Page 419 of Shadowblood Souls
I always love hearing his old nickname for me in that fond tone, but I wrinkle my nose at the rest of his words. “You don’t have to apologize for that. If something’s bothering you, I’d always want to help.”
I pause, letting my mind linger on the stroke of his thumb over the back of my hand and the tingles lighting up in its wake before I venture farther. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Griffin grimaces. “There’s nothing to talk about. Sometimes my old ‘training’ comes back to me when I’m sleeping. I’m sure it’ll happen less as I get more used to feeling things again.”
Oh, God. He told us briefly what the guardians put him through to suppress his emotions, and even that pared-down account made me want to tear the assholes apart on his behalf.
And now he’s reliving their torture in his dreams?
I ease down on the bed next to him, tucking myself under the sheets as I do. I can’t chase away the horrors of his past, but I know that I can give him a little comfort.
An escape into feelings with no connection to the torment the guardians put him through.
Griffin welcomes me, nestling my head under his chin so my breath washes down his neck, sliding his arm around my back beneath my long-sleeved tee. Everywhere our bare skin touches, heat and longing sparks.
Griffin only just found his way back to us—to me. We haven’t solidified the bond between us, partly because of the uncertainties lingering between us until recently and partly because Clancy would have used the intimate act to gather data for his own purposes.
I haven’t let myself get all that physically close to any of my guys since we arrived in the villa. My frustration at our loss of freedom, my fear of our unhinged captor, and the constant feeling of being watched haven’t exactly put me in the mood.
But right now, with Griffin’s warmth wrapping around me, I’m not sure if it’s made sense to draw that boundary instead of taking every bit of comfort and pleasure I could from the men I love.
Balthazar hasn’t shown the slightest interest in the bonds we’ve formed. I’m not sure if he even knows wehaveformed them.
Clancy only figured it out because he heard Jacob and me talking about it after the first time we had sex. He might not have made any official report about it, waiting until he had more data to share.
And even if he did make an official report, would Balthazar have had access to it? The guardians seemed to believe he’d vanished years ago.
If the psychopath wants to perv on our hook-ups for some other reason, suddenly I’m finding it very hard to care. How would that be worse than anything he’s already subjecting us to?
At least we’d get something good out of it at the same time.
Those thoughts are condensing in my mind, my muscles loosening with acceptance where my body has aligned with Griffin’s, when the bedroom door clicks open again.
Jacob’s voice, drowsy but urgent, follows the squeak of the hinges. “Griff? I woke up with a bad feeling and?—”
As I twist to look at him, he’s already jerking to a halt on the threshold. He stares at us with a flex of his jaw that makes my stomach knot.
Jacob would do anything for his twin. He’s killed to protect him.
But I also know that he’s struggled since as long as he’s wanted me with the assumption that I’d want his brother more.
“Sorry,” he says, stepping backward. “I didn’t realize?—”
“Jake.” I hold out my hand from beneath the covers, beckoning him over. The soft squeeze of Griffin’s arm still slung around my waist tells me he approves of my invitation.
Jacob stops retreating, but he doesn’t move toward us either. I don’t know how to read his shadowed expression.
Griffin props himself up on an elbow to look past me to his brother. “I had a nightmare—Riva came in to snap me out of it. You’re not interrupting anything.”
He pauses, and I have the sense that he’s gauging both our emotions. Then he adds, “She wants you to stay. And so do I.”
Jacob’s mouth opens and closes again without any sound coming out. Then he strides in, kicking the door shut behind him, and stalks straight to the bed.
He stops at the edge, his eyes smoldering in the dimness. But the next thing he says is directed at Griffin. “Are you okay now?”
Griffin nods. “Sorry if you picked up on my bad dream. But… we’re all awake… and I think Riva has ideas other than going right back to sleep.”
I nudge him with a teasing jab of my elbow and motion to Jacob again. “Come here.”
