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He huffed, but there was amusement in the sound. “Should’ve guessed everyone could hear us.” Jax unscrewed his water cap again, crinkling the plastic in his palm as he drank. He then placed the clouded bottle against his cheek, appearing to savor its coolness. “When I catch this Jack 2 prick, I’m going to throw a sack over his head and leave him tied up in a sauna, to repay him for this.”
“Ohh, kinky boy.” I had no such trouble with the heat. I’d been sipping from a Blood Light, but the taste paled in comparison to Ceci. Time to try to get Jax talking again. “So, have you and Aaron, you know, both scored a touchdown yet…?”
Jax’s eyes were hidden, but his lips formed a wry smile. “A gentleman never tells. But I will say this. We’re going at a pace that’s right for her.”
I nodded. “Why rush a mate when you have so many years to share with each other, yes?”
“Exactly.”
“So, you haven’t…?”
He sighed, patting me on the shoulder. “Like I said, a gentleman never tells. Not that that would affect you, of course.”
I swatted his large hand away, hurting me more than him. “Well, I am getting better, don’t you think? I’m certainly a gent where Ceci’s concerned.”
Saying nothing, he nodded. I’d take that as begrudging agreement I was treating his mate—ourmate, in my opinion—with the respect she deserved. His attention returned down to the lawn where she and Vesta sat.
They looked relaxed, though Ceci’s aura had carried this perpetual unease—quite understandably—ever since she’d been kidnapped.
With all the solid encirclement of security around her, no attempts had been made to harm her again. Indeed, only a fool would have tried, considering how many eyes and ears were dedicated to keeping her safe, but that didn’t affect Jax’s attitude. His focus was eagle sharp, and no doubt his wolf was ready to rocket into action at a moment’s notice too.
He finished his water bottle, and was about to toss it across the roof, but rather than call him a litterbug, I said, “Better hold on to that. We’ve a little while longer and I don’t see any toilets up here, do you?”
Jax smirked. “You think I’ve played football all these years and not learned to hold it? Kind of like your blood thirst, isn’t it? You can’t just indulge it in polite company every time it takes your fancy. You control it, right?”
Ah yes, my blood thirst, as Jax called it. Jealousy was one thing. And I’d certainly felt plenty of that when I’d heard the soft moans and groans from Aaron’s bedroom each of the past three consecutive nights. They’d started on Sunday and just gotten more vigorous the past two evenings, loud enough to bring Osric over to listen in the hall too.
But jealousy could be managed. It would fester and break my heart, but not right away. The thirst though. It would kill me much quicker.
Since the last feeding, and since I couldn’t stomach anyone else’s blood, my throat had become parched, my body weaker, skin paler. The strengthened powers of charming and blurring remained, but I found myself with little enthusiasm for using them.
A second feeding from Ceci would fix things again. But it was too soon to ask, especially after what had been her first ever experience, and her being both generous and brave, as well as defiant in facing the overwhelming disapproval from the other guys. And I was still unsure about her feelings for me.
I decided to take my mind off that with some amusement. “So, the prince, the heir to the Fae kingdom, he’s been making good use of his feather duster, so it seems.”
Jax snorted. “I thought the uniform quite suited him. Not sure about that little cap though. I think Ceci forced him to wear it just for amusement.” He chuckled. “Certainly didn’t seem designed for pointy ears.”
“Poking up high out the sides like radio antenna.” I stuck up two fingers on either side of my head.
Jax grinned, his aviators’ focus firmly fixed on the two ladies below. “But I’ll say one thing for him. He’s not as arrogant as I first thought. And he’s clearly devoted to Ceci’s safety just as much as we are.”
“Hmm. Perhaps even more so. But then he’s so cold toward her.” I hated how Osric pulled away from her. I couldn’t decide if it was rude, aloof, or a blend of the two. If she’d run over to me when I’d gotten home, like she had with him on Sunday, I’d have scooped her up and showered her with love.
Sweat was starting to seep through the cotton around Jax’s impressive pecs. Mine had buffed out a fair bit since Ceci had first fed me, but they were still nothing like his.
His forehead was beading too. “Well,” Jax said, “Osric did all that snooping, taking pictures. I respect him for that. And considering his history with that lot, him keeping his cool, avoiding trouble, I admire him for that too.”
“As do I,” I replied, tapping a loose shard of brick with the heel of my boot, letting it tumble and smash on the ground. Nodding down at the central quad’s lawn, where Osric had just appeared in his fabulous janitor’s uniform of drab navy and patent leather boots, having finished a shift with Ceci just a short while earlier that morning, I said, “Though it’s rather harder to admire his fashion sense, of late.”
Looking at each other, we enjoyed a rare moment of levity. The vamp and the wolf, sharing a laugh. It felt good. But when would that extend to sharing Ceci?Reallysharing her, like Aaron and Jax were?
It troubled me.
Was it her or her mates that kept her from wanting more with me? Or was it something about me?
I sighed, shifted around on the roof’s ledge and climbed off with weary movements.
“You need to feed again.” Ceci strode over from the kitchen and stood in front of me where I sat slumped on the couch. “Why haven’t you asked me?” She asked with hands planted firmly on her hips.
