“According to this, Whisper doesn’t need to eat for a while. We need to let her adjust first.” I had spent the first half of the drive googling and buying things online for my new pet snake. I had been a solid no when I first saw her, but when Chloe pulled out the “no one wants her” shit, I just couldn’t not adopt. I knew how that felt, even if the snake didn’t.

“How do you know it’s a her? You have been wrong before.” Poor Princess Buttercup was going to pay the price for that every time someone misgendered him, myself included, but oh well. The name suited.

“Because males don’t get as big as my beautiful baby.” And thankfully Whisper only had a half foot max of growing yet, if the internet was accurate, which was a fifty-fifty chance given all the misinformation out there.

I grabbed a book about snake care, putting it in my online cart before glancing at the ranks of my newest book and was glad to see it was still holding its own. After checking out, I went from snake site to snake site, figuring out all the basics I needed for snake fatherdom. One thing was for sure, I needed to think about moving; her habitat was going to eat my living room.

“Score!” I squealed as I read three sources in a row that live food was not going to be an issue, because I had been scared I’d be unable to handle that bit.

“What?” Killer reached his hand up to scratch Sally’s head. Poor dog was stuck between my legs thanks to the ginormous addition to her pack who took up the entire back seat. Killian needed a mini-van with a seat removed, at a minimum.

“Pet boas should be fed a diet of pre-dead things. I don’t need to watch her kill the rats.”

“Rats? Not small children, dogs, or the random cat?”

No wonder he was so weird about the snake. He thought his babies were prey, which while it wasn’t ideal to leave them alone together, they would generally be safe around her.

“No, just rats.”

“I guess that’s okay.” He scratched under Princess Buttercup’s chin, his engines going again.

“What do you need for Mr. Jenkins? Can he eat Sally’s food for the night, or does he need something more substantial? I can do the curbside thing for Big Mart so we don’t have to worry about leaving the babies in the car.”

“They gave me samples of food and a Chloe’s Creatures bowl set so he’ll be fine until tomorrow. What do you need for Whisper? That box they had her in is not going to cut it.”

Killian was right. They had her in a too small aquarium at the park, but I imagined that was simply for travel. I hoped it was, anyways, because a creature that majestic needed a place to roam.

“Which is the only reason she is not in the car with us.” I only agreed to leave her there after realizing I had no place to put her at my place yet. “I will get it set up and then go get her with Parker. It would be a good brother activity.”

“You think I would say no,” Killian joshed as he grabbed my hand.

“No, I think I could convince you to cave, Killer, but having an excuse to need my brother makes it easier for me to let him back in a little.” I looked away, shocked as I realized I had been completely open with Killian without thinking. Interesting. Terrifying. Amazing.

“You know, when you’re ready, I’m here to listen.”

I believed him. I wasn’t ready to share all things, I might never be, but I was ready to give him a glimpse.

I took a deep breath before starting. “Short version, my parents decided that they needed to mate off their omega son and put me in harm’s way, only to side with the alpha asshole after I defended myself. My mom used my brother’s phone and made me think he agreed with them and I should return home. I refused and was disowned. Yeah… that about sums it up.”

It was vague and incomplete, but it was a start, and the relief I felt from telling someone surprised me.

“Pardon my French, but your parents sound like assholes.”

“That they are. But they’re not in my life anymore. I just wish I had figured out sooner that my brother wasn’t the one who sent me those messages. I missed him. I had a hard time believing he would be like that, but I was already hurting. In the end I just assumed that because he was an alpha, he didn’t understand, and so he was on the same page as them.”

“He’s an alpha? So you’re fraternal twins?”

I shook my head. “Identical.”

“I didn’t realize that could happen.” He pulled off the highway. We were close to my place. I wasn’t ready.

“Neither did we.” One in a thousand sets of twins, the doctors told us.

“It sounds like a good thing that you and your brother are talking?” He didn’t accelerate hard as he turned onto the main road.

A quick glance told me what I had already suspected; Killian was five miles under the speed limit. He wanted this time to continue, too.

“Not as good as cake and ice cream,” I joked, but it felt out of place. I wanted to be real with Killian. “He seems sincere in his desire get us back on track, and I want to trust him.”

“You are a brave man, Blondie.”

If only he were right. “Braver than you, Mr. I-don’t-want-a-snake-in-my-car.” Okay, but not too real for too long. I needed to work up to that.

Killian gave me a disappointed glance. “You could’ve just asked for a subject change.”

Killian calling me on my shit felt good… like I could trust him.

“Sorry, habit.” I steeled myself to ask him my question. We were only three blocks from the point of no return. The night would end, the moment would end, so it was now or never. “So… um, Killian, can we go to your place, not mine?”

“Like, to stay over?” His voice was steady, without emotion. Had I overstepped?

“Yeah. Is that okay?”

“Hell, yeah, that’s okay.”

I relaxed into my seat.

“I mean, having you in my bed was not the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

I was glad he seemed okay with taking a lighter tone for now. “I agree, it didn’t suck being there.” Or it was the best night of my life. You know, whichever.

“But it could.”

There was no denying the innuendo. “Thanks for the boner,” I complained, completely loving that he could do that to me in three words.

“Anytime.” He passed the turn off to my place and my heart pitter pattered.

“Just so you know, I don’t actually, you know… with anyone. Not until I find my mate.” I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. We were so blowing our loads, but some things were off limits. Which sucked, because for the first time my own rules felt constricting; my body longed to feel his knot.

“You know?”

I closed my eyes, so very happy we were in the car for this and not face to face. My face burned with my embarrassment.

“Penetrative sex,” I all but whispered. I shouldn’t be embarrassed. It was a valid life choice. No telling the tips of my ears that, though; I could feel the burn of my blush reach them.

“You’re a virgin.” He sounded… freaking ecstatic. No, that couldn’t be the case, but angry and mad was most definitely not it, and that was the reaction I usually got from alphas, which is why I always mentioned it well before naked time.

“Ass virgin,” I clarified. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t suck a mean dick.” I buffed my nails on my shirt and examined them with pride. It was a gift.

“Damn, I’m gonna come in my pants if you keep that up.”

“It’s your fault, you started it.” I stuck out my tongue, hoping he caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eyes.

“Says the man who came out of his apartment looking sexy as hell.”

“Are we almost there yet?” I squirmed in my seat as we pulled onto his block. Thank fuck.