Chapter 20
Typically, I was the first to leap at the opportunity to work a busy shift. However, in the days leading up to my wedding, the only thing I wanted was to be curled up in bed with James.
We’d hardly been able to keep our hands off each other, exacerbated by the looks that Shiloh occasionally gave us during our shifts.
We hadn’t had much time with them outside of Liz’s. Since the four of us would be taking time off for the wedding, James had hired some temporary staff to cover the place. Watchful eyes meant that we had to be careful, and we hadn’t had a single second alone my Shi Baby.
The temperatures were a record low for February. One would assume that the terrible weather would make people stay at home, but apparently the entire city’s population instead thought, “Let’s get drunk.”
Shi, Kian, and me were taking turns behind the bar and James was hiding out in the office.
He’d been hungry after a frozen pipe in one of the restrooms, a late and incorrect delivery that had commanded his attention, and a surprise inspection he’d had to deal with had kept him from feeding for the night.
I offered him a quick bite off of me, but despite being snippy—turned out even vampires could get hangry—he declined, saying I needed to save my energy for my shift.
I started getting concerned when each of us got at least a few minutes for a dinner break, and he didn’t.
By the time we locked the doors, I was dead on my feet.
Kian was limping, and Shiloh practically collapsed onto the bar in exhaustion.
That shift nearly rivaled the crowds of Halloween.
Before Kian could do it, I started to collect the dishes that were left on the tables.
The dish bucket could get heavy, and I didn’t want him to strain himself any more than he already had.
Weeks had passed, and his recovery was going well, but it would only take one bad night to undo his progress.
James must have had the same thought, for it was only a few minutes later when I headed toward the kitchen and overheard James and Kian having a hushed conversation in the hallway. Judging by the dejected sigh and the way Kian’s shoulders slumped as he walked past me, James had just sent him home.
“Are you okay to drive?” I asked him, pausing in the doorway to the kitchen.
“I’ll be fine once I’m sitting down,” he said sheepishly, holding his stomach. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly snapped his hands to his side. “I just feel bad that I’m leaving you guys with such a mess. It’s been a long shift for everyone.”
Shi skirted around me and into the kitchen, grabbing a sanitizer bucket. “It’s nothing we can’t handle.”
“And I don’t hate having my son-in-law owe me one,” I added.
Kian left, grumbling, but he seemed in better spirits.
Recently, James had taken to helping with the cleaning to steal a few extra minutes with both of us.
That night, however, he went into the office and left me alone with Shiloh.
In spite of our exhaustion, we couldn’t help ourselves: We shared stolen kisses and lingering touches every time we passed by each other.
By the time we killed the lights, they were practically hanging off of me—but still not ready to take things further. They’d been driving me wild for weeks.
Once everything was finished, Shiloh snuck into the office to say a quick goodnight to James, then let me walk them to their car… where they proceeded to pin me against their driver’s side door and demand more passionate kisses. Their tongue delved deep into my mouth, exploring me.
My vampire knew exactly what was happening. Lust poured through the bond and hardened my cock to a near-painful level, but his hunger also pulled at my chest. I knew he needed to feed.
I reluctantly bid goodnight to Shi, both of us panting in an effort to catch our breaths. Finally, I went back inside, locking the front doors.
James appeared instantly, snatching my hand and hauling me down the hall. In a flash, the office door shut behind me and my back was pressed against the wood. A shaky breath quivered out of me, his fangs already tickling my neck. “E-easy vampire,” I murmured. “I know you’re hungry.”
“Starving,” he growled. “Say it. Please.”
Oh, fuck. It wasn’t often that James begged, but I made it my personal mission to explore that particular side of him another time. Maybe once we figured out this damn turn, I could command him to his knees and—
“Ryder!” he snarled. I’d never heard him so desperate.
“Sit down,” I told him, shoving him toward the couch.
He obeyed instantly, falling into the cushions and eyeing his mark on my neck. His eyes were brighter red than I’d ever seen them, shining in the dimly lit room.
“I look forward to exploring this side of you more often.” I straddled his lap. “Go ahead, baby. Eat.”
I took in a sharp breath as his fangs pierced my skin.
He drank once, deeply, and my head grew light.
I shuddered, his arms tightening on my hips.
He was so hungry that he grew sloppy. Warm, wet blood trickled down my neck, shooting a bolt of desire through me.
He sucked, a low noise of pleasure vibrating his chest against mine.
We didn’t hear the back door shut, or the gentle way the office door crept open. We only heard the shrieking voice that followed when Shiloh discovered the blood running down my neck.
“What the hell?”
James quickly sealed the bite and withdrew, covering his mouth with his hand until his fangs retracted.
But it was too late. Shi had already seen us. Seen him.
I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths. Shiloh was frozen in the doorway. I knew what Shi had witnessed, because I’d seen it myself when I caught James feeding from Dani.
James and I both flinched as the door slammed. When I glanced over, I expected Shiloh to be gone. Instead they stood there watching us, one arm crossed over their chest, the other hand scrubbing over their face.
Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, and no one spoke. In the end, I was the one to break the silence. “Shi—”
“Are you okay?” they asked, seemingly caught between horror and their concern for me. “You’re both covered in…” they trailed off, the scene in front of them finally seeming to dawn on them.
I still straddled James’s lap. He’d sealed his bite, but blood still smeared my neck, sticking to my skin and the collar of my shirt. Rebecca had planted the seed, and we’d just given Shiloh the proof.
“Blood,” they finished, voice so low that it was as if they’d hardly spoken at all. “What’s going on here?”
James tapped my knee, and I took it as a silent command to let him stand. I lowered myself onto the other side of the couch, covering my neck with my hand—like it would help. James dug around in his desk until he produced a pack of wet wipes, handing a few to me. “I’m so sorry, Shiloh.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” They watched, arms crossed over their chest while James wiped his mouth. I stayed quiet, watching their attention flicker between the two of us before it clicked. “Fuck… She was right. Y-you’re a v-vampire.”
“Shiloh,” James began. “Would you let us explain?”
“No!” The volume and anger in their voice made me flinch. “The time to explain was when I told you—” Shi pointed an accusatory finger at me, “—about what Rebecca said.”
I finally found more words. “Shi Baby, you have to understand—”
“Don’t try to charm me with your cutesy names right now. The only thing that I understand is that you lied to me.”
“Rebecca—”
“Don’t you dare blame this on her. She was telling me the truth.
You looked me in the eyes and you told me ‘that’s wild.
’” Their eyes grew glossy with unshed tears.
“You did the one thing that both of you promised me you wouldn’t do.
The only thing I asked from you in this little…
arrangement was not to keep things from me, and this is a pretty big thing to hide.
Especially after I asked you about it.” A disbelieving laugh bubbled out of them.
“I knew that getting involved with you two was a bad idea. Rebounds never work.”
Ouch. I winced, and James scrubbed the back of his neck.
Shiloh continued, pacing back and forth in front of me without a chance for either of us to get a word in.
“Combine that with a relationship with my boss—an engaged boss at that! I…” Tears flowed down their cheeks now, and they choked out a sob.
“I was setting myself up for failure, wasn’t I? ”
James tried to raise a calming hand. “Shiloh,” he began, but they cut him off.
“Don’t try to brush this off.” A weird laugh hiccupped out of them.
“I don’t think I even care that you’re a vampire, James.
Can you believe that? But you never gave me the chance to be okay with it.
You took away the right for me to choose whether to accept you for who you are because you were too scared I wouldn’t. ”
I flinched at that. It was a feeling they had probably been on the receiving end themself, I realized. Next to me, James looked stricken.
Shiloh pushed their hands through their hair, then moved for the door. “I’m done. Whatever… thing we had going on is over. And if you think I’m going all the way to Vegas for people who would treat me like this, you’re both delusional.”
The door slammed, leaving the room in ear-piercing silence. My heart thudded, and it was only then that I realized I was still covering my neck. My heartbeat pulsed against my palm. The blood was beginning to dry like glue on my skin.
James knelt in front of me, taking the wipes that I still clutched in my free hand.
“Let me.” His hands were shaking, I noticed.
He peeled my sticky hand away, cleaning it first before wiping the blood from my neck.
The wipes were cool against my heated skin.
I kept my eyes down, refusing to see my own emotions mirrored on James’s face.
I’d fucked up big time by not telling Shiloh the truth, and something told me that Rebecca knew that the second she opened her mouth.
“How do we fix this?” I whispered.
James sighed. “I don’t know, love.” And my heart sank to my stomach. I didn’t like it when the centuries-old vampire didn’t know the answer to something. “For now, I think the only thing we can do is give them their space.” He stood and threw the bloodied wipes into the trash. “Let’s go home.”
Neither of us spoke the entire way. There was nothing to say.
Even Carlos picked up on our somber moods, slinking off the couch to greet us at the door.
James vanished, naturally, but I took a moment to play with him in the backyard while James made me something to eat.
It had become part of our nightly routine.
I tossed a ball for Carlos, letting him pretend to bring it back before chasing him down for it.
Shi’s words replayed over and over in my head, and they didn’t get any easier. But there was something they said that seemed off, so I kept going over them.
Once Carlos and I couldn’t take the cold anymore, I let him inside to curl up on his blanket.
I trudged down the hall to the bedroom to change, and it was then that I realized what bothered me about Shiloh’s rant.
It had all been justified, so why had it been niggling at my mind?
It was what they’d said right before they stormed out, slamming the door behind them.
I rejoined James in the kitchen, leaning against the door frame. He continued cooking, and I watched until he raised his head from the food in front of him. “You all right, love?”
No. I didn’t answer the question. For a long moment, I let the silence stretch between us while I worried my lower lip between my teeth. When he turned off the stove and turned to face me, I finally found my words.
I clung to them like a life jacket. “Vegas?”