Jade grins and I grin too. But I don’t feel it. There is nothing positive about what Sammy just said. It’s awful that he has beenso mistreated by his own kind that he has lost faith in an entire species.
“So what sucked about work today?” Sammy asks brightly in a blatant attempt to change the conversation.
And that’s fair enough. It probably feels like we have been picking at all his wounds. No wonder he has had enough.
Jade groans dramatically. “Everything!”
Sammy chuckles, and his eyes sparkle. My eyes narrow and I try to look at Jade as if I’ve never seen him before. The fey is tall, young, lean. His hair is so blond it’s nearly white and his eyes are dazzling.
My lungs constrict. Jade is gorgeous. And now I’m being really stupid, because of course he is. He wouldn’t have been imprisoned in the harem if he wasn’t.
He is also kind and nice. And far less of a mess than I am. He has a job for flip’s sake. He can touch people.
In the harem, he was full of shame, and that seemed to be his main response. Now he is free, he seems so much better.
Unlike me. I’m still scared. All the time.
It makes total sense for Sammy to like Jade. He is the better man. There is no need for my guts to churn with jealousy. This mate bond is rapidly turning into the bane of my life.
“Is that guy still following you around everywhere?” Sammy asks Jade, as if he has completely forgotten I exist.
Jade nods. “Flyn just doesn’t give up.”
“In a creepy stalker way?” asks Sammy with his eyes bright with concern.
“No, not at all. In an annoyingly charming and endearing way,” says Jade.
Sammy giggles. The sound bounces in the air, skims over the water. It’s precious and pretty and I wish I could keep it.
“He thought I was a top. Said he’d never been wrong before,” says Jade.
I float away from the edge of the pool. Away from Sammy and Jade. My heart is already thumping far too loud. If they starttalking about sex, I’m going to have to run. Dive to the bottom of the pool and hide.
“Are you?” asks Sammy softly.
Jade’s eyes widen. “I don’t know. I was never given the choice before.”
Sammy’s face softens, and he reaches out and puts a hand on Jade’s shoulder. Now they are double touching. While staring deeply into each other’s eyes.
Fuck this.
I slip under the water and sink to the bottom of the pool. It’s rude just to leave like that, but everyone is used to me being a moody bastard. They won’t think anything of it.
Leaving Sammy and Jade alone is the right thing to do. I don’t want to be the third wheel. Sammy deserves Jade. Jade could be the perfect special person for him. If not, I need to find Sammy someone like him. Someone with their shit together and able to talk about sex.
All of this really, truly proves that I’m not the right person for Sammy. Normal people don’t just want to talk about sex, they want to have it. And I can never give him that.
A sad sigh escapes me. In another universe, where the harem never happened, who knows. Sammy is lovely, I could definitely see myself falling in love with him. It would be easy to do.
But then again, if it weren’t for the harem, Sammy and I would never have met.
So it is what it is. And it’s not meant to be.
Chapter eight
Sammy
This guy is an asshole. But unless I want to risk trying to sneak into the red-light district and dodging all the pimps, he is probably the only customer I’m going to get.
