Chapter 15

I was laughing so hard my sides hurt. Trent hip checked me with enough force to fling me off the porch and halfway across the yard. I landed in a crouch, barely missing the base of a nearby tree.

“Asshole!” I shouted and pushed off the balls of my feet.

His laughter filtered toward me, and in a blink, I was back on the porch. I hauled off and punched him in the thigh. He grunted and dropped to his knees hard enough to make the entire porch shake, then he lunged for me, but I dodged him mere seconds before he could retaliate.

Considering Abby and the rest of the girls were staying here tonight, we’d dropped Wyatt, Colt, and Isach at Dad’s house for the night—bad luck for the groom-to-be to see the bride-to-be the night before the wedding and all that—and Trent and I had decided to race home. And I’d been winning, too, until he cheated and shoved me from the porch.

Trent made another lunge for me, but we were both still laughing too hard, and all he managed to do was push me against the porch railing. The wood cracked, and I nearly fell over backward.

“Oh shit,” Trent said, eyes wide.

He reached for me and caught my wrist seconds before I went ass over tea kettle. Trent hauled me upright and quickly released his hold on me.

The door swung open, and Chloe stepped outside. “What the hell are you two doing?”

We both snapped to attention. “Nothing,” I said, blocking her view of the now splintered porch railing.

“Why?” Trent cleared his throat, obviously trying not to laugh. “Did you, uh, hear something? I mean, did something happen?”

I elbowed him. He elbowed me back.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. “Are you two drunk?”

“No,” I said at the same exact time Trent gave her a dopey grin and said, “Yup.”

“Dude, what the hell?” I shook my head.

Chloe stepped aside and pointed at the doorway. “Get your drunk asses inside before you break something.”

Trent and I exchanged guilty looks, but neither of us could keep a straight face. “We’re in trouble now,” I whispered loudly.

And I swore to God my brother was going to drop dead from lack of oxygen of all things for how hard he laughed. Soon, Chloe laughed, too. I stood there, grinning like a buffoon, loving how vibrantly they glowed with happiness.

“You two are something else.” Chloe shook her head, then ushered us inside and closed the door behind us.

Trent leaned close and tried to whisper, “She likes it when I’m naughty. Ten bucks says I get lucky tonight.” Only, his voice wasn’t anywhere close to a whisper.

I glanced at Chloe. Her face was bright red with embarrassment, her expression bouncing between disbelief and murder. She always did look good in red. Let’s see just how bright she’d glow.

I dug a ten-dollar bill from my wallet and slapped it against Trent’s chest. “Go get her, tiger.”

Chloe burned a blinding red, and I was forced to squint to see her through the brightness. Trent slouched against the wall, more out of necessity than accident, and clutched the money in his hand. He gasped for air as he tried to stop laughing.

Huh… I may have plied him with a little too much alcohol. My bad. Behind me, a chorus of female giggles filled the room, but only one stood out to me.

Piper.

My insides heated, my skin tingled, my heart hammered, and the tug in my chest was so severe it threatened to bring me to my knees. I turned slowly, and our gazes collided. Her face was flushed, making her freckles pop, and I had the sudden urge to kiss every single one of them.

“I take it the bachelor party was a success?” Whitney asked.

I hadn’t even noticed her sitting next to Piper, but now that I took a second to glance around, I realized Piper’s sisters were missing. I concentrated on the other rooms in the house, but there were no sounds of anyone else.

“Please tell me Isach isn’t that drunk, too,” Abby said.

I shrugged and gave her my best innocent look. Abby scowled. Or rather, she tried, but deep down, she was much too happy about her impending nuptials, and nothing could dim her yellow glow.

Piper smiled, and I grinned back at her like a doofus. Much like her sisters, Piper’s aura was a rainbow of colors, constantly swirling and pulsing, but unlike her sisters, Piper had an undercurrent of heat right below the surface, a steady flame of dark red calling to me like a personal beacon, daring me to get close enough to burn myself.

And God help me, I wanted to. I’d stick my whole damn arm in the fire if it meant I could touch her just once. Now that my secret was out, what was stopping me? She was my soulmate, and she was here, sitting only inches from me. I was here, fueled by liquid courage and sheer arrogance. If the look in her eyes was any clue, she wanted me to touch her as badly as I wanted to.

Trying to ignore who she was to me, pretending it didn’t matter, that I hadn’t been existing on a hair trigger for the past several months simply because she wasn’t close was no longer working for me. Why not lean into it rather than keep fighting against it? That would definitely be a hell of a lot more fun. There was nothing demanding our attention this time—no evil witches plotting world domination, no plans to take down an entire coven, no strategy sessions. And once the wedding was over, who knew when I’d see her again? I was on borrowed time to figure this all out, which meant only one thing.

Game. On.

“You two need to sober up before you go to bed,” Chloe said as she headed for the kitchen. “Does hunting help with this sort of thing?”

“No.” My lips twitched with a smile. “And if you try to take him hunting”—I hooked my thumb at Trent—“he’ll be the one getting eaten by the wildlife.”

Chloe sighed. “All right. How about some water? Coffee? Food?”

I walked up to her, took hold of her upper arms, and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Relax, alright?” I bent my knees so I was eye level with her. “Vampires heal fast, remember? For us, getting drunk is no different than getting a scratch. A few hours’ sleep and Trent will be back to his boring old self.”

“Hey!” Trent pushed off the wall. “I am not boring.” He slid his arm around Chloe and crushed her against his side. When he gazed down at her, his expression was full of love and adoration, and her answering smile was the same.

Something sharp stabbed at me. A longing to have someone who loved me as unconditionally as Trent and Chloe loved each other. I glanced back at Piper, who was still watching me. A thrill shot up my spine. Now, how did I get rid of everyone else so I could be alone with Piper?

“On that note, I’m going to bed.” Whitney stood and stretched.

I glared at her as she walked past me, and she tossed me a knowing wink. Had she read my thoughts? Normally that pissed me off quicker than anything, but tonight, I could’ve kissed her for the intrusion.

“Yeah, I need to get my beauty sleep for tomorrow.” Abby yawned. Then she leaned over to hug Piper. “Thank you for tonight.”

“Of course,” Piper said, and the sound of her voice had a few too many parts of my body perking up.

I turned to my brother, who seemed to have gotten lost in Chloe’s neck. “Don’t you have ten bucks to go earn?”

“Oh my God.” Chloe laughed.

Trent grinned, took hold of Chloe’s hand, and tugged her toward the stairs.

I smacked his ass for encouragement. “Make me proud.”

He held his hand out for a fist bump.

“You’re going to pay for this, Jax,” Chloe said over her shoulder.

“Add it to my tab.” I winked and shoved my hands into my pockets, waiting until they disappeared upstairs, and I heard their bedroom door click shut. Then, I turned my undivided attention to Piper.

She angled her body so she could see me, propped her arm on the back of the couch, and raised a single brow in tandem with the corner of her very full, very kissable lips. And her unspoken challenge hit me like a bullseye.

“You wanna go to bed, too?” Fuck. I did not just ask her that, did I? “No.” I shook my head. “I mean… are you going to bed as well, or are you going to stay up for a while?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

“What you’re going to do.” Her face broke into a smile that was both welcoming and terrifying.

I had a sudden feeling this girl was going to make me earn every little inch I wanted to take. Time to return the favor.

“What would you like me to do?” My voice was soaked with innuendo, and based on how pink her cheeks turned, she was picking up what I was putting down. Good.

She lifted her shoulder in a delicate shrug. “Whatever you want to do.” Her words sounded an awful lot like an invitation. Then she twisted back around so she was facing forward.

I hoisted myself over the back of the couch—I had the grace of a motherfucking gazelle—and landed effortlessly beside her.

She cut a glance at me from the corner of her eye. “Cute trick.”

“Wanna see some more?” I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively, which earned me a wonderfully glorious laugh. God, I loved that sound.

“You’re not cranky tonight.” She shifted to face me, and when she did, her knee bumped my leg.

Fire shot through my veins, and my fangs pushed painfully against my gums. I had no idea how I didn’t haul her over onto my lap right then and there. Instead, I draped my arm along the back of the couch and flexed my fingers to dispel the urge to touch her the way I really wanted to.

When I’d first met her, the urges I’d had to be close to her, to touch and kiss and hold her had been intense, but then not seeing her for six months… I was like a recently released felon with all the freedom in the world and not a goddamned clue what to do with myself beyond fighting the desire to throw myself at her mercy.

“I have no reason to be cranky tonight,” I said.

“And you do every other night?”

I laughed. “Usually, yeah.” I started to reach for her hair, to feel the silky-looking strands between my fingers, but I caught myself and curled my hand into a fist. “How was the bachelorette party?”

She was thoughtful for a moment, then said, “Interesting.” Another small laugh that hit me straight in the gut. “But I learned one very important thing.”

“What’s that?”

“What happens at a bachelorette party must never be spoken of with anyone but those who were there.”

I lifted a brow and grinned. “That means something good must’ve happened. Do tell.”

She sighed, but there was no missing the humor in that sound. What other noises could I get her to make tonight? And would any of them involve my name?

“My lips are sealed.” She shook her head and pursed her lips.

My gaze snapped down to her mouth and lingered. I’d bet anything I could get her to open those plump lips for me. Would she welcome my kiss? We hadn’t exactly spent a ton of time together, and in that time, things had never even hinted at anything physical, other than a playful nudge here and there, and that one time she sort of held my hand. This right here was the closest I’d ever been to her. Even that night we’d watched a movie, she hadn’t been this close to me.

While I knew she was it for me, I didn’t know if the same were true for her.

Still, by some force of nature, I couldn’t stop from leaning closer. My gaze trailed back up to meet hers, and her eyes were dancing with the same desire I felt. Thank God for small miracles. I moved my hand from the back of the couch and gently cradled the back of her head. Her hair was a million times softer than I could’ve imagined. Though, now I was imagining the feel of her hair tickling my chest as she sat atop me…

“Jax. I can’t,” she whispered.

I jerked back, heart hammering. “Can’t or don’t want to?”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that.” She scooted away from me, almost as if she didn’t trust herself to be any closer to me.

“Complicated?”

What the hell did that even mean? Was she involved with someone else? That thought hadn’t crossed my mind until right now. If she had a boyfriend, that would certainly complicate things, especially if I had to kill him to get him out of the way. She might not forgive me for that.

“You couldn’t possibly understand.” She held her hands in her lap.

“Then dumb it down for me.” My tone was sharper than I intended. “Look, if you’re not interested, just say so.”

Hearing her say so would, without a doubt, kill me, but if that’s truly what she wanted, I’d have no choice but to let her go. As my soulmate, the only thing stronger than my desire for her was my desire to make her happy—even if her happiness didn’t include me.

Suddenly, every single decision Trent had ever made regarding Chloe and her happiness made so much more sense. What I didn’t understand, though, was how he hadn’t completely lost his shit when he’d let her go. Granted, he’d been fucking miserable, but somehow, he hadn’t loss the essence of who he was.

I slouched against the back of the couch and rubbed my hands over my face. The alcohol was wearing off, leaving me tired and a little cranky. I didn’t want to say something that I’d end up regretting.

So, instead, I said, “It’s getting late, and we have a big day tomorrow.”

“Is that your way of saying I should go to bed now?”

“That’s my way of saying I need to go to bed, and you’re currently sitting on my bed so unless you plan on joining me…”

She stood and headed for her room without another word.

“That’s what I thought,” I mumbled, hanging my head in my hands. Tonight had not turned out like I’d hoped.

“I know what I am to you.”

I snapped my head up at the sound of her soft voice. She stood near the short hall leading to the downstairs guest rooms. Shoulder propped against the wall, she had her arms crossed in front of her like some sort of shield. From me, no doubt.

The muscle in my jaw ticked, but I refused to look away. I held her gaze unflinching, my mind racing with all the things I should say. All the things I wanted to say. But the only question that truly mattered was the one that left my mouth.

“And what am I to you, Piper?”