Page 51 of Mitchell
But Mitchell reserved the right to roll his eyes, and he certainly didn't want to watch.
He headed to the kitchen. He was in the middle of searching for the coffee when Jude came into the room. Jude seemed to hesitate for reasons Mitchell didn't understand. When Mitchell opened his arms, he smiled and came into the embrace like he always did.
Jude sighed. "Where's Seryn?"
"Still sleeping. Daruss and Raylee?" Why were they talking about their mates? One thing Mitchell knew about Jude was he had a reason for bringing them up, but he'd get to it in his own time.
"Raylee needs extra cuddles sometimes, so Daruss went back to bed with him. I got up because I knew you'd be up around thistime. You always get up early." Except for the nights he'd been up all night on a job, Mitchell wasn't a late sleeper. It gave him a headache to lie in bed for extended periods of time. It drove him nuts when he'd been sick.
"Did you want to talk to me about something?" Mitchell let him go. "Where's the coffee?"
Jude opened a cabinet and pulled down a container. "Scoop’s inside."
He went around the island and sat on a stool, watching Mitchell. They had two different coffee makers. One was a French press, which Mitchell recognized because he wasn't a complete savage. He'd never used one before, and the other was a drip maker. Mitchell opted for the drip maker because it seemed easier. There was another machine at the end of the counter with a jar of colorful pods next to it. It might have been a coffee maker or a time machine. Who could tell? It looked weird and complicated, so Mitchell left it alone.
"Yes. I wanted to talk." Jude glanced at the bite mark Seryn left on his neck. "You bonded last night. That's very permanent. You know that, right?"
The coffee maker gurgled to life. The smell of roasted beans filled the air.
"I'm aware." Seryn was stuck with him for the rest of their lives, which was just the way Mitchell wanted it.
"Mitchell, what if you go to prison? What then?" Jude shook his head. "I wish you wouldn't have taken that stupid job. Terrell was an idiot for even thinking about going for those guns. And you were an idiot for going along with him."
Mitchell couldn't disagree with Jude. "We were in a desperate situation, Jude. You know that. We talked about it, remember?"
"I remember you talking yourself into doing it. You didn't listen to me just like you always don't when you get scared aboutmoney." Jude's volume had increased over the course of his little speech.
Mitchell waited Jude out with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised. Jude knew what Mitchell's body language meant. He didn't have to say anything at all.
"Sorry. I know I'm blaming you for everything, and it's not all your fault. Just the parts where you agreed to Terrell's stupidness. And for the publicity those guns got. You should have expected that."
"I made a couple of mistakes. Ones I may have to pay for later on. Ones I've already paid for. I have the scars to prove it." Mitchell turned just enough to show Jude his surgery scar. He had several others that were months old that also came from his time with Davorion. "I also have a vampire after me. That hasn't gone away yet either."
"I'm worried, Mitch. Really worried. What if it goes bad?"
"Chances are it will." Mitchell didn't have the answers and he certainly wouldn't make up lies so Jude could stop worrying. "I don't know what will happen, Jude. All I know is I'm not alone this time."
"Daruss and the rest of the Skulls will back you, but you'll have to convince him first. He won't do anything that will put Raylee and I in jeopardy. I know that much for sure." Jude contemplated that. His frown grew deeper. "If you don't have their help, how will you keep from going to jail?"
Mitchell felt Seryn's emotions before he saw him pad his way into the kitchen, barefoot and with crazy bed hair. He still looked like an angel. He was the sexiest man on the planet. Or vampire warlock. Whatever. Seryn was still a man, right?
"I'll get him out."
Jude jumped when Seryn spoke, not having heard him enter the room. "God, you scared the crap out of me. Way too silent."
"Makes me good at my job."
Mitchell opened his arms for Seryn, wanting a hug. "Good morning, clinger monkey."
Seryn went into his arms without a word. He hummed. After sharing a hotel room and bed with Seryn for the last two weeks, Mitchell had learned two things. Seryn wasn't a morning person, and he didn't like to talk before downing a cup of coffee.
"I think I told you to go back to sleep, sweetheart." Mitchell rubbed his back. He met Jude's gaze, who smiled at them as if he were loving the sweetness of their moment. Mitchell's mouth and shook his head, "Not a morning person."
Jude chuckled.
"Vampire hearing." It was the only explanation Seryn was likely to give, but Mitchell understood that his and Jude's conversation had kept Seryn from falling back to sleep.
"Sorry, baby."
