She disappeared down the hallway and into the kitchen. I could see James’s office door cracked open from where I stood. I swallowed hard, wiping my clammy palms on my jeans, then forced my legs to move. I paused just outside the door, leaning against the wall and trying to make myself knock. The soft sound of Luke Combs drifted through, lifting my spirits from rock bottom to plain miserable.
How could only a couple of weeks have passed since that night in the kitchen? It seemed like ages ago.
I listened until the song faded out, then took my chance before he started it over. The second I raised my hand, James cleared his throat and said, “Come in, Ryder.”
I nudged the door open and stepped inside before I could change my mind. The window had been fixed. James sat on his couch with a book in his lap, one leg crossed over the other. My breath hitched in my throat. I wanted to wash away everything that had happened over the past week and throw myself into his lap.
Pathetic.
“You shouldn’t have come,” he said, closing his book and setting it aside.
“I needed to see you.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It isn’t safe, not while I’m being hunted.”
“I know who’s behind it. That’s why I needed to see you. Luke is the one hunting you, and he hasn’t stopped just because you ended things with me, so why are we making ourselves miserable?”
His expression softened. “I can keep myself alive. You’re the one I’m worried about, Ryder.” Then his brows furrowed. “Wait, did you say Luke? I told you I’m not worried about him.”
“It’s him,” I said firmly.
His eyes narrowed, and he sniffed the air. “How…?” His eyes went wide. “I can smell him on you! You fucked him?”
I spun, jumping back when I collided with James’s chest. I hadn’t even seen him move. “What’s it matter?”
“It matters because he’s obsessed with you. Apparently he’s also hunting me, and yet you jumped right into bed with him.”
I crossed my arms, standing my ground. “I’m not going to apologize, James. I’ve never been a relationship kind of guy, but I was willing to do it for you. You destroyed it—you destroyedme! I’m doing my best to put the pieces back together. If that means falling into bed with the wrong person, then so be it.”
He scoffed, facing away from me. “All right, Meredith Grey.”
“You watchGrey’s Anatomy?”
“When you’ve been alive for over three hundred years and don’t sleep, you get bored.”
I took a breath to center myself. “I didn’t do it to hurt you,” I said quietly.
Long seconds passed before, “I know.”
“What are we going to do about him?”
James grunted. “Wearen’t doing anything. I’ll handle it, but you need to go home.”
“James—”
He raised his hand. “Thank you for telling me that Luke is a hunter.”
My eyes started to burn again, the knot in my stomach winding itself tighter. Knowing it was futile, I lunged forward anyway, snatching his hand. To my shock, he let me, and our fingers intertwined. “I won’t leave things like this,” I said, squeezing his fingers, willing him to understand how much I cared for him.
“Ryder, I’m not angry. You’re right: you don’t owe me an apology for how you choose to fix what I broke. I refuse to put you in danger. Now, you need to leave.”
“I don’twantto leave!”
“Neither did Hannah, remember? But you did it for her safety.”
I felt like he’d slapped me. “I-I—” I tugged on his hand, and despite his superior strength, he let me pull him in. The two parts of me warred with each other. One half was threatening to lock up my heart again and throw away the key. I could almost hear the chains rattling as they fell into place. The other half, however, couldn’t walk away from my vampire.Mine. I stood there longer than I cared to admit, brushing my thumb over his knuckles and fighting myself over what to do. In the end, I crumbled. I leaned in, brushing my lips over his cheek.
James didn’t react, but his voice was a whisper as he said, “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be. Go home. I will seek you out when it’s safe again. I’m sorry.”
