Chapter 15 Jasmine
“And then what? I can’t go to work not knowing how this ended!
You can’t do this to me!” Kacey groans, following me around the kitchen.
“Or, better yet—” she pulls out a stool and sits.
“So, they’re all sitting, and you’re standing there looking all—” She waves a hand over me. “—terrifying, alluring, and—”
I raise a brow, which cuts her short.
“And then you say, ‘If you ever lie to me again’... go on, do the rest!”
I smile into my tea, watching her eagerly await the performance I will never deliver.
“Sure,” I say, and she beams at me. “After you tell me why you aren’t seeing Amon today.”
Her smile and shoulders drop.
“Way to ruin the fun,” she mopes, picking up her mug and fiddling with the tea label hanging over the edge.
“Hey.” I place my cup down, pulling out a stool so I can sit in front of her. “I’m trying to be a good friend here, considering you were the best friend I could’ve asked for yesterday.”
That makes her look up, a soft smile returning. “Really?”
“You kiddin’?” I scoff. “The truth serum, the pep talk, searching through the huge pile of gifted clothes?” Her smile widens and her cheeks redden. “So let me return the favour. Let me try and help. What’s the problem?”
She stares down into her mug, her lips falling into a line.
“It’s me. I’m the problem. I mean, like we didn’t already know that,” she grumbles—but before I can argue, she continues.
“I lost control. One second, I’m fine. We were feeding the phoenixes and then we were…
a lot closer and… and I didn’t mind that he was closer.
So I started to wonder…” She pauses, and the blush deepens. “What he might feel like…”
I swallow, predicting what she’s about to say.
She looks at me, eyes watering with unshed tears. “I touched him. Just his arm, and…” She shakes her head. “I lost it, J.”
A tear falls and my chest tightens.
“Zeek was there, thank the bloody Goddess. He took Amon away and… that’s it.
” She wipes at her face, and the tears sink into her fabric gloves.
“He’s probably wondering what he did wrong to have a bond like me.
An unstable necromancer who can’t even touch people without—” Her words cut off as more tears fall.
I want to reach out and comfort her, but I know I can’t. But my power has touched her before, so I let fine shadows coast over her, snipping away at her heavy dread.
“Kacey,” I say softly, lowering my face to catch her gaze. “You’re thinking the worst. Have you tried, y’know, actually speaking to him? Can’t you text him?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t even know what I’d say, J. ‘Hey, sorry for losing it and making my ghosts appear because I touched your arm. Hope you don’t think I’m too much of a freak but totally get it if you want to reje—’ ” She chokes on that final word.
I shuffle nearer, still keeping a gap between our knees. “Let me speak to Ezekial. I’ll see if Amon has said anything. Would that help?”
She pauses for a moment, then her watery eyes reach mine. She sniffs. “You sure?”
My lips fall into an easy smile. “Of course, I’m sure. I’m also sure that you’re wrong about Amon and what he’s thinking.”
She rolls her eyes, rubbing hard at her face, causing red splotches to appear. “Yeah, well. It’s what I’d be thinking. He’s a dragon shifter, J. A dragon. And his bond is me? Like, what?”
I scowl—though I try to keep it light. Not the ‘scary face’ Kacey has previously mentioned.
“I need you to stop talking about yourself like that, Kacey.”
Judging by her blanching, I’m not doing a great job softening the ‘scary face’. Or maybe it’s the tone I didn’t mean to lower.
I cough and try again, meeting her gaze head-on.
“You are kind, loyal, and brave.” I hold her eyes, willing her to believe it. “You are a woman with immense power.”
She stares at me, mouth parting at my words. “You think I’m brave?” she whispers.
“Yes, Kacey.” I smile. “So, I’ll speak to Ezekial and then we’ll go from there. And no more talking badly about yourself.” I harden my gaze briefly, then smile again. “Sound like a plan?”
She nods, grinning back.
Thankfully, Kacey doesn’t ask again for a repeat of last night’s meeting.
Not like I haven’t replayed it in my mind all night long.
I had to.
Because when I didn’t distract myself with something else, all I could do was feel Ezekial.
His presence always feels like warm waves brushing over me, easing me, but last night there were… spikes. Fluctuations in those lulling tides that made me feel anything but calm.
Their proposal worked. Better than I could’ve imagined.
When the spikes had calmed, I fell into a deep, soundless, nightmareless sleep.
But still… I couldn’t help comparing it to sleeping with Kane. I wasn’t sure anything could beat that, which terrifies me a little. I’d never ask for it. But if he offered—if I twisted the truth, implied the arrangement hadn’t quite worked… maybe they’d propose...
I bite the inside of my cheek.
What am I thinking?
No.
This is a friendship…
But sometimes friends sleep together. It can be innocent. Harmless.
But the heated desire that rushed through me when I finally touched Kane’s hair was far from innocent.
That was a dangerous, sinful fire ignited by a single touch. A fire that keeps growing…
Even his simple text this morning:
Kane: I’ll come for you at 8am.
Reignited the flames immediately. The speed at which I flew out of bed and into the shower was... embarrassing to say the least.
So when he arrives five minutes early—his coolness sweeping over me, urging me closer—I’ve only seconds to shove all those thoughts deep down. I can’t risk them escaping. No way. Not if I want to continue our friendship.
I smirk, remembering their reactions, the thoughts they didn’t know I could hear.
I hop off the stool, brushing down the skirt of my dress. The clothes I’ve no doubt Julien bought were—once again, frustratingly perfect. Fit, colour, style. It’s infuriating how well he knows my preferences, and my body… and yet, my darkness flares with pride.
It’s a casual, dark green dress. Not overly fitted, pulled in at the waist by a thin belt, with a soft scoop neck. Paired with black tights and heeled ankle boots. Very work appropriate. Nothing like last night’s ‘business attire’, and nowhere near the outfits I wore at The Inferno.
So why, when I open the door for Kane before he even knocks, do I feel like I’m wearing nothing at all?
I look down at myself, checking that I did indeed put clothes on, then back up. Which is a mistake, because now I’m staring at him.
The enforcer uniform.
My nemesis.
Has it always fitted him this well? Were his arms always that hard? Who decided this was appropriate for them to wear? Unless they want to cause a distraction, because I completely understand how you could become hypnotised by the heavy chest plate emphasising his—
“How did you sleep?” he asks, his voice slightly gruff.
“Really well.” When I wasn’t imagining your brother storming into my room and ravag—“How did you sleep?” I squeeze my eyes shut.
Why did I ask that? How many times has he told me he doesn’t sleep? Not unless it’s with me...
“I mean, how was your night?” I attempt a smile, but I’m sure it looks pathetic.
The corner of his mouth ticks up, barely noticeable, but it might as well be a full grin by the way my darkness coils around me.
“Dull,” Kane replies, his dark eyes scaling me.
Dull. What does that even mean?
But as I study his face for clues, I become entranced.
His hair is back to its regular style, but a couple of strands have escaped—teasing me, tempting me, reminding me that I had touched that very hair. The hair of this terrifying demon. How it was soft and silky, and all I want to do is—
I look away.
What is wrong with me? When did I become such a horny mess? Where the fuck is my restraint?
“This is for you.”
And how have I only just noticed the bag in his hand?
He holds it out further, and I lean forwards to peer into the opening. There’s something black and soft inside... I brush it with my fingertips.
Coolness and recognition flood me.
It’s a black hoodie. But not just any black hoodie. No.
The black hoodie.
The large, soft, black hoodie that Kane was wearing yesterday.
And he’s put it in a bag.
He didn’t just bring it. He’d have had to find a bag, pick it out, fold the hoodie... Just the thought of Kane doing all of that made this seem much more monumental.
“Erm, thank you,” I mumble to the ground, taking the bag.
I really want to touch it again, but I don’t. I place it inside the entrance of Kacey’s apartment, and immediately close the door behind me.
Come on, Jasmine. Get it together.
“We can go, by the way. Kacey already left,” I say. “I think the thing with Amon has really… knocked her.”
He nods once, letting me know he heard my words. “Good, we have plans.”
No sympathy or follow-up. Just good, like the only thing that matters is the fact I’m now free.
I arch a brow. “We?”
“No more lies,” he says, his new mantra and that barely-there smile are a nightmare. “We meet every Monday morning. Will you come?”
Will you come?
What dangerous words they are.
No command. No threat. Just a simple request.
“And where is this meeting?”
Because if this is a plot to get me back into their house… Part of me isn’t ready to go back there. A space just filled with them, their presence everywhere. Their rooms, their scents, their power. And the other part, well…
“You’ll see,” he says, holding his hand out. “Not the house.”
When I don’t respond, he steps closer, tilting his head at his palm in silent suggestion.
And why is that so sexy?
I force myself not to hesitate, to show strength, placing my fingers in his hand. The instant relief it brings almost has me falling into him, but I stay steady.
“Is everyone going to be there?” I ask, very aware my voice is deeper. I’m also very aware that more of his darkness is curling around me.