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I only wanted Eden. Even drinking from another thrall felt wrong.
“So you need fresh, damn it,” he said. “Blood-alcohol is a stopgap, not a permanent source of nutrition. You’re pale as a ghost and you’re edgy. Come to the Bite Club with me. We’ll grab a couple of thralls, hang out.”
“Some other time, okay?”
Cain’s cheekbones seemed to sharpen. “Eden can spend a night alone, you know. Might do her some good.”
Damn, I was tired of him trashing Eden. “What the hell is your problem? Ever since I brought her back, you’ve been riding me about her. I thought you liked her.”
He opened his mouth, but instead of answering, grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured us both another shot. A double, this time.
“Here.” He pushed a shot glass into my hand. “Have another one.”
I stared at the red-tinged amber liquid. A vampire’s metabolism processed alcohol differently, making it difficult to get drunk.
Sometimes, though, I wished it were easier. But then, I might’ve ended up like my mom. I’d been damn close to it that night Prima Lenore had walked into the jail with her proposition.
I put the glass down without drinking.
“And I like Eden okay,” Cain said. “But I don’t trust her, and if you were smart, neither would you.”
“Who said I trust her?”
His dark brows climbed. “I see,” he said slowly.
Guilt slunk up my spine. It felt underhanded, talking about Eden behind her back like this. I wasn’t even sure it was true anymore. Deep down, I was starting to trust her again. To believe what she said without searching for hidden meanings or evasions.
My mother’s words crawled through my brain.
“She’s a human, and a young one. If you care for her even a little, let her know. Hell, tell her you do even if you don’t. There’s nothing worse than feeling like an obligation when you’re in love with someone.”
“She’s trying,” I said. “She apologized, and she’s following my rules to the letter.”
And doing her best to make it up to me. The guilt increased even as my dick gave an enthusiastic salute at all the ways she’d been making it up to me.
Cain’s mouth pulled into a cynical smile. “But then she would, wouldn’t she?”
“Sweet Lilith, can’t you just be happy for me?”
His knee started jiggling. I could tell even though he was on the other side of the bar because his whole body bounced along with it. “Happy for you?”
“She’s having my spawn. The first born to a vampire in the castle in over twenty years. So yeah, I’m happy. And I’d like my best friend to be, too. Fuck that promise we made each other—we were practically kids. What did we know?”
“Of course, I’m happy about that. I’m sorry you even had to say something.” He raised his glass to me with a crooked smile. “To your spawn. A boy. You’re a lucky bastard.”
“I know.” I picked up the shot glass and clinked it against his.
He tossed his down and I took a small sip in solidarity, then eyed my friend.
“Cain?”
“Yeah?”
I drew a slow circle on the bar with the shot glass. “You ever wonder what kind of father you’ll make?”
He barked a laugh. “A shitty one.”
“Yeah, me too.” My own laughter was hollow.
