Page 84 of The Vampire's Mate

James went to the kitchen, and I watched TV through lidded eyes for a while until there was a knock at the door. I glanced at my phone—it was still ridiculously early. “Don’t move!” James called out.

“I wasn’t planning to!” I scrubbed at my eyes. “Do you know who it is?”

James crossed in front of me with a smirk on his face. “I may have gotten you a surprise.”

“Okay…” That had me sitting up straighter.

James opened the door, and I strained to see who the hushed voice on the other side belonged to. A moment later, they stepped into the house.

“Shi Baby!”

They smiled, and suddenly I felt guilty for ever thinking they had any sinister intentions. Their gaze traveled over me—no doubt cataloging my injuries. I had a nasty scar on my forehead and racoon eyes from the broken nose. “Who’d you piss off this time?”

“It wasn’t my fault!” My eyes dropped to their hand. “What’s that?”

They held up the object: a tennis ball on a thick rope. “It’s for Carlos.”

“Where’s my present?”

Shi threw their arms out to the side. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Just drop that on the floor. It’ll be a nice surprise for Carlos later.” I smirked, throwing my blankets aside to clear a spot on the couch next to me. “Come sit down.”

“You hungry, Shiloh?” James asked, returning to the kitchen.

“No, thank you though.” They sat and fixed their attention on me. “I won’t stay long. I know you’re tired, but I wanted to see how you were.” They gestured to my nose. “Broken?”

I nodded. “And I have what they called a grade-four concussion.”

I didn’t miss the waver in their gorgeous smile. “I was really freaked when you didn’t show up yesterday. When James called and said you’d been in an accident, I…”

They wound loose thread around their finger so tight, the digit turned red. I grabbed their hand, untwisted the thread, and held it in my lap. “I’ll be a little banged up for a while, but I’ll be fine, Shi.”

Shiloh’s gaze dropped to our entwined hands. For a moment, I thought they’d pull away.

They didn’t.

Instead, they took a deep breath. “Good, ’cause I actually kind of like you.”

“I knew it!”

“Don’t make me regret saying that,” they warned me—but they still didn’t pull their hand away. That is, until James came into the room with my plate in his hand. Then they stood, and their hand slid out of my grip. James noticed, but only offered a fond smile.

“Are you sure you don’t want any?” James asked them. “There’s plenty left.”

Once again, Shi declined. “I shouldn’t. I’m sure you two are exhausted, and someone’s got to run the bar. I’ll go so you can rest.”

We said our goodbyes, and James saw Shiloh out. While I ate, he fed Carlos by dropping his bowl on the kitchen floor and calling him in from another room. Not that it did any good: Carlos was only interested inmybreakfast.

Once the plate was clear, James threw the dishes in the sink and dragged me down the hall to my bedroom where the hot water was already running in the shower. I stripped and got in, not surprised when he joined me. And when he reached for the shampoo, I let him wash my hair without arguing. I was perfectly capable of doing so myself, but that wasn’t the point. Since letting myself admit I was in love with him, it was easier to let him love me in return. It only made it that much sweeter that our love for each other had nothing to do with the bond. Fate may have brought us together, but I walked right into love with him, and with the curse finally lifted, I could see that.

And I was finally starting to be okay with it.

I let him dry me off and dress me in a warm pair of pajama pants, kissing me anywhere he could reach. And when he tucked me into bed, the kisses continued over my shoulder and neck. I hummed, warm lips trailing softly over the cut on my head. “Think you can kiss it all better, vampire?”

“I can and I will.”

James’s arm curled around my waist, and I twisted our fingers together over my stomach. “Why don’t you just keep me company?”

---