“Stop looking at me like that.” Nostrils flared, Grayson opens his mouth slightly to get a taste of his sweet scent.
“Like what?” Finn growls, waggling his eyebrows.
“You are asking for it.”
“Then you’ll just have to give it to me when we get back.”
Grayson is reaching for Finn—regardless of their location—when Finn’s phone starts ringing, and suddenly, Grayson doubles over in pain.
“Finn!” rings out over his bond with Nix and then…he’s gone.
6
A Sire’s Destiny in Death (Jay)
Clearwater is beautiful.
Since stepping foot on Florida soil after a decade, Jay has been inundated with memories of a life that—while not perfect—had its moments: days on the white sand beaches, swimming in the clear Gulf waters, hanging out downtown with friends.
They’re all pieces of a place he’s loved his whole life—and even if he couldn’t always be here, it’s always been home.
Jay fucking hates that the reason he’s chosen to return is tainted—first by Carnell’s agenda, and now by the weight of his parents’ deaths.
Despite that, he can’t help but feel a bit of calm as he and Gideon set out from their safe house. Some places may have changed—he may have changed—but the Florida sunshine and the rhythm of the tide remain the same.
“You’re calmer than I’d expect,” Gideon mutters, as he aims the Buick toward WRBY 88.1 Indie Rock Radio, in the center of the city.
He’s gorgeous—his movie-star hair waves in the breeze from the half-cracked window, aviator sunglasses shading his face, pale blue oxford shirt sleeves rolled just above his forearms.
No one does the old money aesthetic like Gideon Carnell.
Jay closes his eyes and leans his face into the sun blazing through his window, letting the image of his stunning mate imprint in his memory.
Both bring warmth to his skin, and he’ll have to explain new freckles to Nix when he gets back.
His mate had counted each of the twenty-three on his nose and cheeks just last night—and made him promise he wouldn’t get more without him present.
But the complaints will be worth it.
If he gets back.
“I can hear you thinking dire thoughts, though, so fuck off.”
“Gid. Look, things are going to be fine. Remember? Home before Valentine’s Day. That’s the goal.”
It’s more of a mantra for Jay—but given that they have so many loose ends to tie up, it seems more and more unlikely, especially if Carnell has his way.
“You keep saying that, yet when you said you’d see them later, it sounded like goodbye.”
Jay can’t deny it. He hadn’t wanted to leave them without making sure each of them knew he loved them.
He sighs, caught out. “What do you want me to say?”
“Dammit, Jaybird. I was kidding, but…fuck…maybe we shouldn’t do this.”
It’s the first sign of uncertainty Jay has seen from Gideon today. Always the one who—once he’d set his path—put one footin front of the other until the deed was done, no matter who he stepped over or through to do it.
It should have been enough to give Jay pause.
