Page 43 of Incipient

“Oh, my god, it worked!” I said as I pulled in a cleansing breath and then met Gabriel’s eyes.

My heart jumped against my ribcage as I noted his chest rising and falling quickly and his white-knuckle grip on the edge of the table he was still leaning on.

“Shit. I took too much,” I realized aloud, wanting to kick myself for having no restraint when it came to Revenant blood. Why did I always do this? What the hell was wrong with me anyway? “I’m so sorry, Gabriel. I didn’t mean to,” I said as I rushed over to his side, kneeling before him to get a better look at his face.

“You needed it more than I did,” he said and tried for a smile. “I’ll be better soon. No harm done.”

Typical Gabriel, always so gracious and giving. Even with the blood in his own damn veins.

“Get me a knife,” I called back to Trace, knowing that I could at least make this a little better on him.

“No!” said Gabriel and Trace at the same time.

I rolled my eyes at their dramatics. “I wasn’t going to bleed myself dry,” I said and then met Gabriel’s eyes. “Just a little bit to help you feel better. I really don’t mind.”

Gabriel shook his head, albeit weakly. “We can’t risk creating another bloodbond.”

“It doesn’t work that fast,” I pointed out, remembering how slow and steady it had been with Dominic. “But I get what you’re saying. I nodded, knowing it wasn’t worth the risk, but still feeling horrible about leaving him in this state.

“He’ll be fine, Jemma. I’m sure he has, you know,foodor whatever at his place.” Trace stepped behind me and gently pulled me back into a standing position. “We should go.”

“We can’t just leave him like this. There’s no way he can drive in this condition.”

Trace furrowed his brows as he looked him over and then nodded. “I’ll port you home. Show me your place,” he said and then touched Gabriel’s shoulder. He immediately yanked his hand back as if he’d just been burned by him and then fixed him with a weird look. “Jemma get your stuff ready. I’ll be back in two minutes.” And with that, he touched Gabriel again and the two of them disappeared from the kitchen.

I let out a noisy sigh and then walked back out to the living room in search of Ben. He was passed out on the plush, luxurious couch with an old episode ofUnsolved Mysteriesplaying on the television. Craning my head to get a better view, I noted how sweet and peaceful he looked when he slept and then grabbed the throw blanket from the headrest and spread it over him.

Poor guy. He’d taken such a beating when we’d lost Taylor. It was so obvious to anyone with eyes that he had been madly in love with her. I imagined he carried a heart full of blame around with him every day of his life. Blame for not telling her how he really felt. Blame for not being able to save her when it mattered most.

I wasn’t the only who had lost my way that faithful night. He’d lost everything too.

“You ready to go?” asked Trace from the entrance, his voice startling me as I stared at Ben, probably looking like some kind of weirdo freak that liked to watch people sleep.

I turned and met those fiercely loving eyes of his, and all of my worry disappeared. “I’m ready,” I said as I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. And with that, we were gone.

19. NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY

We materialized back in Trace’s scantily lit bedroom with my arms still wrapped snuggly around his waist and my cheek resting comfortably against his chest. It felt so good to finally be out of pain, and with our soulmate bond trilling steadily between, it was as close to perfect as I’d gotten in months.

“Thank you for everything you did tonight,” I said, still pressed up against him and in no hurry to move away.

“You know I’d do anything for you, Jemma.” His arms encircled me with their warmth as his fingers traced little circles against the small of my back.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I needed to pull away from him. To put that wall back up and that space between us, but I couldn’t seem to dig up the will to do it. And after the night I’d just went through, I figured I deserved some good vibrations. At least for a little while longer.

“Good vibrations?” Trace chuckled, the sound of it deep and rumbly against my ear.

My cheeks burned hot with embarrassment. I slowly pulled away from his chest and squinted up at him. His eyes were filled with amusement and his dimples were digging in and out of his cheeks as he tried to stifle his laugh.

“I thought I told you to stop listening in?” I said, trying to take the heat off myself.

“It’s not my fault,” he said and took a step back, smirking. “I was born this way.”

I smacked him in the chest and buried my own smile.Freaking goofball.

“You hungry?” he asked as he turned on the desk lamp.

“Starving.” I sat down on the edge of his bed and flopped backward, sprawling both arms out as I closed my eyes. It was nice to have just a moment of peace without any worry or pain. Of course, I knew it was as fleeting as the wind, but I was enjoying it while it lasted.

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