Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Still inspecting those thoughts, Huli picked up some of the boxes and ambled down the hallway to Xiao Dan’s room. It was getting near the time of day he usually woke up. The sun was setting much earlier now, and the vampires were enjoying the longer hours they could be active.
He eased the door open enough to stick his head inside and found Xiao Dan sitting on the side of the bed while he pulled on a pair of soft sleep pants. His tousled hair and his sleepy eyes made him look so warm and cuddly. It was one of Huli favorite parts of the day because Xiao Dan’s brain wasn’t fully awake and he was so much easier to cuddle when he hadn’t started thinking about the rest of his clan or the long list of things he needed to do that day.
“Good evening, Gege,” Huli greeted in a low voice.
“There you are, Huli.” Xiao Dan’s voice was still rough from sleep, sending more delicious tingles through Huli’s body. Best voice in the world. “I wasn’t expecting to wake up and find you missing. Were you hungry?”
“No, I heard the gates open, and I went to investigate.” He pushed the door the rest of the way open and walked in with the boxes in his arms. “You received many orders.”
“Oh!” Xiao Dan blinked at the boxes that Huli set on the floor in front of him. “I forgot that stuff was scheduled to arrive today.”
“There’s more.” Huli zoomed out to the foyer and picked up the rest of the bags and boxes. He carried them to Xiao Dan’s room. When he walked in, the vampire had turned on a floor lamp and pulled on a T-shirt, which was disappointing. Huli had been enjoying staring at his bare chest and wide shoulders. At least he was still barefoot. Xiao Dan even had sexy feet.
“What did you order, Zhang-ge?” He set the rest of the delivered items on the floor and waggled his eyebrows at the vampire before wrapping him in a tight hug. “Presents for your Huli?” Not that he was expecting any gift from Xiao Dan. He’d already received the best gift of all—the vampire’s undying love. What else could he possibly ask for?
“Actually, all of this is for you.”
Huli jerked back and gazed up at the vampire, his mouth hanging open. “What?”
Xiao Dan chuckled and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I bought this stuff for you. Open it. I hope you like it.”
For a couple of heartbeats, Huli could only stand there gawking at all the boxes and bags, his brain unable to process what Xiao Dan was saying. The vampire had given him gifts of food and even his precious jade pendant in the past, but never this many things at once. He couldn’t even guess what they were.
A squeal of excitement escaped him as he flopped onto the floor and began tearing into the boxes and through all the protective plastic. Yet, with each box he opened, the more his excitement sank like stones in the pit of his stomach.
Xiao Dan had bought him clothes. Lots of clothes. And undergarments, toiletries, and other personal sundries. It wasn’t hard to tell that all the items were extremely well made and quite expensive. Some were even direct copies of what Xiao Dan owned, but with minor variations that made them different.
After the last box was opened, Huli sat in the middle of the mess, a large lump blocking his throat and his eyes burning with unshed tears. Did Xiao Dan not love him at all any longer? What had he done to deserve this? How had he upset him or insulted him?
“Huli?” Xiao Dan said to break the extended stretch of silence. “Do you not like any of it?”
“No!” he shouted louder than he’d meant to, but the tightness in his throat was making it hard to speak. “I hate it. Send it all back. I don’t want any of this!”
“Oh,” Xiao Dan whispered. “I’m sorry. I thought…” His words broke off and he swallowed hard. “I’ll return it all. Don’t worry.”
Before Huli could ask Xiao Dan why he was pushing him away, the vampire wordlessly rose and hurried out of the room.
Huli clenched his teeth and glared at the stack of clothes and pretty brush he’d received. The urge to shred these things rose in his chest, but he pushed it down. Xiao Dan had spent a lot of his money on these gifts, and Huli would not waste Xiao Dan’s money. The vampire could send these things away, and the stores would refund his money.
“So…you’ve had your first fight.”
The lazy drawl pulled Huli’s gaze to the open doorway. Yichen leaned against the frame with a dark look in his eye. Yichen had always been tolerant of Huli, but he didn’t appear very tolerant right now.