I gape at him like a startled goldfish. “I don’t understand,” I say.Can he really mean...? He can’t be suggesting what I think he is.
“Callum, I want her to be mine, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be yours too.” He points at my ridiculous expression; his own is uncharacteristically serious. “You want her. And it's obvious your demon is a big fan. But if it's just sex, you need to figure that out now because I won’t have her hurt again.”
Could I really have her too? Share her with my best friend?His words play on repeat in my head, each one piercing a new hole in my defenses. I can't pretend the thought of Sheena’s curvy body pressed between us, gasping, and completely at our mercy isn’t fucking with my intentions.
I study Gideon, unsure how to respond to the bombshell he just dropped on me. The future he’s describing sounds perfect, too good to be true even, but if it means I get more time...
The trembling in my hands gets worse as I hold my secret in.
My incubus has long felt possessive of Gideon, but I’ve never admitted that out loud. A part of me has always lived in fear of the day when our paths would split. If there’s even a chance to prevent that, I have to take it.
“If she’s interested, we can try,” I say, clapping him on the back. I’ll stick around for as long as they both want me. I just can’t get attached or forget the truth.
They’re meant for each other, but an incubus always ends up alone.
As soon asthe sun peaks through my window, I give up trying to sleep, toss some things in a bag, and brace myself to head downstairs. A quick glance at the mirror shows that my sleepless night went a long way toward making my face look more normal.
I’ll take it.
Gideon and I head out to investigate the new lead today. My eyes may feel gritty and tired, but my anxiety is well rested and ready to put in some work this morning. It’s so bad I have to order myself to stop doom listing worst-case scenarios. Every time I think about leaving Sheena alone, my chest gets tight.Something could happen to her, or she could decide to leave.
On top of that, I’m worried about what we’ll find in Boulder. This lead could easily fall flat or expand into a complete shit storm. If it's not the same group that took Sheena when she was a kid, then we've got two dangerous—potentially rival—criminalorganizations to deal with. If it is those masked assholes, then we’ve got some serious justice to hand out.
Shuffling into the kitchen, I drop my duffle bag by the door next to Gideon's and follow the sound of voices out onto the porch. Sheena is standing in the yard bathed in sunshine, wearing the devil's own sick idea of shorts. The sight of her holding a 9mm pistol and listening earnestly to Gideon’s instructions on how to grip it replace all my anxious thoughts with horny nonsense.
I may have to kick my own ass.
Instead of saying any of my thoughts out loud, I walk across the yard and offer a suggestion about her stance. She blushes but makes the change with no comment, her nose wrinkling in concentration. After a tiny hesitation, she pulls the trigger. Once I’m able to peel my eyes away from her to look at the target, I'm surprised to see she hit the edge on her first try.
Good eyesight and a steady hand are a given for most supernatural species, so this doesn't give us any new clues about her heritage. I tell myself it doesn't matter. She'll trust us enough to share more about herself one day.
Sheena fires off a few more shots before Gideon is satisfied with her accuracy and confidence. After taking the gun back, he walks her back to the house. He shows her how to work the security system, where the keys to the spare car are, and the safe room we installed in case of emergencies a few years back.
He keeps all the explanations short and serious, the smiling man from last night nowhere to be found. I know he's worried too, but I hope Sheena doesn't feel like he's acting cold towards her after what I'm referring to as ‘the couch incident’ in my head.
Gideon puts the pistol in a case and hands it to her, along with three preloaded clips. There’s a little pink in Sheena’s cheeks, but I can’t see any other signs of embarrassment. She seems to be taking all of this in stride.
He watches her for a long, tense moment, then snaps, grabbing her up in a bear hug that lifts her feet completely off the ground. To her credit, she rolls with it, wrapping her legs around Gideon’s waist like she's done it a thousand times before.
“I know it's moving fast,” he groans. “I’m freaked out too, but please, don't leave. We can figure it out together.”
When Sheena runs one hand through his curls, he grips her even tighter.
“I’m not going anywhere, Gideon,” she says, her tone soft but adamant.
It’s not a promise exactly, but I believe her. It seems he does too because some of the tension leaves his body.
“Be careful—both of you.” Her voice trembles, and she turns her head to include me in the warning. “If these are the same guys... They’re dangerous and not exactly worried about collateral damage.”
I hear the hitch in her breathing, hating that her fear is back, but I’m touched that she’s worrying about me at all. When I catch Gideon’s eye, his normally brown irises are glowing a faint golden in the morning light. I dip my chin, knowing instinctively that we’re back in sync. We’ll take care of this threat no matter how bloody it gets, then come back to her.
Gideon sets Sheena down, then gives her a kiss that starts friendly enough but borders on obscene by the time he's done. My heart pounds as two trickles of lust seep into me from their goodbye kiss alone. I want to kiss her too, but I settle for a hug and a peck on the cheek. Now isn’t the time to make a mess in her head or mine.
We'll have plenty of time for that later.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
