Page 175 of Tempting Fate

“Friends,” Slash tells me with a sharp nod. “I’m not goin’ anywhere, and no matter how this all plays out, I never will.”

Having heard that promise from Zeke more than once, I know that Slash is possibly setting us up for failure. Even so, I’ll take what he has to offer for as long as he’s willing to let me. I’ve lived through loss before, and I’ll live through it again.

No matter how much it hurts.

I’ve lost my mother.

My father.

Zeke.

If Slash ends up adding himself to that list, at least I’ll have good memories to keep me company.

“So, Netflix n chill?” he asks in the familiar smartarse way I’ve missed so much. “I’m dyin’ to find out whether Klaus and Elijah patch things up.” After bouncing around the end of the breakfast counter to riffle through the pantry for snacks, he emerges with a triumphant grin. Holding a bag of mini-Snickers aloft, he asks. “My room or yours?”

Although my stomach twists at the thought of sharing a bed with him again, I plaster a close-to-genuine smile on my face as I declare without thinking it through, “Your bed is bigger.”

We both freeze, then act like I didn’t choose to return to the scene of our biggest mistake.

Again, my epiphany tries to break into my consciousness.

I force it back into its box.

Now is not the time to examine my feelings for Zeke and Slash…

“All right, I’ll grab the drinks and change into something more comfortable,” I tell him as I head for the stairs. “You get yourself organised, then set up the sound system. I need Elijah’s delicious accent in surround sound.”

It takes me ten minutes to get myself sorted.

Another five to steady myself.

As I venture into his bedroom, refreshments in hand, I stumble over my own feet. Slash is topless. Thin sleep pants hang low on his hips. Averting my eyes from his pierced nipples and the new cherub tattoo over his heart, I see that he has the latest episode queued. Once we’re settled at the head of his bed with the covers pulled up to our waist and The Originals playing, I find myself stiffly staring straight ahead. My brain can’t comprehend what my eyes are tracking across the screen because I’m too scared of making the wrong move and destroying the equilibrium we just found.

“Duchess,” Slash calls me by the pet name that seems to have become a permanent fixture between us.

“Yeah?” I swallow the lump in my throat, then force myself to look at him. “Do you need something?”

Slash’s love for me, both platonic and so much more, glimmers in his eyes as he pats the mattress next to him, and holds up his arm. With a low growl, he demands, “Get over here.”

Like I used to, before everything changed between us and the truth was forced on me, I slide closer and snuggle into his side. He drops his arm around my shoulders and tucks me in tighter. Our chests lift, then fall in unison as we both start to breathe again.

“No more overthinkin’. Not about me. Not tonight or any night,” he admonishes me with a gruff tone. “We have all the time in the world for things to fall into place. Just gotta trust that they will.” His big hand ruffles my hair. “Look at me.” I lift my face to his. Slash presses the lightest kiss imaginable to the end of my nose. “I love you, duchess.”

I’m not lying when I tell him, “I love you too.”

Because Carter Hudson does own part of my heart. His portion is as big as the slice Zeke claimed years before I truly understood what it means to love someone as more than family, but I cannot deny that it belongs solely to him.

It’s knowledge that I am determined to keep to myself.

Because I refuse to make Slash feel second best.

He’s not.

Never will be.

My love for him is simply different from the love I feel for Zeke.

As different as the two men themselves.

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