Page 96 of Infernal Hearts

She pauses before giving me a soft nod. “I think that might be for the best. Besides, I can’t exactly see me taking care of myself very well anytime soon. He’s not the only one who’s gonna need help.”

“In that case, I’m here for you both.” I grab her hand and hold it in mine. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry things didn’t turn out better.”

She flips her palm and squeezes. “I could say the same to you. But at least you got something good out of this.”

“Oh, yeah, what’s that? Lifelong trauma?”

“Don’t be dense. Now go see him. All this worrying exhausted me. I need a fucking nap.”

“Night, friend.” I pat her hand.

She smiles. “Good night. See you in the morning.”

I walk out of the house, closing the door gently on my way out. Step by step, I walk toward the office and make my way inside. Jason sits on the couch, petting Grover and grinning as the dog licks his hand.

“He feels so soft.” Jay’s words are quiet, but in awe. “Every sense I have is different now. This is definitely going to take some getting used to.”

I sit next to him, putting my arm over his shoulders and absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re handling it quite well.”

“Thank you. Although I think I’ll need some guidance for a while.”

“You’ll have it for as long as you want it.” I lean forward and kiss him. “But what you need now is sleep. Ready for bed?”

He nods and tells Grover to go to sleep. Grover obeys without a fight whatsoever, walking over to his bed and curling up inside it. Such a good dog.

We go into his room and undress, climbing into bed. I scoot over to his side and wrap my arm around his waist, pulling him close. I feel his heartbeat, just like I know he can feel mine. I focus completely on the sensation of his skin next to mine, lightly running my fingertips over his bare stomach.

“I can feel what you’re feeling. It’s a sensation deep in my chest. I can feel the connection between us. And I love you, too.”

I want to laugh out loud as my heart picks up speed, but I keep my cool. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words first, so hearing him say them rocks me to my core. Through the darkness, something good really did emerge.

Another memory rushes to my mind—something Magnus said to me on the night of my creation. He told me that I could never fall in love and that he’d do everything in his power to prevent it. True love stops all future deals from being made. All cosmic magic that could possibly run through me would be focused on the object of my desire, making me useless for other clients.

I told myself that I could live with that. A life where I could be myself was worth never truly loving. Now I know why he always chose my deals for me. It’s why he was careful to keep me away from anything too real. I hated him for it for years, but he was trying to protect my powers and let me be as happy as I could.

But now I’m free. And things are different. I don’t need more deals—I just need what I have right in front of me.

I smile, nestling against Jay and holding him close. “I love you more.”

Chapter Seventeen

Jason

I grumble, sitting at the desk downstairs. It’s been two weeks since everything happened, but I can’t stop myself from staring at Levi’s perfect ass as he looks out the window. “I can’t believe I’m hard again.”

“Who would have thought you’d inherit an incubus sex drive? What would that be, the fourth time this morning?”

“I can’t help it! It’s like it has a mind of its own!” But that’s a total lie. It’s completely my decision. The orgasms I’ve been having with Levi are mind-blowing. Now that all my senses are working overtime, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Nuclear explosions going off on every inch of my skin every time he makes me come.

He walks over, spinning my chair around, and whispers in my ear. “I could suck you off right now. Bet I could swallow your load in under thirty seconds. You can even time me.”

My cock pulses in my jeans, but I force myself to refuse. “Andrew’s gonna be here any minute. I don’t need him seeing that.”

He bursts out laughing. “Please, that boy would cream his jeans the second he’d walk in. He’d thank us both.”

The blood rushes to my cheeks. “Let’s not chance it.”

Gravel crunches in the parking lot as a car approaches, immediately killing my hard-on. I’ve been so nervous about this conversation all week that my brain immediately switches modes. It’s time to come clean.

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