Baby steps for your nerdy girl, she writes.

The girl clearly underestimates the power of her bum and a seductively minimal pose.

Nerdy my arse, I type back. All the cold showers in the world can’t cure what u’ve done to me.

Cruel wife.

Sorry, she says, but I can see her smiling in my mind.

U r not. Leave me alone. I’ll b busy 4 a bit.

Cold showers . . . not again. I want to cry. But then a horrible thought occurs—I hope she doesn’t think I’m truly angry. I quickly type out another message.

PS . . . ilu.

ilu2, she says.

I catch myself smiling and shake my head. Sap.

Then, as much as I hate to do it, I delete each message one by one. When I get to the photo, I take one last long stare, groan deeply, and delete it. Then I trudge heavily to the loo, all by my lonesome, where I might die again. Sexting is dangerous business. I don’t recommend it.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

One-Track Mind

“The only heaven I’ll be sent to

Is when I’m alone with you.”

—“Take Me to Church” by Hozier

I’m at a bar with my bandmates at midnight, nursing a Jack and Coke and dodging pitiful looks from the blokes who think I’m broken up over Father’s death.

Honestly, I’ve been a bit of a disaster ever since the picture text from Anna. It sparked a single-mindedness in me, worse than ever before, and I cannot cope. No amount of Dead Daddy talk will make this raging problem of mine go away.

I keep thinking about our wedding night. We had less than twelve hours together, and yet it’s given me three days’ worth of nonstop memories. It feels as if I’m living in a fog of Anna.

Shite, I think I’m obsessed with my wife. I want to hide her away and keep her all to myself, always. That’s psychotic thinking, even by my low standards.

Oy, that damn picture.

My mobile buzzes in my pocket, sending my heart into race mode, as it always does these days. I dig it out and hold my breath when I see it’s a text from Anna.

Book a flight to Va tmrw.

Right. I don’t think Anna would send me a command like that jokingly. Not these days. Belial must’ve contacted her and said it’s safe. So I grin, because if all is well with her, she will pay dearly, in equal measure, for the suffering she’s inflicted with her sexiness.

With pleasure, I type. U ok? It’s been insane here.

Here too, she says. Lots to tell.

Hm. I wonder what she’s been up to. Hopefully no visits from unwanted Neph. My neck goes hot with irritation thinking about other Neph hunting her down.

She texts me with an address in Riner, Virginia, and I book my flight for the following morning. All joking aside, I hope she’s all right.

And I hope she’s naked.

The fog of Anna finally lifts when I open my eyes to find her on top of me in the passenger seat of a car in Virginia. I feel as if I’ve been hit with a sledgehammer of clarity as I realize what a single-minded dolt I’d been since I showed up this afternoon and found her lying at the poolside in a bikini.

Bum side up.

Yeah. I’m pretty sure I spent a good part of the day making everyone uncomfortable as I stalked Anna, trailing her through Patti’s house. And it’s just my luck the whole lot would be here to witness my temporary madness—Kope, Zania, Jay, the twins, Blake, and worst of all, Patti. They all know we’re married, but that doesn’t make it any less inappropriate.

I’m just glad my head is semi-clear when her father shows that afternoon—in the body of the famous rapper who’d been hospitalized days ago, no less. Big Rotty. As far as Duke blunders go, this one is fucking brilliant. If I weren’t still so afraid of the bastard, I would’ve laughed my arse off. Then, before he leaves, he puts his hands on my shoulders and says, “You take care of my girl, you hear me?”

It’s still strange to hear him say things like this. To have his approval.

And now, here we are at two in the morning, snuggling in the twin bed of Anna’s dorm room, as if this day hasn’t been one strange event after the next. Despite the madness of our lives, anyone who saw us on campus tonight probably thought we were your average college couple.

Funny thing, appearances.

Anna’s news was unsettling. I can’t handle thinking about how my father was here, in this room, just a short while ago. In his new, young, American body, no less. Apparently the “new” Pharzuph is an even grander piece of work than the old one. Anna says he wreaked havoc on campus after cornering her. I can’t believe he found a new host body so quickly, never bothering to inform me, but I can believe he didn’t waste any time sniffing out Anna. I’m immensely relieved we decided to get married when we did.

Anna snaps me from my dark musings as she runs a hand teasingly up and down my forearm, which is flung across her waist. She’s acting as the small spoon, nuzzled tightly in the crook of my torso and thighs. “I want you to dream big with me,” she whispers.

Dreams . . . This is dangerous territory for me. I know I’m lucky to have this moment, and all the moments that led up to this one. To wish for a future? It feels like tempting fate. Nothing except this very second is guaranteed. But for Anna, dreams fuel her, give her hope. So I’ll let her have her fun.

“Tell me your dreams for us, sweet Anna.”

She snuggles closer to my chest. “It starts with us defeating the Dukes. We survive and they’re gone.” I peer around the dark room as she talks. “We can do whatever we want with our lives. I know you love music, so I figure you’ll still work in the industry in some way. When I finish college, I want to be a social worker. I’d be able to gauge the danger kids are in better than a human would, since I can see their emotions. I’ll be able to rescue children from bad situations.”