He grabbed hold of Ian’s hand again and gave his fingers a squeeze. “I know that.”
“Good.”
They sat there in silence.
Jesse had so much to sort out in his head, he had no idea where to start. How to deal with Peter, what to tell Raph.
What a clusterfuck.
He let his head drop back against the headboard and closed his eyes, wishing he could turn back time and that they were in Ian’s bed instead of his. If Jesse had been human, none of this would’ve happened. They’d probably still be seeing each other. Meeting at the bar, maybe, or meeting in the daytime for coffee or lunch.
But he wasn’t human.
And now, thanks to Jesse, neither was Ian.
He pushed down that part of him that was happy about the turn of events. Ian deserved better.
“You have to go and check on Cate for me.” Ian’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“What?” Jesse rolled his head to the side, meeting Ian’s gaze.
“Cate. I can’t leave here, so you need to go for me. I mean, how did Peter even know we were friends?” His eyes narrowed. “Did you—”
“No!” Jesse sat up straight. “I only told Raph about you, not Cate, I swear.” Jesse shifted on the bed to face Ian more fully. “I know you have no reason to trust me but—”
A knock on the door had them both freezing.
“Who’s that?” Ian asked, glancing over to it. “Peter?” The thought of Peter seemed to set him on edge, not that Jesse blamed him.
But Jesse didn’t think it was Peter, and when a key sounded in the lock, he knew it wasn’t.
Arse.
With a groan, he ran a hand over his eyes and waited for the inevitable. “It’s not Peter,” he muttered as the door swung open and Lys barged in with a thunderous look on her face.
“Lys—”
“What the actual fuck, Jesse?” she hissed the words through gritted teeth as she shut and locked the door behind her. Her gaze shot to Ian and she pointed a finger in his direction. “Is he worth getting kicked out of the coven for? Or worse?”
“Lys,” he warned, sensing Ian tense beside him.
“Don’t you fuckingLysme. When the boys in black find out what you’ve done, they’re gonna string you up, and what happens to Ian then, eh?”
Ian glanced from Jesse to Lys, then back again. “I thought you said it was bad if others find out I’m here.”
“It is.” Jesse waved a hand at Lys. “But she doesn’t count.”
“Charming.” Lys bared her fangs at him. Then she turned her attention on Ian properly. “Did you ask for this?”
Ian shook his head.
“Then I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this world.” She glared at Jesse. “You fucking idiot.”
“No, tell me how you really feel.” Jesse wanted to bite his tongue off after the words were out. It wasn’t a joke and he shouldn’t try and make it into one. “Sorry.”
Taking a seat on the corner of the bed, Lys shook her head in resignation. “Fucking hell, Jesse. If I’d known you were planning something like this, I would never have gone into work.”
“You work?” Ian stared at Lys, surprise obvious.
