Page 88 of Lucien

Danny shrugged. “Yeah, well, he’s mated to the vampire who killedme, and I like him just fine.”

“That is because you are too good for this world, little king,” Roman said with a look to his mate that felt almost too intimate to witness. Danny blushed at his words, which Jamie had to admit was pretty cute. But he’d had enough of other people’s lovey-dovey bullshit for now.

He had his own lovey-dovey bullshit to get back to.

He mouthed the wordsI’ll call youto Danny and shut the door in his face, laughing at the sounds of Roman muttering through the wood about manners.

He and Danny had talked over that blood bag (which to be honest, hadn’t been that bad, the weirdness of drinking his meal aside). About the ridiculousness of two men so clearlynotover their friendship trying to avoid each other for an eternity. About how if the mates of said men were so inclined, they could push them together over the years, do their part to encourage the repair of that friendship.

Sure, Luc and Roman may never be exactly warm and snuggly with each other, but Jamie had a feeling that had never been their type of friendship to begin with.

“Well.” Jamie turned and rested his back against the door. “Just the two of us.”

At least for the next fifteen minutes or so. Monique had texted that she and Alice were coming up for air and she’d actually be staying in her own home for the first time in days, so he should go ahead and hide any evidence of rampant sexcapades about the house.

Jamie had made the mistake of mentioning concern over Monique coming back from her extended hookup to an inevitable den of iniquity, and Luc had murmured not to worry; he’d be buying them their own house before the week was out. He’d brushed his fingers along Jamie’s chin, holding his gaze with those shockingly bright green eyes. “Make no mistake, I’ve put a lot of thought into having you all to myself, flower.”

Jamie shivered a little at the recollection of both the words and the wonderful, enthusiastic head that had come after, catching Luc’s smirk out of the corner of his eye.

Because that was the other thing. They were so fuckingin tunenow that Jamie had turned. Jamie kept catching little hints of Luc’s emotions. His lust. His pleasure. His love. Jamie could even feel Luc’s monster underneath the surface, content and sated now that their bond had been confirmed.

There was also the feel of Luc’s guilt.

It was there, just a little lick of it, casting the tiniest shadow over Jamie’s new bliss. It was clear to him Luc had some feelings about the way Jamie’s transformation had taken place. Which was interesting because Jamie couldn’t sense a bit of guilt in him otherwise. Luc didn’t feel any true remorse when it came to Danny and Roman, not really. A little regret, maybe.

Should Jamie be concerned that Luc only felt those things when it came to him? That his monster didn’t seem to care one bit about the rest of the world?

Probably.

But Jamie was definitely equally fucked up because all that rose in him at the thought was a dark, devious pleasure. Luc washis. All parts of him belonged to Jamie. His goodness. His badness. Everything in between.

Forever.

Speaking of. Jamie reached over and grabbed a handful of Luc’s shirt, tugging playfully. “I have somewhere I want to go.”

The tattoo shop was mostly empty this early in the day, other than a bored-looking receptionist with a bleached bob and more piercings than Jamie could count.

He was a little jealous, actually—she looked pretty rad. He’d been here before for some of his own piercings, but he’d always kept them to his ears.

He looked to Luc. “Do you think I’d still be able to get pierced these days? Or would the accelerated healing just, like, pop the dang thing right out?”

Luc glanced over from the other side of the room, where he’d been perusing the books of flash tattoo options and, judging from the slight sneer on his face, finding them lacking.

Snob, Jamie thought affectionately.Such a ridiculous snob.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never tried.” Luc eyed first the receptionist and then Jamie, and Jamie could tell he was mentally transplanting her piercings onto Jamie’s face. “Is that what we’re here to find out, flower?” He didn’t seem to hate the idea.

But Jamie didn’t answer the question, unable to keep the grin from his face when Luc scowled back at him in frustration. Whatever. Surprises were fun; everyone knew that.

He sauntered over and grabbed Luc’s hand, lacing their fingers together as he looked over the flash books Luc had been judging so harshly. “You think those three are back in Hyde Park by now?”

Luc huffed. “As if I care.”

Jamie smirked, flipping through the pages. He didn’t buy the tough guy act. Or the way Roman and Luc had avoided eye contact during the trio’s departure that morning. There was a strong bond there, and even if it was frayed by decades of hurt and trauma, the core still held. And they had endless time to repair the rest.

Especially with him and Danny in cahoots. Jamie wasn’t sure exactly why Danny didn’t hate Luc more than he did, but Jamie wasn’t going to look an overly forgiving gift horse in the mouth. And it worked doubly for Jamie, since he had a feeling he and the other newbie vampire could be good friends.

Even if Danny did come attached to a grumpy, suit-wearing stick-in-the-mud.

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