“No.” Considine squeezed my hip before releasing me and strolling away. “It wasn’t made by you, so I am uninterested.”
I stared at his back, reminded of my flood of emotions.
He said he loved me…
“Thanks, Considine.”
I felt like such a failure, but those were the only words I could muster.
Considine opened my fridge and took out another blood pack. “Of course. Just remember how thankful you feel next week, though, at the vampire gala.”
I curled my hands into fists. “I will.”
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Considine
Ifelt downright cheerful as I sat next to Jade, waiting for our shift’s muster before we were inevitably dismissed out into the cold to beat sense into whatever supernatural fools were wreaking havoc on the night.
While I’d become fond of my hobby-career, the real reason for my cheer was that the gala at Drake Hall was still a few days away, and the Dracos children were stuck preparing for it, while I got to come to work and spend my time with Jade.
Killian was understandably jealous, but then again it was his decision to muck around in vampire politics and not have the good sense to work directly with his One.
Jade, seated next to me, was riffling through a pile of reports, double checking the ones she was going to submit tonight, as diligent as ever.
Orrin sat in front of us, holding a steaming mug of tea between his hands as he dutifully observed Jade.
The rest of the task force crowded around two tables, watching Juggernaut, Grove, Binx, and Tetiana battle it out intheir odd amalgamation of the human games of go fish and old maid.
“Binx, do you have Clive?” Grove asked, using one of the nicknames the team had chosen for Jack cards.
Binx exhaled and tossed a card at him. The fae cackled as he drew some cards out of his hand and set a matched set of Jacks down.
I watched the exchange with equal parts bemusement and confusion.
I wonder if chaos is what comes from supernaturals mixing, or if that is merely the general attitude of the task force?
“Considine, do you know if all the photos were uploaded for the Northern Lakes Pack case?” Jade asked, naming an investigation our entire task force had been called into several days ago.
The Pack—the largest in the Midwest—had uncovered a plot in werewolf politics, and had ‘cleaned house,’ so to speak. We had been called in to arrest the perpetrators they’d caught and help mediate the aftermath, even though the werewolves responsible for the mess would be judged by the Midwest Pre-Dominant, the top werewolf in the Midwest.
“Yes, the pictures were uploaded to the report,” I confirmed. “There have been no official updates, but I can tell you there will be a great deal of werewolf inner political ramifications.”
Jade glanced at me. “I just care about the report.”
“A fact that delights me as I hate political nonsense,” I assured her. “But for some nagging reason, I have a suspicion this is going to affect the task force in the future.”
Jade tilted her head, showing she was considering my words and not instantly dismissing them. “You’re probably right. But I have no hope of predicting what the outcome will be, so in the meantime I should focus on what I can do: my reports.”
A sensible response, and one that appeals to me.
Jade’s straightforward attitude was just as beguiling as her fighting skills. If I told her that, she’d probably blush cutely, but I was trying to practice patience. Particularly because I was starting to see signs that my seduction campaign was succeeding.
She still blushed and stammered or stared me down with a clinical sort of bewilderment.
But there were times, now, where she looked at me and I could finally sense more in her stunning green eyes. More than professionalism, more than friendship. Something new and beautiful. Something I very much wanted to see more of.
