Chapter 13 Reno
RENO
“Uh, what the fuck?” This was bad, very bad.
Simon scooted over so he was more sitting next to me than hugging me around my middle. He rubbed his sternum. “I think the bond is trying to fix itself, and it needs us to keep the skin-to-skin contact.”
“Fucking hell.” I examined our magical cores again. They were still trying to hogtie themselves to each other with tendrils of magic. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.” I’d gone into this thinking the bond was something I had to do, not something I wanted.
Simon shook his head as he looked down, and his hair fell over his face like a curtain between us. “I feel like I pressured you into it.” Guilt came through the bond, loud and clear.
Oh, hell, no. Simon was the last person to blame for this fiasco.
I put my arm around him. “It wasn’t you.
It was the situation.” Hopefully he could feel my sincerity.
“Do you think... do you think you should cut the bond now? Would it be easier?” I was strangely reluctant to suggest that, but it was only logical.
He hesitated. “Maybe? But I think you should try calling a vision before I do anything with the bond.”
I scrunched up my face. I didn’t have much hope that it’d work, but Simon was right. We’d gotten this far, so I might as well give it a shot. “Okay. But I want to get cleaned up first.”
We held hands as we got out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. “The shower will be easiest.” I turned it on to heat up, then I froze. “Um, I need to....” I waved in the direction of the toilet.
“Ah.” The bond helpfully informed me that Simon was experiencing sympathy, mild embarrassment, amusement, and awkwardness. His face, however, didn’t convey any of those things. He just smiled and gestured for me to lead the way.
The toilet was in one of those little tiny rooms with a door on it, which I’d always imagined would be convenient if you had to take a shit while your significant other was getting ready for their day.
I was beyond grateful all I had to do was piss right then.
At least I could stand with my back to Simon while he hung out in the doorway with his hand on my shoulder.
As I released my bladder, I tried to picture the best way for Simon to stand if I had to sit on the toilet sometime in the next several hours. I’d decided the best pose would be where he put his hand on the top of my head and turned to face the rest of the bathroom when he started laughing.
“Oh, shit. Could you see that?” I flushed the toilet and, red-faced, shoved him out into the area in front of the sinks, making sure to keep hold of his wrist.
His grin was huge, and his eyes were sparkling.
My embarrassment vanished as I took in his gorgeousness.
He wiped his eyes. “I’m sorry. I was trying to remember what I’d learned about imperfect bonds, when my mind was suddenly filled with this image of you on the toilet, and my hand on your head.
” He started laughing again, doubling over and putting his free hand on his knee.
“Fuck off. I was trying to solve a future problem.”
Still smiling, he pulled me into a hug and kissed my lips. Something fluttered in my chest, and I was just starting to sink into it when he stiffened, and his eyes went wide. “Is this okay?”
I hugged him back. “It’s fine. I like it. You can kiss me anytime.” Because I was a fucking hypocrite, wanting Simon to kiss me while asking him to sever our bond.
We got in the shower, and while I thought I could’ve talked Simon into some naked shenanigans, both of us felt the clock ticking. I needed to call a vision.
Showers had always helped me think through problems. Simon was washing my hair while I lathered up his chest when I came up with a possible solution to the have-to-be-touching-all-the-time issue.
“Hey, you know that thing you did in the park, where you put a kink in our connection so it wasn’t visible to the other vampires? ”
“Yeah?” He guided me under the spray to rinse my hair.
“What if you did that to our bond? Would it let us be apart from each other?”
He frowned as I helped him rinse himself off. “It would, but I don’t think I could hold it for very long; it would take a lot of energy. And I’m not sure what effect it would have on a bond like ours, since it’s already kind of twisted up.”
Well, crap. “Okay, just a thought.”
We got out and dried off, then we put our clothes back on, which required some gymnastics so we could maintain physical contact. We did figure out that the bond didn’t mind a layer of fabric between us, which would make things easier.
I checked the clock. Fuck, it was only a little after 10:00 a.m. It felt like a lifetime had passed since I’d woken up this morning. “Okay. I want to lay down. I’m going to meditate for a few minutes, then call the vision.”
“Where do you want me?” Simon, who’d been holding onto my wrist, rubbed his thumb along the inside of my forearm. I shivered.
“Um, how about sitting or lying next to me? I think it’d be less distracting if I was touching you with my shoulder or leg instead of our hands.”
“Got it.” He shifted his grip to my upper arm as I got onto the bed.
I hadn’t bothered to pull the quilt up after we’d had sex earlier, so I just kicked it out of the way of my feet for now.
I shuffled my body to the far side of the bed, and Simon tossed his phone onto the mattress then climbed in after me.
Soon I was lying on my back with my head on a pillow while Simon sat propped up against the headboard.
My shoulder and upper arm were pressed into Simon’s thigh.
It was oddly comforting, knowing he was there.
He was trying to focus on his phone, but his worry and concern for me were coming through the bond.
I was worried too. Worried I couldn’t call a vision. Worried those two vampires were out there attacking more Wonders. Worried I’d made Simon bond with me for nothing.
His hand landed on my arm, and I jolted, my eyes flying open. He stared down at me. “You’re supposed to be meditating, not stewing over things you can’t control.”
I put my hand over my eyes. “Sorry.”
“Here.” I looked to see him put his phone on the nightstand.
Then he scooted himself down on the bed so he was lying next to me, our shoulders and arms pressed together.
“Okay, we’ll both meditate. Match my breathing.
In.” He sucked a breath in for longer than I usually did.
“And out.” That also pushed my lungs’ comfort zone.
Which was of course the point. I had to pay attention to my breathing to sync it with his.
After a few minutes I relaxed and felt centered enough to try for a vision.
Where were Roibeart and Marcas? I pictured their snarling faces and opened myself up to receiving a vision of their whereabouts.
But I got nothing.
It only took a minute or two of trying before I gave up. I opened my eyes. “It’s not happening.”
Simon rolled up onto one elbow. “It’s okay. We can work on healing our bond, then you can try again.”
I rubbed my face. “What if it doesn’t happen? I don’t want to have to use Nicky as bait, but I don’t see any other option.”
He blew out a breath. “Let’s ask Cal to get Delphia and Edgar to come back from their trip. That’ll give us a couple of days to work on the bond, and if we haven’t fixed it enough by then, we’ll have two other Seers who can call visions.”
“Okay.”
Simon grabbed his phone and dialed Cal. He put the call on speaker and held it between us.
When Cal answered, we explained the situation with our bond and that I couldn’t call a vision.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, y’all. Let me look at the river cruise itinerary and see when they’ll dock next.” We heard clicking. “Uh, this isn’t good. They won’t dock again until tomorrow afternoon their time, which will be around 8:00 a.m. here.”
“Shit. Can you think of anything else we can try in the meantime?” When had I taken hold of Simon’s hand? I dismissed the question as unimportant and laced my fingers through his.
He made a humming noise. “Okay, I couldn’t see anything when I tried to call a vision from here, but my head’s fully healed now and I’m good to drive again.
I’ll try again to call one here, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll drive to, say, Cuero.
Then I’ll be within a hundred miles of you, which is well within my usual range.
Even Greg won’t be able to bitch about me putting myself in danger at that distance. ”
I sagged against Simon. “Thank you, Cal. Really. That would be amazing.”
“Anytime.”
We hung up and sat there in silence for a moment or two before Simon spoke. “Do you still want me to see if the bond can be broken?” His voice was neutral, but I could feel his reluctance.
Still, I felt bad keeping him bonded to me when I obviously wasn’t as committed as he was. Even the magic could tell. “Yeah, I think it would be for the best.”
He nodded. “Okay, but only if it can be done easily. If it will be debilitating, we need to wait, because I can’t risk impairing my fighting abilities.”
Raising my eyebrows, I pointed a finger at our arms, which were smashed together as we sat on the bed.
He rolled his eyes. “For the duration of a fight, I can suppress the bond like I did our connection at the park. Now let me concentrate.” I grinned at his snark. At least he didn’t hate me for putting him through all this.