Page 1 of Dark Awakening: Hidden Currents

1

JASMINE

The morning sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse, bathing the dining room in a golden light and warming the side of Jasmine's face.

"It's a little stifling in here." Margo waved her hand in front of her face. "Are those windows tinted?"

Gabi turned to look at the glass. "I'm sure they are. It would be hotter in here if they weren't. You can turn the AC on."

Margo huffed. "Who turned it off?"

"I did," Frankie admitted. "It was blasting cold air this morning. I was freezing."

As the conversation around the table turned to the fascinating subject of immortals' supposed imperviousness to temperature swings and then shifted to a discussion about the importance of having a great view versus energy conservation, Jasmine sipped on her coffee while observing Ell-rom's interaction with her friends. Not that he was saying much.

He seemed distant this morning, contemplative, and he was avoiding her eyes. He also hadn't reached for her hand under the table like he usually did.

Had she overwhelmed him last night?

Had it been too much too soon for him?

Ell-rom had appeared to enjoy what they had been doing, and things had seemed to go well, but then Jasmine had freaked out, probably for no good reason, and had ruined what had been a wonderful experience that could have turned into a cherished memory.

It had been Ell-rom's first time, and Jasmine wanted him to remember it fondly, to have a positive memory that he could smile about centuries from now. She didn't want him to wince whenever he thought about it, the way she did every time she thought about her own first experience.

Instead, she had made him feel like his bite wasn't welcome, or worse, that she hadn't enjoyed what they had been doing.

Neither could be further from the truth.

Being his first had been exciting, even moving, and she considered introducing him to carnal pleasures a privilege. As for the venom bite, Jasmine knew what to expect and was looking forward to experiencing it with Ell-rom.

Just imagining it sent a tingle to her lady parts.

When he cast her a perplexed glance, she realized that he must have smelled her arousal.

Jasmine didn't mind him knowing what she was thinking, but she didn't want the other males in the room to know.

That keen sense of smell was the one thing she did not like about gods and immortals. Other than that, they were awesome.

Well, at least the ones she'd met so far.

Not all immortals were good people who strived to make life better for everyone on Earth. There was another faction of immortals whose goals were in direct opposition to the clan's.

She didn't know much about the conflict or who those other immortals were, only that the clan had enemies, one of the reasons the clan had to live in hiding.

Well, that and humans, of course.

After Jasmine smiled and shook her head at Ell-rom, he turned back to Aru, who was telling him about the wonders of the underground cities of Anumati.

The gods' planet was a fascinating subject, but Jasmine only listened to Aru with half an ear while replaying last night in her head.

Had her response been warranted?

Blacking out after a bite was a given, and it was dangerous when it happened inside a bathtub or a pool. Ell-rom was still weak, and once the lust haze had receded, there was a chance that he would have fainted. He would have survived a bath drowning because he was immortal and would enter stasis, but she wouldn't.

The fear of drowning had been overpowering, but now that she thought of it in the light of day, did it still make sense for her to freak out like that?

Was it even a valid concern?

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