Page 39 of Accidental Blood Lust
I sigh and nod. He’s right. I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away kissing him when Lochlan is in danger anyway. I snuggle a little closer, slinging one leg over his hip so we’re asclose as we can possibly get, and then I close my eyes and let the exhaustion finally overtake me.
THIRTEEN
ROMAN
I wake after only a brief nap, my wolf too agitated to fully rest. He wants to take off now and search for our mate, but I can’t do that without Rune and Jareth anyway. So I watch Jare sleep, carding my fingers through his soft hair, entrenched in guilt over my conflicted feelings. Lochlan is my mate, that’s undeniable, but my heart is with Jare too.
I thought meeting my mate would override any lingering feelings I had for him, but nope. If anything, they’re stronger, and I do find it surprising that my wolf doesn’t protest our closeness or our kisses. This just keeps getting more confusing.
We need to focus on finding Loch though. Once he’s safe, I can figure out the rest. There’s no way Jareth doesn’t suspect even more now that my wolf forced a shift upon hearing where Loch is. That doesn’t just happen unless the wolf is in complete control, and there’s no reason for that unless, you know, we’ve lost our mate.
Jareth stirs, blinking his eyes open slowly. As he focuses on me, he smiles, but it quickly fades.
“Loch,” he croaks.
“I know.”
He nods. “How long have I been down here?”
“Fuck if I know. Time makes no sense here. It’s a human construct.”
“Yeah, I know.” He taps his chest. “Human.”
“Magical, stunningly beautiful human.”
His brow creases for a second as he lifts his hand to touch my cheek. “Just tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“What happened between you and Loch.”
“I didn’t sleep with him. You know I wouldn’t lie about that.”
“Okay, but… do you have feelings for him? You never got along before. How could that change so quickly?”
There’s no way I’m telling him anything now when so much is on the line. “He’s important to you, Jare. So he’s important to me.” I brush my thumb across his bottom lip. “And I’ve been able to see him in a different light when I wasn’t filled with jealousy.”
“The jealousy is your fault. You could’ve had me long before I even met Jare.”
“But it’s good you met.”
“Oh yes, so I could have my heart ripped out twice.” He shoves the blankets off and sits on the edge of the bed, burying his face in his hands. “This whole situation is such a mess. Why did he do it, Rome? How could he become a vampire?”
“You didn’t tell him. He thought you just didn’t like vampires. He has no idea of the trauma you endured, and this was the only way he thought you could have what he thinks we have.”
Jareth lifts his eyes to me, and the sadness in them squeezes my heart. “What we have isn’t because we’re supes. Obviously, we aren’t bound by anything other than…” He stops himself.
“Than what?”
Jare shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. He did all that for no reason.”
Not for no reason, but I can’t make myself say the words. It would feel like plunging a knife into both our chests.
“We’ll find him and then we’ll figure things out.”
He scoffs. “There’s nothing to figure out. Not for me. It doesn’t change anything. I just need to know he’s taking care of himself.”
I wrap my arms around Jare from behind and he sinks into me. Nuzzling his hair, I inhale his scent, and if I focus, I can pick up remnants of Lochlan still clinging to my gorgeous mage.
