Page 40 of To The Final End
“You were terrified of me.”
“I was terrified of everything.” I cross my arms, the hoodie too big and smelling like Rhett’s warmth. “You were just the scariest option available.”
His mouth twitches. “And now?”
“Now you’re maybe fourth. Fifth on a good day.”
“I’m wounded.”
“You’ll recover.”
Silence. But it’s comfortable. The kind that happens when two people don’t need to fill space with words.
“She won’t bite, you know.” A new voice, smooth and unhurried. “Though I suspect she’d let you if you asked nicely.”
Stellan steps out from beneath the jasmine arch like he’s been there all along. Probably has been. The bastard moves like smoke.
He’s barefoot, wearing loose pants and nothing else. Moonlight catches the planes of his chest.
“How long have you been lurking?” I ask.
“Long enough to watch you two stare meaningfully at a wall.” He stops beside Thane, hands sliding into his pockets. “Riveting stuff.”
“We were having a moment.”
“Were you? It looked more like mutual paralysis.”
Thane makes a sound that might be a laugh. “Your timing is impeccable as always.”
“I aim to displease.” Stellan’s gray eyes find mine. “The bond woke me too. You’re practically vibrating with anxiety. And anticipation.” He tilts his head, studying me. “Among other things.”
Heat floods my face. “I’m not—”
“Your pulse says otherwise, darling.”
“My pulse is none of your business.”
“I’m an incubus. Your pulse is absolutely my business.”
Thane pinches the bridge of his nose. “Must you?”
“Must I what? Be observant? Honest?”
“Insufferable. The word you’re looking for is insufferable.”
“That too.”
I watch them—centuries of familiarity packed into every jab—and something loosens in my chest. This is what I needed. Not quiet contemplation. Not staring at walls. Just… this. Them. The easy rhythm of two people who’ve known each other long enough to skip the bullshit.
“So,” I say, cutting through their verbal sparring. “Two ancient Feeders in a moonlit garden at 3 AM. What a coincidence.”
They both go still. Predator-still.
Good.
“We weren’t waiting,” Thane says carefully.
“No?”
