Page 74 of Johann

Danny shook Jay’s shoulders gently. “Then trust me when I say I’mhappyyou came to us. And I mean that in a completely selfish way. Eternity is—I still can’t fathom it, really. And I’m not like Roman. I can’t be a lone wolf. I need people, connections. And not just…surface-level friendships. It’ll be unsettling and scary, in its own way, moving from place to place. I want a community. And I want you to be a part of it.” A brief glance at Alexei. “The both of you.”

Jay seemed to take a minute to absorb those words. Then he shot a shy look over Danny’s shoulder to Roman, who was looking with obvious love and pride at his mate. “And you—you don’t mind either?”

Roman cleared his throat. “I heard a phrase recently that resonated with me. ‘Happy wife, happy life.’ If Danny is content, so am I.”

Danny scoffed, wrapping Jay up in a hug. “He’s being cagey, sweetie. He’s very fond of you.”

“And I’m very fond of you both.” Jay’s words were muffled by Danny’s shoulder, but Alexei could feel some of that doubt and insecurity finally melt off him.

If he didn’t think Roman would punch his lights out, Alexei could have kissed Danny on the fucking mouth.

Nicest vampire indeed.

An hour or so after parting ways with Danny and Roman, Alexei and Jay strolled through Jay’s neighborhood, hand in hand.

Jay had professed a need for fresh air, and Alexei had suggested the woods, but Jay had wanted to look at all the different houses. Alexei wondered if he was thinking of actually using some of his billions and upgrading them from his duplex apartment.

They stopped in front of a Victorian number that reminded Alexei of Wolfe’s pseudomansion. “Do you think Wolfe really bought that house already?”

“Probably,” Jay answered, swinging their joined hands as they stood in place. “Wolfe always liked nice things.”

“I thought the whole point was he needed your money tohavethose nice things.”

“I think he has some funds. Just not as much as he’d like.” Jay waited a beat, as if considering his words. For someone who often spoke in a sort of stream of consciousness way (at least, at home with Alexei), as if there were no filter between his brain and his mouth, he could be very particular about what he said when he wanted to be. “I think what Wolfe said about the den siphoning off some of my money… He’s probably done that as well. Only he wants the security ofmore.”

Before Alexei could feel indignant on Jay’s behalf, Jay tugged him along from the house. “I don’t mind. I definitely don’t need all of it. I’d actually like to— If you’re okay with it…” He peered up at Alexei as they walked along, looking suddenly shy. “Do youwantto be super rich? Like, super-duper rich?”

Alexei bit back a grin at the wording of the question. “No, I don’t need to be ‘super-duper rich,’ kotyonok.”

Jay beamed back at him. “Then I’d like to give some of it away. Maybe even a lot of it?” He paused to gauge Alexei’s reaction—there wasn’t much of one, not when Alexei had never cared about Jay’s funds—then rushed on. “Not all of it, of course. I want to be able to contribute to the—the family.”

Alexei’s chest tightened with unbearable affection at the little thrill he could feel go through Jay with that word. Family.

“What were you thinking?” he asked, not caring either way. If Jay told Alexei he wanted to dump it all in the river, Alexei would drive them to the nearest body of water.

But Jay, not being an apathetic asshole like Alexei, had a different idea. “Maybe we can brainstorm together? You can help me decide? I want it to be of use somewhere.”

“Of course, kitten.”

They had time, an awful lot of it.

Warmth filled Alexei’s veins as he thought of how satisfying it was going to be, having Jay to himself after all this drama was put aside. He still felt bad for Wolfe’s mate but also…grateful. Because now there was someone else to occupy the psycho’s time and attention, to keep his focus off Jay, to give him a reason not to double-cross them.

It was selfish and callous of Alexei to think that way, but then he’d always been those things, hadn’t he? He was the “nicest human” only for Jay. Because Jay deserved everything good and nice in this world, and Alexei wanted to be the one to give it to him.

Everyone else could go to hell.

But the foreseen lack of drama only lasted for a few blocks, when Alexei and Jay turned the corner to find a man leaning against a chain-link fence surrounding an abandoned, grassy lot.

He was of an average height and build and generally nothing much to look at. Alexei might not have noticed him at all if it weren’t for the way Jay immediately stiffened next to him.

Alexei’s inner beast went on full alert, but Alexei waited for Jay to let him know exactly how much trouble they might be in.

“Tobias,” Jay greeted the stranger flatly. “I thought Wolfe had passed on the message already.”

Tobias stepped forward from the fence. “He did. But I was already on my way. It was decided I might as well check things out, in case the two of you were just running off together, trying to scare us away.” He ran a long look over Alexei and at his hand joined with Jay’s. “Although, maybe the mate part is true after all.”

“It’s all true. We’re starting our own den, and we’d like to be left in peace.”

---