Page 24

Movement caught my eyes, and I looked across the field. My heart thumped hard in my chest.

Ren stood at the edge, watching me.

And instead of taking off or looking away when he realized I saw him, he strode toward me. My flight instincts kicked in, but I made myself stay sitting, even while my heart galloped faster.

Calm the fuck down.

My new little familiars sensed my unease and immediately tried to soothe me, landing on my skin as if they were giving me a hug, or trying to protect me in some way.

Ren stopped several feet from me, his gaze moving over my bare feet, my arms, where most of the butterflies had landed, then my head where at least two were sitting.

He shoved his fingers through his russet hair. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I tried to sound unaffected, but it wasn’t easy. Being this close, and alone, with the male I loved beyond all reason was hard as hell.

“I was, ah…just going for a walk and spotted you sitting here,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck.

His bicep bulged, and my gaze took in the jagged scar there. It looked raw, almost new, when I knew it wasn’t. “Right.” He must have left the clubhouse soon after me. I’d dropped my car off at the house and come straight here.

“You come here a lot,” he said, looking around.

“I like it here.”

He took another step closer. “So what kind of butterflies are those?”

“Mourning cloaks.”

“They the only kind in this field?”

What was with all the questions? “There are others, but it’s starting to get too cold for many of them.”

He nodded slowly, his gaze sliding to my chest. “Saw your new ink.” He crossed his arms, then uncrossed them. “Wills said you designed it yourself.”

This was so freaking awkward. Why was he here? Had Bree told him what I’d done and now he was here to let me down easy? My face heated. “I did, yeah.”

“It’s cool… Really cool.”

“Thanks.” The silence dragged out. I couldn’t take it. “Ren—”

“So are you and Rome—”

“What?”

We both stopped talking over each other, and when he said nothing more, I made myself speak. “Are me and Rome, what?”

He cleared his throat, his gaze darting around the field before he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Together? You with him now?”

He thought Roman and I were together? Together, together? I studied him. Why was he so stiff? And why was he here acting all awkward and weird? Although there was literally zero going on between Rome and me, I found myself shrugging, like an idiot, because if he thought I had feelings for someone, anyone else, then maybe he wouldn’t think I was a giant loser with a crush on him when Bree told him I liked his abs pic. Cringe. But then maybe he already knew that I was hopelessly in love with him? As hard as I tried to hide my feelings, the guy wasn’t blind. I acted like a damned fool around him, blushing and stuttering, or snapping and snarling. My cheeks felt warm all of a sudden.

His brows went up, and he crossed his arms again, the muscles flexing, his veins bulging. “You think that’s a good idea, Jasmine? Rome’s way too fucking old for you.”

Whoa. What? So now he was going for the concerned friend approach? “You could say Rome is too old for everyone.” He was a thousand years old, at least. “I, on the other hand, am twenty, and definitely old enough to decide who I spend time with.” I needed to stop insinuating Rome and I were something we weren’t, but Ren was starting to piss me off.

“He’s gonna hurt you.”

I stood, and my little crew of mourning cloaks fluttered around me, sensing my volatile emotions. “Roman’s one of the best males I know,” I said, telling the truth. The fact there was less than zero sexual chemistry between us was beside the point. “He’d never hurt me.”

Ren flinched, but then his jaw hardened. “And when his mate shows up and he tosses you aside like yesterday’s garbage? Will he still be the best male you know then?”