As soon as Jacob walks into our home, I start to regret my decision. He smells great, better than usual. His musk-and-leather perfume fills the entire living space in just a second. He looks like he’s just showered, his almost-black hair slightly damp but still tied in a messy bun. And he smiles at me as if all of this was no big deal.
“Sorry to be a bit late, guys,” he says, taking off his leather jacket and hanging it on the back of a wooden dining chair.
I hate looking at those, especially now when the night we were turned is so present in my mind. Maybe we should buy new ones. I don’t want to remember being tied to that damn janky chair allthe time. But then again, this entire rundown house reminds me of that moment.
“Had another clingy client that wouldn’t let you go?” Damien’s voice is almost a purr, and it makes my stomach turn.
“Something worse.” Jacob sits next to Damien on the sofa and crosses his legs. He looks so elegant in his all-black outfit, as usual. “A client that arrived late and fucked up my entire schedule for the afternoon.”
Jacob seems relaxed, carefree. It pisses me the hell off. He’s so kind and handsome andperfect. The way Damien looks at him only fuels the fire in my veins. Still, I was the one who said he could go ahead and date him. It’s my fault. But what was I supposed to do? I can’t give in to the feelings that have been stressing me the fuck out. I made the right choice.
It was the only possible choice.
It still sucks, though.
I sit on the only empty spot on the sofa, at Jacob’s other side. However, I keep my distance; I don’t want to make contact with his legs like Damien is. They are almost glued to each other, although Jacob is keeping his hands to himself. I force my eyes onto the blank walls that have yellowed with smoke, and the old paint peeling from them. It still looks terrible, even if I keep the space clean, which Ledger never bothered to do.
“Anyway—” Jacob sighs and throws his head back against the headrest of the sofa. “Did you guys have a good day?” He looks at Damien first and then at me.
I hate his alluring smile, and I have to force myself not to glare at him. He did nothing wrong, though. I put myself in this situation. Maybe I should have never agreed to feed from him, but how else am I supposed to find out if he’s telling the truth? It’s not like I know other vampires, who am I gonna ask?
“Nah—” Damien’s eyes focus on the tattoos on Jacob’s neck. I can almost hear him swallow hard as he stares. “It was a boring day, honestly.”
Jacob laughs softly. I hate to admit it, but my gaze also gravitates towards his neck. There’s a bird tattooed on his throat, with its red-and-orange wings spread wide. A phoenix, maybe? It’s a beautiful piece, for sure. I always thought Jacob was attractive, but the way my mouth waters now is a completely different thing. Like I actually desire him. And he’s dating my brother.
Sucks to be me, I guess.
I’m always the third wheel, anyway. Damien had a tendency to change boyfriends all the time, while I had only one real girlfriend—and that was before we left home. I kept my relationships strictly sexual, maybe because I never developed feelings for the girls I dated after Sophie. When I wasn’t with my friends, I was hanging out with my brother and his boyfriends—or sugar daddies, after he turned eighteen—watching out for him as much as I could.
“Would you guys like to hang out this weekend?” Jacob looks at me as he asks that. “I’d like to introduce you to some friends of mine. It’s time you start interacting with other vamps.”
Damien almost squeals in excitement. “There are other vampires in Phoenix?!”
“Yeah, of course.” Jacob chuckles as his gaze focuses on my brother. There’s something warm and affectionate in his tone, and I hate it. “But they tend to move around. We all do. We can’t really stay in the same place for too long or humans will start noticing that we don’t age.”
“Have you lived in other cities before?” I ask, trying to step into the conversation and break up the awkward dynamic.
“I’ve been moving my tattoo shop around for almost fifteen years.” He smiles at me now, and my heart instantly skips a beatwhile my body wants to lean closer to him. “I’ve lived in many places, yes. I was born and turned in LA, then moved to Seattle, and then Portland for a while. Phoenix has been my home for the past seven years.”
“And what can you tell us about these friends of yours?” Damien places a hand on Jacob’s stomach and tugs on his black shirt. I can’t help but stare and wonder what lies underneath it. What his abs look like, what kind of tattoos he has there.
What am I thinking?
“You’ll find out when you meet them.” Jacob takes Damien’s hand in his.
My eyes immediately look away from both of them, landing on the TV in front of us. I can’t stand this. Why am I so . . . turned on? Why is my mouth watering? I said I wouldn’t let this be weird, but it is.
Ever since the whole Clara thing, I can’t stop thinking about how she came in my arms, with my brother’s fingers inside her. It was . . . amazing and terrifying at the same time. Andwrong.
Part of me wants to do it again. The same part that is losing control at the thought of what’s going to happen next. But the logical side of me is panicking, begging me not to get involved. I’m torn between desire and reason. Just like I’ve been for a while now.
“Maybe I should go to the bedroom,” I say, but when I’m about to stand up, Jacob’s free hand wraps around my wrist.
“Why don’t you feed first?” he asks, his face turning serious for a second. “You can go to your room after, if that’s what you want.”
“Fine.” I smile, but everything inside me is screaming in a confusing kind of rage. The warm and soft touch of his hand tickles my skin in a way I don’t like. Well—I do like it, and that’s the problem.
His gaze slowly travels around my face, which has my cheeks heating up. “One of the reasons why I want to introduce you to other vampires is to give you more options.”
