Chapter 3
Somehow, I woke up underneath Shiloh. James must have moved me when I fell asleep.
Shi laid on my chest, arm tight around my waist and legs entwined through mine.
They were so still that at first I wasn’t entirely sure they were breathing.
I held my own breath, flattening a hand across their back and only relaxing once they moved beneath my palm.
Since they were sleeping soundly, I didn’t dare bother them.
Movement from the edge of the room caught my eye, and I glanced over to see James emerging from the hallway. His hair was damp, and even from across the room, the scent of his soap sent my body into overdrive.
“You need me to move them?” he asked me.
Possessively, my grip tightened around them. “I’m good for now. Let them sleep.” I stifled a yawn. “I didn’t mean to doze off. I’m sorry.”
The last thing I remembered was James and I fighting off laughter over what was happening on the TV. I wasn’t even sure what we were watching, but we somehow found the silent foolishness hilarious.
“Don’t apologize.” James bent down to kiss me on the forehead, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Humans need their sleep after all,” he added with a teasing lilt to his voice.
“Supernatural bastard,” I muttered. James thumbed across the mark on my neck, which tingled beneath his touch. “Why didn’t it work?”
James shook his head. “I’m not sure it didn’t. The venom’s there—I can see it in your veins. But you should definitely be showing symptoms by now, much less feeling something.”
Grimacing, I wiggled beneath the person sleeping on me. “The only thing I feel is Shi’s elbow digging into my bladder.”
I squirmed, waking Shiloh up. They stirred, and although I hoped they’d settle again, their pretty camo eyes fluttered open, then widened when Shi realized they were lying on top of me. “Shit, I’m so sorry!”
They launched upright, swaying on the spot. I was slower to sit up, holding onto them until they steadied. “Easy,” I said soothingly. “You got pretty sick last night.”
“Ugh, not again.” They glanced around the room, taking in their surroundings. “How did I get here?”
“You demanded that Michael bring you here,” James answered. I wanted to make a joke about how they clung to James like a koala, but even I knew when to refrain.
“My brother, Michael?” Groaning, they dropped their head into their hands. “How much did I have to drink?”
“We don’t know,” I told them. “You were wasted when you got here.”
Silence, and they glanced between the two of us. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” James said before I could open my mouth. “We’re only glad you felt comfortable enough to come to us.”
And with that, my vampire turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
“I’m… I’ll splash some cold water on my face and be out of your hair,” Shi muttered, crawling off of the couch. “I can’t believe this happened again.”
“Don’t be silly.” I stood and chased after them. “Let me get you a towel so you can shower. If you want to make it up to us, I’m sure James would love some help with breakfast.”
In my bathroom, I grabbed a couple of towels and started the water. Shi offered me a grateful smile. “I’m not intruding?”
“Not at all. Besides, I think he’ll enjoy having someone who can do more than scramble an egg.”
“He trusts you with a whisk?”
My head tilted. “You’re supposed to use a whisk?”
When Shi finally cracked a smile, I left them alone to shower while I rejoined James in the kitchen.
He was oddly quiet. His usual music wasn’t playing, and he barely looked over his shoulder.
Pulling a move right out of his playbook, I sidled up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “You’re still beating yourself up for saving their life, aren’t you? ”
He blew out an exasperated breath, dropping his head against my shoulder. “I don’t know how not to.”
“As I said last night: If you were human, and someone needed mouth-to-mouth, would you feel the same way?”
“I don’t know. I’m not human, and that wasn’t mouth-to-mouth.”
“Technically—”
“Ryder.”
“Sorry. But you saved their life, James. No one knows what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.”
James handed a cup of coffee over his shoulder, which I graciously sipped on while I waited for my turn in the shower. Finally, he said, “I need to tell them, don’t I?”
“They weren’t breathing, baby. Something tells me they didn’t intend to drink themself to death, and that they’d be grateful for what you did. I don’t think this is the sticky situation you think it is.”
“It is if I have feelings for them.” James’s voice was low, as if Shiloh might possibly hear him across the house and under the running water. “I saw an opportunity to kiss them and I didn’t think. I just acted. I took advantage of the situation. Of them.”
“And you accuse me of overthinking,” I said. James sighed and leaned against the sink, crossing his arms. I brushed a tender kiss across his lips. “If it bothers you that much, then talk to them about it.”
James didn’t respond, but he offered me a grateful smile. My bedroom door opened, and Shi crept down the hallway. Sheepishly, they poked their head into the kitchen, damp curls hanging in their face. “What are the chances of me escaping without questions?”
“Much higher than escaping without being fed,” James offered. “It’s one of my rules.”
Shiloh emerged into the room, their grin widening into a full smile. “Ryder said something about you accepting help from someone useful in the kitchen.”
I backed out of the kitchen, relieved to see that James was slightly more relaxed than he’d been earlier.
While I waited on my shower to warm up, I inspected James’s mark in the mirror.
I squinted, trying to see the venom beneath my skin like James said he did.
Thin blue lines spread out from his bite like a spiderweb.
The spot was hot to the touch, just like my whole body had been the night before, and it throbbed beneath my fingertips.
It was almost like the venom was trying its best to work, but it just…
wasn’t. How had no one said anything about it?
I furrowed my eyebrows. Michael had barely glanced at it last night.
Shaking my head to clear my swirling concerns, I showered and brushed my teeth, making sure to throw on something that covered that nasty mark before returning to the kitchen.
James and Shi sat at the table. Shi was laughing at something James was saying, scratching Carlos behind the ear with one hand.
“You can stop talking about me now,” I chided, accepting the fresh coffee James slid my way—with my left hand.
“Holy shit!” Shi exclaimed, reaching across the table to snatch my hand so violently that liquid sloshed over the edges of the mug and splattered to the table. “Is this what I think it is?”
“Depends on what you think it is.”
“Don’t tease them, love,” James scolded, peering up at me with sparkling brown eyes. “They’re hungover.”
“Did you… Are you two—” Shi’s gaze snapped back to the band on James’s hand that they’d apparently missed until now, then settled their attention on me. “Explain.”
James spoke instead, drying my hand before bringing the ring to his lips. “I asked Ryder to marry me last night.”
“Umm,” I objected. No way was he stealing my story. “Only after I asked him last week,” I clarified.
“You mean when you impulsively blurted it out in the most ‘Ryder’ way possible?” After I feigned offense, he added, “I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
Shi balked at us as I lowered myself into the chair next to James. “Whoa, so I crashed your engagement night? Fuck, I’m so sorry, I’ll just—”
“Eat, Shiloh,” James urged. “Please.”
Something in his voice must have calmed them, because they reluctantly took a bite of the toast that James slid their way.
“Trust me,” I said, “there’s been no shortage of celebrating around here.” At that, color flooded their face, and the smattering of freckles across their cheeks disappeared. “You clearly needed someone last night, and we were happy to give that to you.”
Shi took another experimental bite of their toast, obviously deeming it too much for their undoubtedly sensitive stomach because they returned it to the plate and swapped it for a glass of water. “The last thing I remember is opening the bottle…”
“And your brother?” I pressed. “You don’t remember him showing up?”
Another shake of their head, and Shi pulled their phone from their pocket. “He’s called me a million times. He actually came here? To Salem? To your house?”
“He did,” James said. “He was pretty concerned about you.”
“I should probably talk to him.” But they didn’t seem very interested in doing so.
Carlos chose that precise moment to scream at the back door, and to my surprise, James rose to his feet to let the creature out.
Shi grimaced at the noise, rubbing their temples, and I left the table long enough to get the bottle of painkillers.
When I sat back down, it occurred to me that James was still missing.
A moment later, the reason dawned on me: Shiloh trusted me.
Despite whatever strange feelings were happening between the three of us, Shi was still intimidated by James.
Then again, I supposed most people found their bosses a bit frightening.
Once he was out of earshot—as far as Shi knew—I slid across to James’s seat, which was directly in front of where they fidgeted with their uneaten breakfast, staring into their plate. “What happened, Shi?” I asked softly.
For a moment, I thought they might actually tell me. Their leg bounced beneath the table, lip trapped between their teeth. They opened their mouth to speak… and then their phone chimed. Whatever was on the screen had them second-guessing it.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” they muttered, snatching the device from the table as if it had personally offended them. “I should g—fuck!”
James had re-entered the room, seeming to materialize out of thin air. “Is everything okay?”
Shi clasped their chest, gasping for breath. “Yeah, sure. Heart attacks are nothing to worry about.” When James quirked a bashful grin, one that got my heart racing, Shi continued. “Any chance you two need some extra hands tonight? I know I’m not scheduled, but I can come in.”
“It’s New Year’s Eve,” I scoffed. “I don’t think there are enough hands in the world.”
“But you should rest,” James added. “You’re not scheduled for another week. You should take that time.”
Shi’s attention flickered between the two of us.
Emotion flashed over their pretty eyes, so brief that had I not been studying them so closely, I would have missed it.
Their stoic front wavered, but only for a millisecond.
“That’s very kind, but I’d rather have the distraction.
” Another chime from their phone, and they rubbed their forehead again. “I should go. I need to handle this.”
Tension lingered, but before James or I could question them further, Shi stood up. “Thank you for everything.”
“I have to open the bar,” James blurted. “Can I drive you home?”
More hesitation, more unease—but then Shi’s shoulders slumped. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
That, at least, helped James relax. He enjoyed being helpful.
“I’ll see you later,” I said, accepting the chaste kiss he pressed to my lips. Then, because I knew it would help him feel better, and because I just couldn’t help myself, I added, “I love you.”
If the way he swayed on his feet was anything to go by, I’d hit the right nerve. “I love you too.”
Throughout the afternoon, the mark on my neck didn’t seem to get much better. The blue faded, but it still lingered. I was inspecting it in the bathroom when I heard the front door shut. Confused, I went to the living room in time to see James kicking off his shoes.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, unable to help the smile that curled my lips at his early return.
“I forgot my laptop.” His eyes sank to my neck. “Still don’t feel anything?”
Shaking my head, I scrubbed the mark. “How am I supposed to hide this?” I teased. “It might be your best work yet.”
“There’s no need to worry about that, love. It’ll appear as nothing more than a hickey to everyone else.”
“Even with those pulsing blue lines?”
James’s head snapped up from his laptop bag. “You can see those?”
“Well, yeah… They’re kind of hard to miss. You said you could see them too.”
“Because I’m supernatural. The venom is invisible to humans… it should be to you.” As he spoke, James crossed the room, gaze fixed on my neck. I could imagine the way the mark would pulse beneath my skin with my increased heart rate.
“Maybe I am turning, but it’s just slow? What else could it mean that I can see it?”
James thumbed the bruise, his brows furrowed in concentration. The spot seemed to heat under his touch, as if my body knew who it belonged to. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. I promise.”