Blessed (Book 2, The Watchers Trilogy; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

was already 5:00PM. Brand had been gone for at least an hour.
    “What could be taking him so long?” I asked worriedly. “You’re positive they can’t kill each other?”
    “Don’t worry about Brand. He can take care of himself. Trust me.”
    As if he heard us talking about him, Brand suddenly appeared in the living room, startling me.
    “I’m sorry, Lilly,” he said, seeing me jump slightly. “I wasn’t thinking.”
    I stood up and went to Brand. He quickly enveloped me inside his warm embrace. As far as I could tell, he was still in one piece.
    “Did you give that jerk what he deserved?” Will asked, still sitting on the futon.
    “He won’t be appearing unannounced inside my house or Lilly’s apartment anymore,” Brand replied. “I told him if he needed to see her, he could knock on the front door like everyone else.”
    “You didn’t tear any of his limbs off, did you?” I asked, looking up at my over- protective angel.
    “Nothing he’ll miss,” Brand said cryptically.
    I didn’t want to know what that meant. As long as he was willing to let Malcolm continue to be a part of my life, I wasn’t going to worry too much about it.
    Tara came out of her bedroom, yawning loudly.
    “So, you give the big guy an ass-whoopin’?” she asked Brand.
    I had to tell her why Brand wasn’t with me earlier. She wasn’t exactly pleased with Malcolm either. I was sure she’d make her feelings known clearly, the next time she saw him.
    “He won’t be seeing Lilly in a compromising position again,” Brand promised. “I think he understands the consequences of doing that now. If you two don’t mind,” Brand said to my friends, “I’d like some alone time with Lilly. It’s been a busy day for both of us.”
    “Just have her back at a decent hour. We’ve got school tomorrow, and Lilly’s got a lot of catching up to do,” Tara said.
    “Brand,” I said, looking up at him, “I need to speak with Tara for a minute.”
    “All right,” he said before giving me a quick kiss. “Don’t take long, please,” he whispered in my ear.
    I knew what he was thinking. I desperately wanted to be alone with him, too. But Tara needed to understand some things first.
    I motioned for her to follow me into my bedroom.
    “What’s up, girl?” she said sitting on my bed.
    I sat down beside her. “Listen, I know you’re trying to protect me and I love you for it, but you’re going to have to understand that I intend to spend a lot of my nights with Brand.”
    “But…”
    I held up my hand to stop her from saying another word in protest.
    “Listen, if for no other reason, I need him to protect me, at least until I can figure out how to phase on my own whenever I need to. He can get me out of harm’s way a lot faster than I can myself right now. Plus, I had a lot of time to think about things while I was away. Life’s too short, Tara. I’m going to squeeze as much time as I can out of my life, and I want to be with Brand for most of it. I hope you can understand that. And you don’t have to worry about us doing anything physical other than kissing. I’ve already told him I don’t want to make love until we’re married, and I don’t intend to get married until I’m out of school. And, sometimes, I might want to stay over at Brand’s, like tonight. You’re just going to have to trust me to do what’s right.”
    “Well, I can’t say I like it, but I can understand where you’re coming from. I won’t hound you too much about it anymore. You’re a grown woman.”
    It seemed like people kept saying that to me. If I was so grown, why did they still feel the need to protect me like I was a child?
    “Thanks,” I said, hugging her.
    I packed a small overnight bag and went back out into the living room. I said goodbye to my friends, and Brand and I got into his car and headed to his house.
    “What are we going to do?” I asked.
    “Well, my plan was to kiss you until you fell asleep.”
    “Sounds like an