My heart beat wildly at the possibility of seeing him again.
“And don’t worry. I won’t ever tell him what happened between us.” Jax’s tone was bitter.
I paced, twisting my hands nervously. Not telling Trent that I’d made out with his brother was certainly the easiest way out of this mess, but lying to him wasn’t right. I couldn’t do that—not to him. And I couldn’t leave things so hostile with Jax, either.
“How long?” I asked.
“What?”
I stood in front of him. “How long have you had feelings for me?”
“Don’t do that.” He gave a hard shake of his head.
“Do what?”
“Minimize this.” He stood, bringing his body flush against mine.
I tilted my head back so I could see his face.
“Stop sugarcoating it. I don’t have feelings for you. I’m in love with you, Chloe.” He coursed his hands up my arms and rested them on either side of my face. “I love you, and if I had my way, we’d stay locked in this room forever if it meant I never had to see you with my brother again.”
“Jax… How is this even possible?” I pulled away from him. His touch was too distracting right now, and I needed to think. “Trent told me that when a vampire finds their soulmate, that person is off limits to anyone else. It’s like some unwritten law vampires have.” I paced away, then turned back.
Jax was standing in the same spot, arms hanging at his sides.
I approached and stood face to face with him, determined to get an answer. “You told me that Trent and I were soulmates. So… how can you be in love with me?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I said you were Trent’s soulmate. I never said he was yours.” Jax stepped closer, his chest brushing against mine, and then he leaned down so he was eye level with me. “You never even said he was yours.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“Trent is one hundred percent yours, Chloe. He will never love anyone the way he loves you, but until you make the same commitment to him…”
“You mean until I let him claim me?”
Jax nodded. “Technically, you’re still fair game.”
CHAPTER EIGHT:
The Lesser of Two Evils
THE LONGING IN JAX’S EYES TORE at my resolve, and his words shredded everything I thought I knew. Simply loving Trent, promising to be with him until I died wasn’t enough. If I didn’t let him claim me, in the vampire world, that meant I wasn’t fully committed to him.
Why hadn’t he told me that?
Now, more than ever, I needed to make a prison break. Jax refused to change me, though, and I couldn’t stand to be in this room another day, so what was I supposed to do? Ask the witches to bring Trent here so he could change me? That would destroy Jax’s heart. I blew out a breath.
“I meant what I said. I won’t tell Trent anything,” Jax said.
I frowned. “We have to tell him. I can’t live with this hanging over my head.”
Jax crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you prepared for his reaction?”
I shrugged.
“Vampires love with everything we are, and our heightened emotions make everything worse. The love is more intense. The need to claim and possess and protect is overwhelming. The betrayal cuts deeper. Our emotional wounds never heal.”
I hung my head. My temples throbbed with a major headache, and my eyes burned. “So, you’re telling me I either spend an eternity lying to Trent, or I risk giving him an eternity of heartache?”
“That’s the curse of loving a vampire.”
“And what about you? What will this do to you when we get out of here and I’m with Trent again?” I asked, not really sure I wanted to hear his answer.
“When we get out of here, I’m not sticking around.”
“What?” I grasped his arm. “You’re going to leave?”
He nodded.
“You can’t,” I said forcefully. It would crush Trent to lose his brother.
“What I can’t do is watch you with him, Chloe. Every time he touches you, I want to rip his arm off and beat him with it.”
I let out a small, terrified laugh. But there was no humor in Jax’s expression.
“In case you forgot, you couldn’t stand me when you first met me. You did everything you could to get rid of me. Then you come to Malibu, watch me for God knows how long, and then you lie to me for weeks, pretending to be my friend.” I paced, my anger rising with each step. “And then, out of nowhere, you start being nice to me, flirting with me. We kiss, and now you’re so in love with me you’re willing to betray your own brother?” I threw my hands in the air. “It was just a stupid kiss, Jax.”
He narrowed his eyes, his jaw set in a firm line. “Was it?”
I crossed my arms. “Yes,” I bit out, desperate to make him see how crazy this was, how impossible. How wrong. But I wasn’t so sure who I was trying to convince—him or me.
Silent, he pinned me in place with an unwavering stare. I had no idea what he was thinking or feeling, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. It didn’t matter how he felt about me, or how I felt about him. I loved Trent; he was the one I wanted to be with… if he could forgive me for what I’d done.
My shoulders sagged as I walked toward the door. I banged on it. “Ivy! I’m ready,” I shouted. “Ivy!”
“Will you knock it off?” Jax clutched my arm and spun me around, his hands firm on my shoulders. “Stop it. You don’t want to become a vampire.”
“I do,” I insisted, but my shaky voice gave me away.
It was my only option to get out of here and go home. I was tired of fighting the inevitable, and I was tired of waiting for a rescue that wasn’t coming.
“Please stop.” He sighed and dragged his hand through his hair. “I’ll figure something else out, okay? Just don’t do anything stupid.”
I went to the bed and sank down onto the mattress, defeated. “I can’t stay here another night.”
“Here? Or with me?” he asked.
Keeping my head down, I whispered, “Both.”
Every moment I spent with Jax was a moment of temptation, and a girl could only take so much before she gave in. I almost did last night, and I was not going to spend another night in this room with him. I couldn’t.
“Right.” His voice was tight with hurt and anger. “I’m just a warm body.”
“Jax.” I sighed.
He went to the window and started feeling around the edges, cursing louder and louder each time he didn’t find what he was looking for. Though, I had no idea what that was.
I stood on shaky legs and walked up behind him, gently pressing my palm against his back. He stilled, his muscles tense beneath my hand.
“You aren’t just a warm body,” I said. “And I never pretended you were Trent.”
Jax whipped around and yanked me tight to his body. I gasped at the unexpectedness of his actions and clutched his upper arms to steady myself. My heart thrashed violently, and I fought to draw in air.
His hand flattened against my lower back, and he held me close. I stared into his clear blue eyes, waiting for them to darken like they had last night, right before I’d kissed him. My entire body tensed to the point of discomfort.
“Do you feel anything for me?” he asked, his gaze insistent.
“Yes.” I regretted my answer as soon as I said it.
Giving him hope like that was cruel, but so was lying to him. I licked my lips, and his eyes darkened. My throat was suddenly dry and scratchy, and I wasn’t sure I could speak even if I wanted to.
“Then you have another choice to make, Chloe.” He lowered his head, his gaze darting between my lips and my eyes. “Me or my brother.”
“Jax,” I whispered.
“Fair game, remember?” His mouth inched closer to mine.
I might be fair game according to whatever bizarre vampire law they lived by, but I wasn’t a vampire. I was a human, and in the human world, cheating was bad. Very ba
d. So was being in love with two brothers.
But no matter what law I chose to abide by, the facts were the same: I loved Trent. I wanted to be with Trent.
Jax brushed his lips over mine, the gesture so featherlight I thought I’d imagined it. He pulled back abruptly and cocked his head. “Do you hear that?”
I strained to listen, but all I could hear was my own erratic heartbeat. “No.”
“Someone’s coming.” He zipped around the room so fast I couldn’t see anything, until he stopped in front of me, fully dressed, shoes on.
“Who? Ivy?” Panic crept into my voice. I’d called for her earlier, but now that she might actually be coming, I didn’t want her to.
“No…” Jax put his finger to his lips to indicate I needed to be quiet. “Stay behind me.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I moved to stand behind him, and he cautiously approached the door. I wanted to yell for him to move, to come back near me, but I was paralyzed with fear.
Was Ivy coming to get me? Had I pushed her too far, and now she was going to harm me?
A loud bang sounded in the hallway, almost like a gunshot, and then there were a plethora of voices, all of them shouting and screaming. I couldn’t make out anything any of them were saying.
“Jax,” I whisper shouted at the exact moment the door splintered with a deafening boom.
Jax flew across the room. He slumped against the wall, chin resting on his chest, eyes closed.
“No!” I rushed toward him. “Jax, wake up.” I took his face into my hands and caressed his cheeks. “Please wake up.”
“Hello, Chloe. It’s been a long time.”
My blood turned to ice at the sound of his voice. Slowly, I pivoted to make sure I wasn’t hearing things, and then I stood. “Isach.” My tone was a mix of fear and venom.
“Found ‘em,” Isach shouted into the hallway.
Great, he wasn’t alone. Ivy had been right. The Zoya knew about me, too, and now they’d come to kill me. I nudged Jax’s leg with my foot, praying he’d wake up because there was no way I could escape Isach on my own.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked, hoping if I kept him talking a little bit longer, Jax would wake up.
“He’s with me.” Trent strode into the room.
I gasped, my eyes wide. Then I rushed at him, throwing myself into his arms. He caught me, wrapped me in a tight hug, and buried his face in my hair, inhaling deeply. Everything about Trent felt so right, so familiar. So safe. I squeezed him tighter and cried.
“You found me,” I mumbled, refusing to let him go. My body trembled with relief and disbelief and a surge of adrenaline.
“Always,” he whispered. “Are you all right? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Reluctantly, I pulled back, needing to see his face, to see the love that was always present in his eyes when he looked at me. “I’m fine,” I said.
“Thank God.” Trent’s shoulders seemed to sag with relief as he took my face into his hands and slanted his lips over mine.
He dragged his hands from face, over my shoulders, and down my arms before slipping his arms around my waist. I pressed closer and tangled my fingers through his hair. His kiss was a mixture of hard desperation and tenderness, raw and needy, as he yanked me even closer.
“Ow.” Jax groaned.
I jerked away from Trent and glanced at Jax. He was on his feet, rubbing at his neck.
“Jax,” I said, concern for him blanketing me. “Are you all right?”
He nodded, his gaze slicing toward his brother, then back to me. “I see rescue has finally arrived. Took you long enough.”
Trent pulled his brother into a hug, patting his back. “Thank you for keeping her safe.”
Jax returned the hug. “Yeah, that’s me. Babysitter extraordinaire.”
I gave him a sad smile, but he glanced away as if he couldn’t stand to look at me. My heart sank.
Isach snapped his fingers impatiently. “Save the family reunion for later. My magic isn’t going to hold much longer.”
Jax snarled and moved an inch to his left, putting him directly in between me and Isach. “What’s he doing here?” Jax directed the question to Trent, but his gaze never wavered from Isach.
“Saving you. You’re welcome,” Isach said. “Now, let’s go. We don’t have a lot of time.”
I glanced at Trent. He shrugged. “I’ll explain as soon as we’re out of here,” he said.
I nodded, then crossed the room to the dresser, careful to keep a safe distance from Isach. I didn’t know why he was helping Trent, and I didn’t care. I didn’t trust him, never would. I snatched my mother’s urn and hugged it to my chest. All of my clothes were still in the dresser, but I had a sinking feeling I didn’t have time to collect them.
Trent came up behind me and placed his hand on the small of my back. “Wyatt and Sean are outside, and Whitney is waiting in the car.”
I moved toward the door, then stopped. Isach still stood in the doorway, and I glared at him. He didn’t move. For someone who insisted we were in a hurry, he sure was taking his time. My jaw clenched, and I squeezed my mother’s urn tighter.
“Move it, Zoya.” Jax pushed past him, blocking him from my view, and motioned for me to go. “Freedom awaits.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face, and for the briefest of moments, Jax met my gaze and smiled faintly in return. Part of me was sad to be leaving because I knew once I walked out of this room, things would change between me and Jax—and not for the better.
Not giving it another thought, I walked out of the room and down the hall, keeping my gaze straight ahead. I didn’t want to see what had happened out here. I just wanted to go home.
Once I stepped outside, it was a blur of activity. Isach was chanting something—probably a spell that did God knew what—Sean and Wyatt were shouting instructions at us. Trent and Jax flanked me and rushed me toward the idling minivan.
Trent yanked open the side door and all but shoved me inside. I climbed all the way in the back. He followed, sitting on my left side. Jax was on my right, and I was now squished between them.
Yeah, this isn’t awkward at all.
Wyatt hopped into the front seat next to Whitney while Sean and Isach sat in the middle row. “Go,” Wyatt ordered, slamming his door.
Whitney took off like a gunshot at the start of a race, kicking up a cloud of gravel and dust. I stared straight ahead, my body numb. I was no longer a prisoner of the Rose Coven. I was free. I was still human, and I was with Trent again.
“Start talking,” Jax said, his brusque voice cutting through the silent car. “Why is Isach here?”
Trent sighed heavily. “We did everything in our power to find you two. We talked to everyone we knew. Followed every ridiculous lead we’d been given, and we were no closer to finding you. The coven had that place shrouded in magic. There was no way we could do it on our own, so I sought help.” He jutted his chin toward Isach. “He was the lesser of two evils.”
I snorted. “Seriously? Isach was the lesser of two evils? I’d hate to see what your other option was.”
“Giving up and leaving you with the coven,” Trent said, his tone sharp. “And I refused to do that, so—”
“So, you trust the guy who tried to kill Chloe?” Jax snapped, his eyes blazing with barely controlled anger.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Trent said through clenched teeth.
My temples throbbed with a stabbing pain. We’d been out of that room for less than ten minutes, and already Trent and Jax were at each other’s throats. Maybe Jax was right—maybe I wasn’t ready to deal with Trent’s reaction when he found out what happened.
If we were now basing decisions on what was the lesser of two evils, maybe living with the guilt of what I’d done was better than hurting Trent.
CHAPTER NINE:
Unwanted Alliance
I SANK INTO THE COMFY MATTRESS, my toes curling against the soft, cotton sheets. My head
, cradled by a stack of fluffy pillows, no longer ached. Groaning with delight, I stretched my arms above my head and twisted, extending my back to work out the kinks.
Then, my eyes snapped open, and I bolted upright. Where was I? The last thing I remembered was being in the car, escaping from the coven.
“You’re awake,” Trent said from somewhere across the room, which was shrouded in total darkness.
Relief washed over me, and I eased back against the pillows. I was in Trent’s room. In his bed. But why wasn’t he next to me?
“Yeah,” I said. “What time is it?” I yawned. “What day is it?”
He climbed into bed and pulled me into his arms. I sighed and snuggled up to him, draping my arm across his stomach. God, I’d missed him so much. No amount of time would make up for what we’d lost, for the mistakes I’d made.
“It’s August second,” he said.
I gasped. “August second?” I’d been taken the end of June. Had I really been locked up for over a month?
Trent stroked my arm and kissed my forehead. “And it’s a little after seven p.m. Sean took Whitney and Wyatt out for food.”
“And Jax?” I asked, praying Trent didn’t question why I was asking about his brother.
“He left.”
My heart sank. Jax had said he was going leave once we were out of that room, but I didn’t think he’d do it so soon. And without saying goodbye. I bit back the urge to cry. Instead, I buried my face against Trent’s chest and clung to him.
“He’s mad at me. Said he needed some air. I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Trent said.
So, he hadn’t taken off for good. That made me happier than it should.
“I owe you an explanation,” he said, nudging me so I had to sit up and look at him. “About Isach.”
My stomach knotted. I’d almost forgotten about him and his involvement in my rescue. I pushed back to lean on the headboard. “Yeah, you do,” I said.
“Like I said, we exhausted every lead and contact we had, and we still couldn’t find you. I was losing my mind, Chloe. Not knowing if you were dead or alive. Human or vampire.” He slid out of bed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was desperate, so I went to Isach.”
Eternal Bond : (The Cursed Series, Book 3) Page 6