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“Then I think we’re done here. ”
Sig let me slip away first, leaving them behind, but I wasn’t quite out of earshot when I heard Juan Carlos say, “For now. ”
Chapter Eighteen
The next night I woke with the knowledge that an axe was suspended over my head, waiting to fall.
I might have been able to deal with it better had the blade been literal, but instead it was the threat Lucas had made. Combined with the fear over Calliope potentially being a murderer, my mother having a pack of maniac wolves at her service, and my fate with Juan Carlos and the Tribunal being tenuous at best…well, it was no small wonder I had a migraine from the get-go.
I also woke up alone. No pesky vampires, no red-hot werewolves. Just my cold sheets and my dark bedroom. Part of me was relieved, but a bigger part of me was dwelling on what my encounter with Desmond had meant the night before.
Could he forgive me and start over, or was it just relapse sex?
I groaned and rolled my face into my pillow, getting a mouthful of hair in the process. Pulling the damp strands from between my lips, I wondered what fresh hell the world would throw at me tonight. Maybe if I was real lucky, another demon bent on the total destruction of Manhattan would show up. Surely a few of my problems would have to take a backseat to that.
Apocalypse—the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card.
A knock at my front door dragged my sorry ass out of bed and away from my musings over the end of days.
“Who knocks anymore?” I grumbled. “Everyone else lets their damned selves in. ”
When I opened the door, I was sure I must still be asleep.
Holden and Desmond stood side by side, making my minuscule entranceway look impossibly small with their collective bulk filling all the space. The vampire looked smug and the werewolf looked like he had a terminal case of the grouchies. It was quite a change of pace considering Holden was usually the grumpiest bugger in the room.
“You let your dog out without a leash. You know the city has bylaws against that. ”
Well, that explained what he was so merry about. Holden loved any opportunity to use a bad joke, especially one at the expense of my werewolves. The dog lines were getting a little old. He never seemed to consider how I shared the same canine infection he so gleefully mocked in Desmond and Lucas.
“If you hadn’t opened your mouth, I’d be fairly certain I’d died and gone to heaven. ”
Desmond gave a grim attempt at a smile, but it came out skewed and tight-looking. Holden rocked on his heels, and I could practically see the gears in his head working w
hile he waited for another opportunity to lambaste Desmond.
I stepped from the doorway and held out a hand, my welcome gesture almost comically overstated. “Why don’t you guys come in? Try not to kill each other while I get changed. ” Wearing cotton short-shorts and Desmond’s Yankees T-shirt probably wasn’t the best idea when having a tête-à-tête with the two men I’d most recently shared a bed with. What was appropriate, given the company? I didn’t own a burka, and sadly, invisibility cloaks didn’t exist outside of Hogwarts.
In my bedroom, I had a silent panic attack.
Desmond would be able to smell Holden all over the apartment. And Holden would be able to smell me all over Desmond. Neither of them was stupid, and a third grader would be able to do the simple math equation. Man plus Secret plus other man equals slut.
I sat on the bed with a sweater in my hands.
They’re both still sitting there, I thought hopefully. Furthermore, Holden had known for a good long time about my relationship with Desmond. Really, the only reaction here I was terrified to deal with was that of my werewolf ex. He’d left because of my connection to another man. What was stopping him from bolting now?
For one, I hadn’t had sex with Holden.
Not for lack of trying, I reminded myself.
Slutty, slut, slut, slut, I added.
“Ugh. ”
Tugging the sweater over my head and trading my sleep shorts for jeans, I went back into the living room. Holden had both arms propped on the back of the loveseat, and Desmond was nowhere to be found.
“Where’s—?”
Holden didn’t wait for me to finish, just pointed a lean, pale finger towards the kitchen instead. “He didn’t feel like bonding. ”
