Chapter 2 #2
Michael seemed to think over his response. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally, he said, “I’m sure it’s no secret that my sibling is quite tight-lipped about their personal life.”
“That’s the understatement of the year. They’ll want to be the one to tell me, won’t they?”
“I think so.”
“Make him go away!” Shi called from the couch. “Tell him I’m fine.”
I cringed. That couldn’t have been pleasant to hear. “Do you have somewhere to stay?” I asked him.
“I’ve got a hotel nearby. Are you sure they’re okay with you? I can wrestle them out of here if they’re a bother.”
I grinned, but as I spoke, I found it quickly softened into a natural smile. “Nothing’s ever a bother when it comes to them.”
After promising to call and check in on Shi later, Michael left in what I assumed to be a rental car.
I locked Carlos behind the baby gate in the kitchen doorway, then joined Shi and James in the living room.
Shi had their head in James’s lap, and despite having called out less than thirty seconds earlier, they were snoring softly.
The alcohol had knocked them out. Instead of sitting on the loveseat, I lowered myself to the floor at James’s legs.
“Are they all right?” I asked.
“Mmhmm…” Absentmindedly, James let his hand fall to their hair. Freezing in place, he looked to me for guidance.
There was clearly a spark between the three of us, and we had yet to address it. Now, however, wasn’t the time. With a smile, I leaned against James’s thigh, a silent signal to him that it was okay.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, eyes sinking to the deep purple mark on my neck—one that had become nearly permanent since the first time he bit me.
“I don’t feel anything yet,” I whispered, only for James’s brows to furrow. Concerned at his expression, I added, “How long does it usually take?”
“It’s typically pretty quick, which is all the more reason you should get back to bed. In the morning—”
Shi coughed, a wet sound that caught our attention. Concerned that they’d be sick, I started to rise—when they started to make an odd wheezing noise.
And stopped breathing.
“Alcohol poisoning,” I said, scrambling the rest of the way to my feet. “I’ll call an ambulance.”
“Wait, love.”
“They’re not breathing!”
“Exactly. There’s no time, but we have another option.” He motioned to the trash can at the edge of the kitchen, infuriatingly calm. “Bring that over here.”
I dashed to the bin and dragged it over, watching as James knelt beside Shiloh and cradled their head in his hands. Of course! CPR, why didn’t I think of that? I stood by, bouncing on the heels of my feet, while James brought their lips together.
And stopped. He wasn’t doing the chest compressions, he was just…
Oh. Right. I’d forgotten the healing properties of vampire saliva.
Slowly—too slowly for my liking—the color returned to Shi’s face. They inhaled sharply, shuddering, and only then did I realize that I was holding my breath too. It had only been about fifteen seconds max, but it was the longest fifteen seconds of my life.
James peppered kisses across their cheek, their forehead, then returned to their lips, his saliva cleansing their body of the toxin. My heart rate gradually returned to normal, and my own breathing slowed.
The bite clearly hadn’t worked, but I could question it later, after Shi was safe.
I didn’t entirely relax until Shiloh gripped James’s hand. A moment later, they shoved him out of the way to lean over the trash can and expel the contents of their stomach.
I grimaced, smelling the booze from where I stood. God, I couldn’t even imagine how much they’d had—or what would have happened to them if they hadn’t come to us.
But something else pressed through the worry.
Feeling that tug in my chest that meant I was sensing James’s emotions through our bond, I glanced at my vampire.
He rubbed Shi’s back, looking down at our friend with soft, tender eyes.
With or without the bond, the rigid set of his jaw gave his nerves away.
“Why don’t you get them something to drink?” I suggested, hoping to ease his anxiety with a purpose. “I think there’s some Gatorade in the fridge.”
Shaking himself, James offered me a grateful smile. “Good idea.”
I knelt next to Shiloh, who was still spitting up into the bin next to them. They tried to speak, but I shushed them, peeling sweaty, sticky hair away from their face. “It’s okay,” I promised. “You’re okay.” Though I wasn’t sure if I was trying to soothe them or myself.
James timed his return perfectly. As I settled them onto the sofa, James handed me a damp cloth to clean them up. A second one was placed on the back of their neck, and they managed a few sips of water before falling asleep face down on the couch.
“Are you okay?” I asked James once I was sure Shi was asleep. He’d reclaimed his seat next to their head, this time letting his hand fall to their back.
“I kissed them.”
“They’re not going to remember it that way,” I assured him.
“But I will.”
Confused, I retook my position next to his legs, brushing a rogue curl away from Shi’s face.
After they’d caught James and me in a… compromising position a while ago—and especially after seeing how much James liked it—I was under the impression that we both felt the same way about Shi.
Perhaps because of his feelings, James went to great lengths to guarantee they weren’t uncomfortable with what they saw.
The mark on my neck seemed to heat, and I reached up to rub the sting away.
Oh…
Oh!
Consent. From day one, it had been important to James.
Early on, he never made a single move without me practically spelling it out for him, despite my lust-driven protests.
One night, Shiloh had stumbled across us in the alley, and James had me stay with Shiloh until he’d been certain they were all right with what they’d seen.
James wouldn’t force anything on them—or me—ever.
He was feeling guilty, I realized, for kissing them without their permission.
But this was different. “You saved their life, James,” I said, but judging by the gritting of his teeth, my words did little to relax him. “Would you question it if someone needed mouth-to-mouth? It’s literally the same thing.”
James didn’t say anything else, but we both came to a silent understanding that we weren’t moving—not even when Carlos crashed through the gate and came to inspect the person sleeping on the couch.
James shrunk away from him but otherwise stayed right next to Shi.
I stared at the TV, which I’d muted so I could count Shi’s every breath.
Leaning against James’s leg, I hadn’t realized I dozed off until Shi snatched my hand back into their hair. Snickering, I happily resumed twisting their curls around my finger. I’d do it all damn night if that’s what they wanted.
When James spoke, I nearly jumped out of my skin. “What are we going to do?”
I didn’t have to ask what he was talking about. When we first started dating, Kian’s older brother, Luke, had a crush on me, and it nearly ripped James and me apart. I couldn’t handle James’s jealousy, and he was adamant that he didn’t share.
I, ah, didn’t help matters by sleeping with the guy when James broke things off with me. Not my finest moment. Though, in fairness to my long and sordid past, not my worst either.
I’d always been a flirt, and James had a hard time dealing with that at first. Then Shiloh came along, and at first I thought they were the exception to his earlier claim that he refused to share.
Later, I realized the truth. James didn’t have a problem with sharing, he had a problem with Luke.
So we were both shocked when James developed feelings for Shiloh alongside me.
He gave Shi looks out of the corner of his eye when he thought no one was looking, and I hadn’t forgotten the way his body responded after they caught us outside the bar.
Luke had brought nothing but tension and stress, driving a wedge between us from the moment he walked through the door at Liz’s.
Shiloh, however, swept into the bar and slotted right into our lives like they belonged there.
The three of us could work an entire shift without speaking a single word and it wouldn’t be awkward.
I’m assuming. I’d never actually been able to go that long without talking.
Shiloh met every cocky line I threw their way, and had a bond with James that I couldn’t quite explain.
It was like the two just… worked together.
They clicked almost as quickly as he and I had.
Couple that with a deep-seated need to protect them that we both seemed to have, and it made for a lot of very complicated feelings.
But it wasn’t time to address any of those feelings. Right now, the only thing we needed to do was get our Shi Baby through to morning. Once we helped them with their family drama, we could take a look at how they fit into our relationship.
Damn it. I’d never wished more than in that moment that vampires were telepathic. I gazed down at the sleeping person next to me. “Why don’t we talk about that another time?”
The way James sagged in relief didn’t go unnoticed. “I’m okay with that.”