Page 65 of The Veil of Blood and Magic

“I'm not moving from this spot,” I say, shaking my head as I hold my hands near the flames of the fire. “Thanks to your friend, I'm thoroughly exhausted.”

A muscle in Zev’s jaw ticks, and he gives me a low grunt.

“I'm not going to run,” I say, rolling my eyes.

Jagger tugs on Zev’s arm, turning him around as they both head deeper into the wooded area near camp.

Soon I can’t hear anything but the sound of the calm river behind me as it continues to move along the banks.

I sigh, overcome with contentment as I listen to the water, doing my best to commit this feeling of happiness permanently in my mind.

After a few minutes, I hear footsteps and grin at the way my heart lifts at their quick return. “Miss me so much you abandoned the snares?” I ask, turning around toward them?—

“More than you know,” a familiar male voice says, right before something heavy hits me hard over the head and everything goes black.

Chapter 16

Zev

Jagger follows me through the wooded area to where I set up some snares while he’d been with the succubus, a smug smile on his face.

I grin at the sight of two fat, white hares dangling from each of the snares, always grateful for a clean kill. I unwrap the rope around the first one’s neck, Jagger doing the same to the second.

“You waited at camp,” Jagger says, his smirk growing wider.

I contemplate punching it off his face.

“You could’ve joined us if you were that interested,” he says.

My blood pumps a little harder at the thought. The idea of both of us filling the succubus’s body at the same time is enough to make my knees feel like they might buckle any moment.

I force the fantasy away and give him a low growl.

“Oh, if you were that into the idea, why didn't you?” Jagger answers me as if I’d said my thoughts aloud. The bastard has known me long enough to be able to interpret even my grunts.

“Was that the first or second time you fucked her?” I ask instead of answering his question. The succubus told me they didn't sleep together that first night when he fed her, but did I really trust her enough to believe her?

Apparently not.

“The first,” he says carrying the hare back toward me.

Surprise and a small sliver of delight rattles through me. The succubus was telling the truth.

“Good.”

Jagger cocks brow at me. “You're one to talk, seeing as how you fucked her two nights ago.”

“That was a mistake,” I say despite not fully believing the words myself. It hadn't felt like a mistake. It felt like a goddessdamn revelation. And I hated that I wanted to do it again.

“Horseshit,” Jagger says, shaking his head. “You should see yourself around Liv,” he says. “I've never seen anything like it. You’re...soft around her.”

I give him a low warning growl. “I am not soft.”

“No shit,” he says, rolling his eyes. “I mean soft as I've ever seen you, which yes, isn't a lot, but can you not see that? Recognize it? Goddess, man, after that night with Balan ’s crew, when she defended us, you started tolikeher. And then after she nearly gave her life for that Fae boy, I daresay you more than liked her?—”

“Careful,” I cut over his words, not needing him to state the turmoil I can feel happening inside of me out loud. I don’t want to acknowledge it. I don’t want to feed it. It won’t change things. It won’t help.

Jagger’s shoulders drop and he shakes his head. “Look, I know how valuable she is. I know what's at stake here and I know you probably think I'm not as invested in you because it's not directly tied to me. But that's not true. I'm with you. You know that. But it wouldn't kill you to admit that you enjoyed yourself the other night, and you continue to enjoy her company even when she’s actively trying to drive you mad.”

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