After a moment’s hesitation, Ian relented and let Jesse tug him inside. “I wouldn’t dare,” he muttered as they fought their way back to the bar. “She’d skin me alive.”
Jesse grimaced at the thought. “And we wouldn’t want that.” He turned and pulled Ian close, his hands finding his waist. “Especially not when I have a plan to kiss every inch of it later.”
Finally the smile he’d been waiting for. “Do you, now?”
“Oh yeah.” He leaned in close. “I need to make up for all the places I missed last time.” Grinning at Ian’s small intake of breath, Jesse stepped back. “Come on, let’s go let Cate know we’ve not pissed off without her.”
Jesse took a deep breathe, testing himself. The tang of blood hit the back of his mouth, as strong as before, but the visceral reaction he’d experienced last time failed to appear.
Thank fuck.
With that side of him sated for now, Jesse relaxed a little but not enough to lose focus again.
If this was his last night with Ian, he wanted to savour every moment, and that meant being in total control.
“SERIOUSLY, GUYS, thanks so much for this.” Cate gave Ian a meaningful glance, obviously something between the two of them that Jesse wasn’t privy too. Curiosity burnt, but it wasn’t his business. Wouldn’t matter at all after tonight. If some humans were causing trouble, it was no concern of Jesse’s or his coven.
Jesse walked beside Ian, shoulders brushing as they saw Cate to her car. He couldn’t hear anything suspicious in the near vicinity, just the normal drunken idiots out on a Friday night. He noted both Ian and Cate darting looks around them. Cate more so, as though she was expecting something or someone to jump out at her any second.
Jesse now itched to know what this was all about, whether it was his business or not, and resolved to ask Ian about it once they were alone. It seemed like a new development since he hadn’t walked her to her car last weekend. What had happened in the space of a week?
“Have you heard much from Blake?” Cate paused next to the driver’s door, key in hand. “I’ve had a couple of texts, but that’s it.”
Ian shrugged. “Same. He said he’d be busy though. The last message I got said he’ll be round the Tuesday after he gets back, to tell us all about it.” Ian rolled his eyes, and again Jesse hated not knowing what they were talking about.
Not that it matters,he reminded himself.
“Yeah,” she shuddered. “Can’t wait for that.” She cast a quick look at Jesse, then back to Ian, and whispered—presumably not for Jesse’s ears—“You still mooning over him or...”
Ian sighed. “I’m getting there.”
An irrational flare of jealousy took Jesse by surprise. Ian wasn’t his, wouldn’t be anything to him after tonight, yet he still found himself curling his lip at the thought of Ian feeling anything for this Blake, whoever the fuck he was. He took a step back, forcing the sudden and not so pleasant images out of his head, concentrating on Ian’s scent until he no longer felt murderous.
“You gonna be okay driving home?” Ian asked, leaning into the car as Cate buckled the seatbelt.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Ian bent to give her a kiss on the cheek and she murmured, “Go put him out of his misery, he’s been looking like he wants to eat you for the last half hour.”
Jesse turned away to hide his wry smile.
Oh, if only you knew...
After watching Cate drive out onto the main road, Ian faced Jesse, his small smile turning into a smirk. “You ready to go back to mine?”
“Yes.” Jesse stalked towards him, cupped his jaw, and kissed him like he’d wanted to do all night. Out here with no one watching them, he felt free to plaster himself to Ian’s front, slide a leg between his thighs, and rub up against his crotch. “Mmm.” He nipped Ian’s bottom lip, careful to keep his teeth human, no matter how much he longed for a proper taste. The warmth of Ian’s breath, the steady beat of his heart—alive and vibrant—was enough. Jesse could live vicariously through him for one more night and reminisce what it was like to be human.
“I don’t want to be arrested for indecency.” Ian laughed between kisses, making no effort to stop Jesse’s wandering hands.
But the mention of police, even the regular force, had Jesse stepping back and taking Ian’s hand. “No, we don’t want that. Come on.” He tugged him in the direction of Ian’s flat. Wanting to be there already. The scents and sounds of the streets were distracting and Jesse wanted to focus solely on Ian.
“You remember the way then?” Ian glanced over at him as they walked, a questioning look in his eyes.
Jesse shrugged. “I have a good memory for directions.”
Especially since I turned.
As well as enhanced senses and strength, being a vampire gave other advantages, or disadvantages, depending how you looked at it. Since he’d been changed, Jesse never forgot names, faces, things he’d done, or places he’d visited. Even if he sometimes wanted to. But his life before that, his human life with his friends and family... the memories faded more as time passed, despite how hard he tried to cling on to them.
