Rhett heads back up the stairs of the camper and salutes. “Whatever you say.”
Jamie looks to me. “Can we go home now?”
“Yes, please.” I take a step toward Jamie’s outstretched arms. As I rest my head against his chest, feeling the subtle beat of his heart in my ear, I feel more at home than I ever have.
“Come on,” Joanna says, “I’ll drop you off.”
Aidan is standing like a creepy statue as we reach the front gate. Jamie and I are used to his lack of need to breathe, but he seems to have taken Joanna by surprise, because she startles.
“Who the hell is that?”
Aidan frowns. “Who are you?”
“I’m Joanna Shepherd: friend and bodyguard. And you,” she points to Aidan’s stiff frame, “do not look like a werewolf.”
Jamie stifles a laugh and I hide my face in his side.
Aidan crosses his arms and narrows his eyes, taking in the feisty human mouthing off to him. “Why do you say that?”
Joanna doesn’t miss a beat. “Because you’re, I dunno, pale?”
I burst out laughing, and she turns to give me a clueless expression. “What? He is!”
“I’m pale, Jo. What is that supposed to mean?”
She side-eyes Aidan who is still glaring at her. “You just have fair skin,” she explains. “This guy looks like a vampire.”
Aidan’s face is vibrating with disgust.
I can tell he wants to say something smart, but Jamie coughs and clears his throat. “Joanna, meet my friend, Aidan. He’s a vampire.”
Her eyes go wide and her face flushes with embarrassment. I decide to relieve her of her suffering and leave Jamie’s side to go to hers.
“He’s not as scary as he looks,” I reassure her. But she only grumbles to herself. “And he can walk home.”
Aidan takes the hint and speeds off in the blink of an eye, leaving Jo even more stunned.
Jamie gets behind the wheel of Jo’s SUV and drives us back to the condo. Throughout the ride, I think about how wild thesepast two weeks have been, but I can’t say I regret anything. If not for all the scary moments, I wouldn’t have a new best friend to lean on, and I wouldn’t be so certain of how much I want to be with Jamie. Because while he’s still my best friend, he’s now so much more.
Jamie is the love of my life…and I want to be his mate.
Chapter Thirty-Six
JAMIE
When we finally get back to the condo, the two of us look like we’ve just fought a war. We’re both mentally exhausted from what happened at the festival, and my body is tired from the shift. Raegan is probably ready to lock herself in her room to get away from me. I wouldn’t blame her. The amount of stress I’ve caused her makes me feel like the worst friend ever. It certainly doesn’t make me worthy of being her mate.
I think she’s about to head upstairs, but she surprises me by stopping in the living room. When she turns to face me, her eyes are misty and brimmed with tears. I move to her instinctively, knowing this might be the last time she lets me get this close, but once I get closer, I see she’s smiling.
She’s not upset or scared. She looks…happy.
“Raegan?” I brush her hair away from her face. “Are those happy tears?”
Her voice is rich with emotion when she says, “I want to accept the mate bond.”
I stutter. “Y-you, you w-what?”
She giggles and displays a wide grin. “I’m choosing forever with you Jamie Trent. I want to be your mate.”
