“Colorful isn’t how I’d describe Jack,” Vee added. “More like a walking bag of hormones.” She turned to Hope. “You really don’t want to hang out with him.”
“What’s with you two and bags?” Hope wrinkled her nose. “Fine. Maybe I don’t want to hang out with him. I mean, between Garrett and Thomas I have more than enough testosterone in my life.” Faith and Vee giggled.
“And Jack would only try to get in your pants,” Vee added. If Hope had been embarrassed before, now her face felt like an inferno.
“So,” Faith said after her and Vee were done laughing at Hope’s expense. “Let’s get to the important part.”
“What’s that?” Hope’s eyes volleyed back and forth between her friends. “I already told you everything.”
Faith waggled her brows. “Not everything.” She leaned forward and grinned like the Cheshire cat. “So… how was he in the sack? He’s a pretty quiet guy. I’ve heard those are the ones you have to watch out for. You know, the quiet ones. They end up liking the kink.”
Hope’s facial inferno went full volcano until it felt like lava flowed over her skin, while Faith and Vee laughed like hyenas. After a moment, she smiled.
I have the greatest friends in the entire history of friends.
CHAPTER 13
A fter fighting with Thomas the other night, and his subsequent ejection by Garrett, Hope didn’t hear a single word. No calls, no texts, no attempts on his part to contact her whatsoever. As much as she wanted to hold out and not be the one to break first, anxiety took its toll. She wasn’t sleeping, wasn’t eating, and barely functioned except to go to work and come home, and her friends noticed. The only reason Hope went to the grocery store after she left Vee’s super fancy penthouse, was because during the visit, Faith and Verity gave her hell. To appease them, even though they wouldn’t know if she blew it off and went straight home, Hope swung by a tiny corner market a block away from her apartment to pick up a few of the basics. Also, the fridge and pantry were pretty much empty unless you count condiments, and her poor brother was probably starving. Garrett shopped when he could, but today he had to work a double and wouldn’t have the time. She figured it was the least she could do since Garrett took such good care of her.
Though he did punch Thomas, which he may or may not have deserved, but Hope was firmly against violence.
Maybe Garrett should get his own damn food.
In the gleaming elevator of the fancy apartment building she lived in thanks to Vee’s boyfriend, Davin, arms loaded down with bags, Hope’s mind wandered. She contemplated sending Thomas a text. Just to make sure he was okay, not to apologize or anything because he was the one acting like… what was it Faith said? A bag of dicks? Then she remembered how demanding he had been, all but ordering Hope to quit her job. Just like that, the anger and frustration came roaring back.
Where did Thomas get off telling her what to do? Deep down, she knew he did it because he cared. Thomas had lashed out, using her job to mask his fear that she’d end up getting hurt at work. She knew this because several times, Garrett had given her the exact same lecture in pretty much the same thoughtless, Neanderthal manner. Only Garrett was family, plus just before their conversation, she and Thomas had been naked in bed, doing the nasty.
Hope decided to wait one more day before contacting Thomas. Let him suffer a little bit longer. Her stomach clenched and her heart did a flip-flop, reminding her Thomas wasn’t the only one suffering from their fight. Face it, she had to admit she missed him. A lot. Way more than she should considering they hadn’t dated very long, if what they were doing was even considered dating. What did she know about dating? She’d never done it before. Never had the time or the inclination, and Garrett acted as a really, really strong deterrent to any man with the balls to ask Hope out.
But Thomas, somehow, he snuck his way right past Garrett’s mile-high walls. Probably during the trial. Hope smiled as she recalled her sexy lawyer, his smile, the way his eyes lit up when he got excited about something, the gentle touch of his hands on her body. Throughout the trial, the whole ordeal sucked, and she hated going through it, but that failed attack had brought Thomas into her life. If, and right now that was a pretty big if, they ended up working things out and stayed together, everything awful thing that happened to her would have been worth it. The elevator reached her floor and Hope shifted to step off. She looked up, froze in place, and her breath caught in her throat.
Seeing Thomas standing next to her door felt like a punch in the gut. Despite their argument, it solidified just how much she needed him. He was staring down at his phone and didn’t see her. In fact, Thomas looked pretty distraught. Hope shook her hair out, took a deep breath, and broke the silence.
CHAPTER 14
“A re these… beasts of yours going to tag along everywhere you go? Because I was under the impression they were hired to watch your mate and your businesses, not you.” Davin wrinkled his nose at the thought of the fallen angels tailing them, the monstrous males trying their very best to not fade into the background.
One of Dante’s brows flew up. “I don’t see one here, do you?” He mocked glancing around, and even did a full spin to check behind him.
Not falling for Dante’s attempt to bait him into an argument, Davin swirled his glass of brandy and scoffed. “Don’t act dense, it’s unbecoming. I’m asking why they’re outside and you know it. They’re not allowed inside the Trinity house…in truth no outsider is allowed inside, so you couldn’t be safer anywhere else. Besides, if those… ruffians were allowed through the door, I’m sure you’d have one of those monstrous pets standing behind your shoulder whilst giving everyone a menacing glare.”
Dante grinned. “So they’re menacing, aye? Then my money is well spent.”
Davin rolled his eyes. “I don’t think they’re menacing. I simply don’t appreciate being stared at.” A loud bark of laughter erupted from Dante. Davin frowned at his cousin’s rude outburst. No sense of decorum, that one. “What?” Dante held up a finger, laughing so hard that not only could he not speak, but tears ran down his cheeks. “What the fuck?”
Wheezing, Dante spoke between ragged breaths. “You? Not… wanting… to be… stared at?” The jackass finally calmed down enough to put together a complete sentence. “Cousin, you’re the Son of Pride. You live to be stared at.”
“Fuck off,” Davin grumbled. Bastard was right. He loved being stared at. By admirers though, not giant threatening thugs. “Fine. They give me the creeps, okay? They always look like they’re mentally dismembering everyone in the room.”
Dante shrugged. “They probably are.”
Ew.
“You’re a sick, sick daemon, Dante Vittorio.”
“Exactly. Daemon, Davin. We’re daemons, remember? Dismemberment really shouldn’t gross you out.”
“Well, it does. It’s so… ugh, messy, not to mention undignified.” He shuddered. “Those fallen angels are trouble. Mark my words.”
Dante huffed and placed his empty glass on the heavy wooden end table. Other immortals were scattered about the large room as well as the rest of the mansion, some talking, others passing through. Michael had called an emergency Trinity meeting, which ended about an hour ago. Dante and Davin were waiting on someone and decided to relax a while before returning to their lives, where they must needs worry about dead immortals and random Hellhound attacks.
“They’re perfectly competent. I vetted the firm thoroughly, spoke to references and everything. I’m not stupid, Davin.”
“Davin thinks you’re stupid? That’s nothing new.”
Great.
Davin sighed. Just what he needed. The pain in the ass immortal who spoke the sarcastic statement had managed to sneak up on them. With his haughtiest expression on his face, Davin turned to face the male standing next to Dante’s chair.
“Jack,” he said dryly. “How did you even get in here?” The wraith slid into a wingback chair situated between Davin and Dante. He turned in
Davin’s direction and smirked. Per Michael, Jack was not allowed inside the Trinity house. Period. How he got in was beyond Davin. Mayhap he’d rather not know the answer.
“Pride,” Jack responded with a cocky grin, knowing full well it got under Davin’s skin when he called him that. Davin refused to give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing him lose his composure. Long ago he swore an oath to himself he would remain calm no matter how much Jack picked at the scabs. The exception when they were at Dante’s penthouse, where Davin allowed himself the occasional luxury of telling the wraith off.
“Where were you?” Dante asked Jack. “You were supposed to be here at three and call me from outside. The meeting ended an hour ago.” Dante narrowed his gaze. “How did you get in here?”
A salacious grin spread across the wraith’s face and his jade eyes sparkled. It was clear he wasn’t about to answer Dante either. And by his lascivious expression, Jack couldn’t have conveyed, “I just got laid” any clearer than if he stamped it on his forehead. Davin pulled a face.
“For fuck’s sake,” Davin grumbled. “You screwed someone here? Inside the Trinity house? That’s how you got in, you prick.” He made a disgusted sound. “You really have no standards, Jack.”
Jack glared at Davin. “Not all of us give a shit what others think. In truth, it’s quite freeing.” His gaze roved up and down Davin’s designer clad body with such scrutiny, Davin must needs stop the urge to squirm. “It wouldn’t kill you to let loose every once in a while. That stick must be getting awfully painful, you know, after having been jammed up your ass for five centuries.”
“Fuck you, Jack,” Davin snapped.
“Can you two ever stop?” Dante exclaimed. He huffed and shook his head in disbelief. “After what Michael told us in the meeting, I can’t believe the two of you are arguing over such petty bullshit. You’re both acting like human children.”
“He started it,” Davin said, pointing at Jack.
Dante rolled his eyes. “Way to prove my point, cousin.” Dante smoothed his hands down his thighs and stood. “I’m leaving. I must needs be at the courthouse to get Faith soon.”
“You’re still taking her back and forth every day?” Davin asked.
Dante buttoned his jacket and gave Davin a look that clearly said duh. “Of course. Her safety is of utmost importance.”
“Isn’t that why you hired the goons?” Jack asked.
Davin’s jaw dropped. Does the wraith actually agree with me about the fallen angels?
“You two are such assholes. If you’re going to question everything I do, then keep your noses out of my affairs.” Dante spun on his heel and stormed out of the mansion. Several sets of eyes turned to watch, likely sensing Dante’s thick, swirling, and oppressively negative aura.
Wonderful. Just what Davin needed. A public spectacle starring his cousin and the infamous, and much feared, wraith. A wraith who wasn’t supposed to be in the house. Sitting with Davin. Ugh. Perfect gossip fodder for the immortal elite. He rubbed his forehead.
“Don’t take it personally,” Jack said. “He’s just scared.”
Davin dropped his hand and stared at Jack, so not in the mood to deal with his crap. Except for a brief moment during the Great Battle, the two of them never got along, though Davin’s wasn’t sure why. They’d been this way for so long he didn’t really know any other way to act around Jack other than antagonistic. “What are you talking about?”
“Dante,” Jack said casually, eyes constantly flicking around the room. In a way, mayhap Davin should feel bad for Jack. Dante was the only immortal in the city that trusted him. The others not only didn’t trust the wraith, they held great prejudice against him because of what he was.
“How do you know he’s scared?”
Jack shrugged. “He lashes out because he’s afraid of losing someone he cares about.” Jack brought his focus back to Davin and leaned in, elbows on his knees. “Think about it. His businesses are being targeted. Thus far, a patron and an employee have died. Several months back, one of his strippers was attacked by a djinn, and we know Famine is looking to open the portal and Dante’s mate is a class nine sorceress.” Jack relaxed back in his chair and folded his hands over his abdomen. “Cut the guy some slack. He’s stressed out and you poking at him, all disapproving and snooty over his choice in security, doesn’t help.”
“You poked, too,” Davin pointed out.
Jack gave a mischievous grin. The one he used whenever he did something he shouldn’t. “I know.” Davin stared up at the ceiling and sighed.
Dearest Fates above, this shit is going to drive me mad.
WHY WAS THIS SO DIFFICULT? Thomas’s heart knocked against his ribcage, beating so hard it nearly took flight whilst his skin grew slick with sweat, yet he couldn’t get warm. If this was how it felt to care deeply for another, sick with nerves, he wasn’t sure he could handle it. Thomas closed his eyes and tried to picture an existence without Hope. The green sphere of energy in his core shrank inward at the thought, and dull streaks of fear shot from its center. He shuddered and swallowed to keep from retching up his most recent meal.
No. Existing without her wasn’t an option. Wasn’t any kind of existence. Especially if the mere thought of it made him physically ill, as if his body rejected the very notion.
Which meant he must needs suck it up and begin with the groveling. Steeling himself in the event he ended up face to face with Garrett, he raised a hand and rapped on the door. Fates, did the temperature just jump thirty degrees? Thomas went from freezing and numb to an overheated mess in the blink of an eye. His shirt stuck to his back and he wiped slick palms on his thighs. A minute passed and he knocked again. When no one answered, he concentrated on listening inside the apartment. No heartbeats.
Well, shit.
Should he leave? The answer came before he could finish the thought.
No.
His guts twisted with anxiety and another bolt of fear crackled inside his life-force. Fates, this was pure torture. Almost worse than anything he witnessed whilst under the employ of King Henry VIII, and that particular human was a violent bastard. Thomas didn’t know what his body and soul were trying to say, but whatever it was caused him extreme distress, different than anything he’d previously known.
He worked his phone free from his pocket and composed a text whilst leaning next to the door. If Hope weren’t home, he would ask to meet her.
They had to work things out, right?
Aye, they must. No way would Thomas manage to do anything productive. Not whilst feeling like his heart had been scooped out. Halfway through his text, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Head down and fingers flying, Thomas stepped away from the door and walked toward the lift, then crashed into something… no, someone. On instinct, his hands flew out to steady whomever he collided with. He happened to inhale at the exact right moment. A familiar scent rocked his world and his soul went from dull and distraught to bright and hopeful.
“Thomas?”
After regaining his bearings, he grabbed Hope by the shoulders and backed out of the elevator, pulling her with him.
“Hope.”
Crap, he sounded all breathy and needy. Pathetic. Mayhap he should have been embarrassed, but he couldn’t worry about trivialities. In truth, Thomas was out of breath, and he did need her, and fuck it, he felt pretty bloody pathetic. With Hope so close, her lavender scent clogging his nostrils and short-circuiting his brain, he was done denying his feelings.
His pulse stuttered when a tiny wrinkle appeared between Hope’s brows. “Thomas? What are you doing here?”
Caught in the depths of those light brown eyes, a wave of light spiraled out of Thomas’s core, the glow warming his body from the inside out. The same as when they had made love, green sparks of energy traveled to his fingertips and escaped to surround Hope in a luminous, protective cocoon. Entranced by the sight of his soul shielding Hope, she had to prod him with a finger to his bicep before he readjusted his visi
on away from the green glow and answered her question.
Blinking, Thomas released Hope’s shoulders, knowing he’d never put together a coherent thought with his hands upon her.
“I, um, I came to apologize.” She stared up at him, eyes wary and lips tight, not saying a word. Thomas had no idea what she thought nor how she felt about his confession. “Um, mayhap we can go inside?” He gestured toward her apartment. Like Thomas, Hope blinked rapidly and seemed to snap out of trance a trance of her own.
“Oh, umm, okay.”
He trailed Hope down the hall, glad to know it wasn’t only he who was rendered speechless when they were together. She unlocked the door and flipped on the lights.
“Are you thirsty?” Hope sounded nervous as she entered the spacious kitchen and placed several bags on the countertop, then set about unpacking milk and the few other items she purchased. Until now, he hadn’t noticed her carrying the sacks, else he would have offered to take them.
“No. I just… um, I only wish to talk.”
And beg you to forgive me for being a controlling jerk.
Hope stopped putting things in the pantry and, with her back to him, placed her palms on the counter. Thomas winced. She looked exhausted, her head hanging down between her spread arms causing her shoulder blades to protrude. With Hope facing the cabinets, he had no way of knowing what went through her head. Taking a chance, he stepped up behind her and, desperate for contact, slid his arms around Hope’s narrow waist. Dipping his chin, Thomas placed a small kiss just beneath her ear, a simple brush of lips against warm, fragrant skin.
“I’m so, so sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have told you what to do. I know you love your job.” He kissed her neck again, and when Hope’s breath hitched, Thomas’s heartbeat faltered right along with it.
“You don’t get to run my life, Thomas,” Hope said, her voice lacking strength as he continued to rain kisses starting at the pulse point beneath her jaw and trailing them all the way up. When he came upon her ear again, he sucked the lobe into his mouth. She groaned and thrust her backside into his stiffening length.
Hope For More (Trinity Book 3) Page 23