“I’m serious. It was. I’m not ready to share all of me all the time, but I don’t regret what happened.” And he didn’t, right? Part of him wanted to do it all over again and let Dante in completely. But he was scared. What did all this mean?
“I don’t regret it either,” Dante said, something warm brushing against Ollie like Dante had sent it down the bond. “Now get some sleep. You should be able to rest well after that.”
Ollie wiped up with some tissues and discarded them and the plug on his side table. He closed his eyes. “Yeah. You too, Dante. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Ollie,” he said with almost painful delicacy and ended the call.
17
DANTE
Dante jolted upright in bed,drenched in a cold sweat.
Where was Ollie? Was he okay?
Dante glanced around his room. He swore Ollie had been in his arms, slipping away, and Dante hadn’t been able to save him. But, of course, Ollie wasn’t there.
It must have been a dream.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, tempted to reach out through the bond and check on Ollie. But he couldn’t. Ollie had soured on their connection as soon as they’d had their pleasure. He didn’t want Dante to see that much of him.
After getting up and pulling on underwear, Dante went to the kitchen. It was blessedly empty. Ash must still be asleep. Dante opened his drawer and took out a chocolate. He was running low.
A flash of Ollie, blood-soaked and unmoving, cut across Dante’s mind, the feel of Ollie’s blood suddenly coating his hands.
Dante rolled his shoulders, wings rustling. Everything was fine. It wasonly a memory.
He ate the whole chocolate bar while heating a mug of blood. He brought the hot drink and two more chocolates back to his room. The hollow feeling of doom that had jolted him awake lingered.
Even if he couldn’t feel Ollie through the bond, Dante could still check on him.
He forced the mug of blood down his throat, then picked up his phone and called his mate.
“Hey, Dante. What’s up?” Ollie’s voice was strained.
Damnation, did he not want Dante to call? It probably wasn’t cool to call so soon after a hookup or whatever the hell had happened between them.
“Hi, Ollie. Sorry to bother you. I, um…wanted to check you were okay.”
“About last night?” Ollie sounded even more tense.
“No. I mean, yes. I’d want to know if anything changed there, but that’s not why I called. I had a bad dream.” Dante’s words died and his face burned.
Would death from the known universe be all that bad? It couldn’t be worse than this.
“Oh no. I’m sorry.” Concern replaced Ollie’s hesitance. “I’m perfectly fine, promise.”
“Thank you.” Dante cleared his throat, examining the candy in his hand. “I couldn’t stop from checking, even though I knew nothing would be wrong.”
“That’s okay.”
No one spoke for longer than was comfortable.
“Can I see you?” Dante asked, all but crushing the candy. “I know you have work, but can I see you later today?”
“I’m meeting Dex after work.”
Dante’s heart sank. He needed his mate. Even with no regrets about last night, Dante was shaken. Everything seemed different now that he’d held Ollie so closeto his heart.
