Page 183 of Shadowblood Souls
I should be glad she’s recovered enough from the shit we’ve all put her through to wantanyof us like that.
But somehow the faint sounds of their interlude are stirring up both searing jealousy… and a well of heat at the base of my groin.
I probably should not stand up anytime soon. My stupid dick that refuses to get the memo is at half-mast.
Part of me wants to duck into the bathroom and rub the growing tension right out of me, but just thinking of it makes me flush with shame.
How the hell would I ever look Riva in the eye again if I dothat?
Instead, I train my attention on the built-in appliances across from me. With a nudge of my vision, I can see through the surfaces to the wiring beneath.
I can see the inner workings of things. Sometimes it comes with a curious itch about how those things actually work.
If I could maneuver their parts without wrecking them like I did with the computer system in the old facility we broke into. But an RV’s oven shouldn’t be anywhere near as delicate as computer circuitry, right?
Not that I can concentrate all that well right now regardless, no matter how I try.
A stuttered breath filters through the bedroom door, followed by a moan. And Jacob’s gaze jerks up from where he’s sprawled on the smaller sofa across from me.
The noise wasn’t that loud, but clearly it’s gotten loud enough that he picked up on it. He lowers his phone, his expression tensing.
A groan that makes even Andreas’s head twitch carries through the RV, followed by a muttered voice I can barely make out myself.
Jacob’s entire body goes rigid.
A mug whips out of the RV’s sink and cracks against the ceiling.
Andreas glances over his shoulder, easing on the brake at a red light. “Perfect control, huh?”
“Fuck off,” Jacob snaps. He sinks back down into the leather cushions with obvious effort, putting on a picture of being relaxed without remotely looking like he actually is.
Andreas switches on the radio, and a jangly tune flows through the RV, washing away the more provocative sounds from the back bedroom.
I wince inwardly. If I’d thought to ask him to do that earlier, maybe the two of them wouldn’t even have had to notice.
“It’s fine,” Jacob mutters, more to himself than either of us. “It makes sense. I fucking poisoned her, and Dom healed her. Of course she’d forgive him first.”
His hands flex and ball against his lap, but no more objects careen through the air. Looking at him, I get the impression that if he’s angry with anyone right now, it’s only himself.
“Maybe we should start our sleeping shifts,” I suggest awkwardly. “Rollick wanted us to meet him pretty early tomorrow.”
Andreas nods. “I’m good to keep cruising around for at least a couple more hours. I’ll let you know when I need to switch.”
If he’s particularly bothered by what he’d heard, he isn’t showing it. But then, I can’t see much other than the back of his head.
And Drey has always been the best of us at putting on an easygoing attitude no matter what’s going on inside him.
I clamber up into the loft over the driver’s seat, where the radio will completely overwhelm any sounds from the other end of the RV, and pull the blanket over me. When I close my eyes, images of what Riva’s face might have looked like as she made those sounds float by behind my eyelids.
It’s a long time before I actually fall asleep.
The RV takes the turn onto the ramp into the underground parking garage with a slight lurch that has me clutching the steering wheel.
I can’t say I like drivinganyvehicle, but the massive house-on-wheels is my least favorite so far. It reminds me of my own body when I’m in a shift: too bulky, too easy to accidentally smash something—or someone—into smithereens.
But I can’t leave it to the other guys to do all the work.
When I can finally stop the RV in the same spot we parked yesterday and turn off the engine, my breath rushes out of me in a whoosh of relief.
