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"Well, there have certainly been some women along the way, but I've never been too serious with anyone. Until I met you, I never envisioned more."
I squirmed a bit uncomfortably as his eyes locked with mine. Then he smiled his boyish grin and looked back down.
"I go back to the Corpus house fairly regularly to check in on my sister, Emma, and the others. They're constantly taking in new refugees that don't have the protection of a coven. The Corpus family has a very large heart—just like Iris. They also formed their own scouting team, like your family has. They inform the militia of new and small threats regularly. They also always make sure to inform any surrounding families. They actually live in Salem. That's how I ended up in the states. That about sums me up. Short and sweet, huh?"
"I doubt that. I'm sure there is quite a bit that you are leaving out," I said, staring directly into his deep pools of blue.
He smiled as he leaned closer, letting his breath graze my cheek. "I have to keep some of my mystery. That's half my charm."
I rolled my eyes as I blushed. "I think you have a little too much charm if you ask me."
His cocky grin only grew. "Oh really?"
"Really," I muttered dryly, working hard—really hard—not to smile.
He nodded, seeming proud of himself. "Good to know."
The movie finally made it to where the romance was getting started, and Jared sighed happily while leaning back.
"Prepare to get emotional, love. I'll be here when you need me."
He patted his shoulder suggestively. I shoved him playfully, and he laughed as we both nestled in closer to each other. It didn't take him long to put his arm around me. I looked at him and he just smiled and winked at me. Since he was being so cute, I let it slide.
The first movie was a bit boring, but it did have some moments that reminded me of the triangle that we were in. I was sure that was why he had chosen it. Especially since the girl chose the less obvious guy. Jared wasn't good at being subtle, I decided.
We were watching his horror flick when suddenly he grabbed the remote and paused it. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting his disappointment. I stared at him, a little confused.
"Not once have you grabbed my leg, or squeezed my hand, or buried your head in my chest. What's up? It's supposed to be one of the scariest movies out there."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, well, I guess when you've seen the real scary things that go bump in the night, the fake stuff just doesn't scare you so much. In the past year I've been shot at—twice; I've had some creepy men try to suck the life out of me; I've had a girl send in some losers to drag me back to their leaders; I had t
he hell beat out of me by a group of jerks; and I watched a pool come to life and kill a man right in front of me. Oh, and I had a secret dark member of my family who came to warn me of imminent danger, while also telling me that he planned to kill me sometime in the future. So, I'm a little immune to the normal version of scary, I guess."
He frowned. "You've had a busy year. I guess it's kind of hard to compete with that." Then he laughed lightly.
I raised up and stared into his eyes. "Thanks for this. It's been nice to have a normal night. I really needed it a lot worse than I realized."
He smiled warmly. "Any time, love. You deserve a little bit of normal sometimes. It keeps you sane."
"I agree," I said through a long breath.
His lips tightened as his eyes shifted to a new gaze, telling me he was about to flip this conversation.
"Just hear me out on this, will you ?" he asked.
I knew this wasn't going to be a friendship conversation. I tried to sound like I wasn't dreading whatever he was going to say. "Okay. What's up?"
He hesitated, but finally answered. "Just for tonight, will you pretend that you never met Tallis? Tomorrow I will leave and never think of this night as anything more than you doing me a favor. I just need this right now. I have a lot going on right now, and tomorrow is going to get intense. If you would do this for me, it would help me leave with a little more clarity, and not make me feel like things are so unfinished between us. It'd be nice to feel satisfied and have a clearer mind than I've had in the past few months. Just for tonight, please pretend as if I mean more to you than just a friend."
I took a deep breath. He was begging me to return his affection, just as I had begged Tallis. One night wouldn't kill me. I knew he was being sincere, and I owed him that much. I knew what that longing felt like, and I also knew the sting of rejection.
It was tormenting him the way it had tormented me. Jared deserved much more than me, but it was me he wanted.
"Okay. Just don't leave here thinking this is going to continue—"
He didn't even let me finish. He had his hands in my hair and his lips were pressed hard against mine. This time I let him. It wasn't like it was a horrible sacrifice. I was enjoying every move of his skilled tongue.
My first kiss had been with Tallis, and then my second with Henry, my third had been Jared already. This was just the kiss he would remember me by. This was a one time deal. I couldn't help feeling like I was cheating on Tallis, but I cleared my mind the best I could.
