Page 42 of You Were Warned: Part One

He laughs. “Now I see why we haven’t gone in. Still hiding from him?”

I scoff. “No, I’m not hiding from him. I just made a huge mistake and now I have to dig myself out of it somehow.”

Jensen shrugs. “People hook up all the time. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

My eyes widen in surprise; I hadn’t told him about the Jester and me. “Who said we hooked up?”

That makes Jensen laugh. “It’s obvious. What about the fact that you have something going on with Rue as well? That is less obvious.”

“Why don’t you mind your own fucking business and remember I’m the only thing standing between you and death right now.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean any disrespect. I like Rue, he seems cool, and the Jester I can see your issues with, but he loves you and is no threat to you at least.”

I laugh and shake my head. “I have issues . . .” I trail off, forgetting where I was going with that statement when the Jester looks in my direction.

“Everyone has issues on the island it seems—me included. You’re lucky to have people who care about you, as some of us have no one.”

I take a deep breath. For fuck’s sake, this guy is like a kicked puppy, and you can’t help but feel bad for him. I slip my hand into his, not because I care about making him feel better, but because I enjoy seeing the Jester’s jaw tick. “You have me. Now let’s piss off the Jester a little—my protection comes with a price tag.”

I drag Jensen inside, and he reluctantly follows. He tries to drop my hand, but I have it wrapped tightly in mine and he can’t pull free.

“Good morning, love of my life, and her pet. I wonder if you have nine lives like a cat . . .”

“Where is your shirt?” I snap.

He looks down at himself, and then back at me with his stupid smirk. “I knew I’d forgotten something.”

“Bullshit,” I mutter, and Brawley raises a brow at me. It says that we will talk about this later, and no the fuck we will not.

I take a seat at the bar, and Jensen sits beside me, while the Jester takes the opposite side.

“Go away.”

“I missed you too.”

I get up and move to the other side of Jensen, but the Jester simply shifts into my vacated seat, leaning around Jensen to see me better. “My love. Your pet is between us.”

“Get over it.”

“I don’t like it.”

Jensen turns his head toward me. “Can I move?”

“No. He needs to learn that he doesn’t always get what he wants.”

The Jester doesn’t react; instead, he ponders over what I just said. “Are you going to train me? I can wear a collar.”

Behind us, Brawley chokes on whatever he is drinking, and Jensen drops his head onto the bar. I consider leaving, but I haven’t had enough coffee yet today, and this is why people kill. They haven’t had enough caffeine to deal with people’s shit. It’s quite possible we could fix almost half of the murders in the world by giving people their daily dose of caffeine. Without it, people get stabby.

Rue comes out of the kitchen carrying a plate, stopping when he sees us all sitting in a row. “I see you have made the unsmart choice not to wear a shirt.”

“If he doesn’t find one soon, I will staple one to him.”

If I had known this was the outcome, I would have tried harder to stop him from doing this to himself—something I will fucking regret for a long time. It was a mistake—the fucking part, not stitching him up. As much as I want to kill him, I don’t think I ever would; I like the cat-and-mouse game between us too much. Now I just have to remind myself that the sex was a lapse in judgment, brought on by adrenaline, exhaustion, and prolonged exposure to the idiot.

Rue puts a coffee in front of me, and I could kiss him. “Marry me,” I blurt out, and Rue laughs.

“No,” Rue says. “I’m not the marrying type.”