning over every rock.”
    “Huh?”
    Reaching inside the bag, she pulls out something small wrapped in tissue. “Here’s your main gift. The T-shirt was just for fun.”
    I unwind the tissue and a pair of quarter-sized silver hoop earrings falls into my hand. “Aw, thank you, Lainey.”
    “Put them on,” she says, gesturing to my earring-free ears.
    As I slip the earrings on, I smile and nod to the small box on my dresser wrapped in red paper and sporting a small white bow on top. “That’s your gift. Open it.”
    With a wide grin, Lainey retrieves the box and quickly tears through the paper.
    I grab the bow from the paper she’d torn off and stick it on top