Rising Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

her to marry you yet?”
    My ears perked up at the question. Was he going to admit he hadn’t asked me because he didn’t see it in our future?
    “It’s none of your concern, Paris,” Aric said. “Mind your own business on that front. You’re not entitled to inside information on our relationship. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that I love that mouthy pain in the ass more than anything in this world. Above and beyond that, butt out.”
    “Good grief, Aric. I never once doubted your love for Zoe,” Paris countered, refusing to back down. “You showed her more loyalty and love than I’ve ever seen anyone show another human being. That’s why I don’t understand what’s going on here.”
    “Let it go.” The words weren’t a warning; they were a plea. “Please. Don’t ruin this evening. Zoe was so excited to see you. She loves you. I didn’t realize until I saw the look on her face how much the isolation is affecting her.
    “I don’t keep her here because I want to control her,” he continued. “I know you think that. Don’t bother lying. I can read it on your face. I am legitimately terrified that someone – or some monster, for that matter – will try to take her from me.
    “I can’t live without her,” Aric said, his words warming my heart. “I’m doing the very best I can to give her the life she deserves without putting her at risk. I don’t need you second-guessing everything.”
    Part of me didn’t care if he ever proposed. The other part of me was a still a little bitter. I’m not going to lie. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I can’t deny that. I also wanted … more. That was a daunting thought.
    “I’m not asking you to change your lives, Aric,” Paris said. “You’re already living together as though you’re married. You’ve already pledged your heart to her forever. I don’t understand why you haven’t taken the final step.”
    “Let it go,” Aric said, slapping the spatula on the grill. “I’m not going to ask you again.”
    “Okay,” Paris said, holding up her hands in surrender. “I’ll let it go. It’s not my business. This is your home, and it’s your relationship.”
    “Thank you.”
    “I want Zoe to be happy, Aric,” Paris said. “She’ll be happy as long as she has you, but I don’t see why she can’t officially have you so the whole world knows you’re together forever.”
    “We will be together forever,” Aric said. “Don’t ever doubt that.”

4
    Four
    A fter an uncomfortable start to dinner , one in which I pretended I hadn’t been listening to their conversation, and Paris and Aric acted as if nothing transpired between them, we settled into old patterns and chatted amiably on the deck.
    Aric lit citronella candles to ward off the bugs. In my opinion it didn’t do much other than tick them off, but I was used to being eaten alive by mosquitoes when the weather is warm. It’s part of the charm of living in the middle of nowhere.
    “How did you guys decide to settle here?” Paris asked, sipping her glass of wine and leaning back in her chair.
    Aric rubbed idle circles on my knuckles with one hand as he nursed a beer with the other. “I wanted a place where I could shift without worrying about neighbors,” he answered. “I also wanted a place where Zoe could be herself without prying eyes.”
    “Be herself?” Paris wrinkled her forehead, confused. “Isn’t Zoe herself wherever she goes?”
    “Zoe is herself twenty-four hours a day,” Aric replied, squeezing my hand. “I didn’t know whether her powers would continue to manifest, though. If they did, I wanted her to have a place where she could practice controlling them without fear of killing people.”
    “He was afraid my eyes would start glowing again. At least out here no one would ever notice,” I added, going for levity. After a particularly brutal fight my junior year, one in which I used my mage magic to set a person ablaze – yes,