Page 42 of Blood Magic (Ariel Kimber 3)

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he murmured softly, and I felt the gentle press of his lips into my hair at the back of my head.

His hands had finally stopped moving and they spanned my waist. My tank top had been pushed up with his hands and was bunched up above them.

“It’s okay,” I whispered into his throat. “Really,” I swore. “But I wanted you to know that I’m not like her. I’m not going to play you guys against one another and I’m not going to fuck any of you over.”

His body shook underneath me, and it took me a moment to realize it was shaking with silent laughter.

He was laughing at a time like this?

I didn’t find anything funny in the least.

“What’s funny?” I asked bluntly and immediately cringed, wishing I hadn’t asked. I probably didn’t want to know the answer to this question. I really needed to work on thinking before speaking but knew the success rate on that happening wouldn’t be a very high one.

He stopped laughing but the humor could still be heard in his voice when he said, “You just said fuck. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before. The twins bragged on you being all shy and sweet and never saying a bad word. Then you go and say fuck like it’s the most casual thing in the world. It’s becoming clear that either the twins lied, or they hadn’t seen the real you yet. Which is it? If you’ve got a potty mouth and curse like a sailor, Damien won’t like it. That’ll be great.”

Damien was back to sounding like a serious asshole.

I frowned deeply and felt my brows draw down together. Did I swear a lot? I didn’t think I did. I mean, I did in my head, constantly. But I usually tried to check it before it had the chance to come pouring out of my mouth.

I ignored his original question and asked a question of my own. “Damien doesn’t like it when girls use swear words around him?” I asked him in a quiet, hesitant voice. I hesitated at anything involving Damien.

“Honey,” he said as he let out a long-suffering sigh. “There isn’t much Damiendoeslike.”

Hmmm…

“Except Annabell,” I grumbled, sounding jealous simply because I was. “Everyone had realllyyyy likedher.”

I closed my eyes in embarrassment, hoping to all that was holy that he couldn’t hear the jealousy in my voice. Jealousy didn’t look good on anybody and I knew I would be no different.

His body under mine started shaking again. This time it shook so hard it moved my body on top of his.

He coughed, loud and harsh in an attempt to keep his laughter inside. The cough ended on a wheeze and Julian burst out laughing.

I pushed myself up until my elbows dug into the couch. Our chests no longer touched as I stared down at him. If his eyes weren’t warm and looking into mine, then I would have worried about him taking a look down my tank top. I hadn’t worn a bra and he would have gotten a serious eye full.

I scowled at him, and asked, “Why are you laughing now?”

“I’m not laughing at you,” he said between chuckles. “Honest. I’m laughing because you sound cute when you’re jealous and because you think Damien actually liked Annabell.”

I was frustrated and confused all at once. Tyson, Julian and Damien had been the three to hook up with the bitch. You don’t hook up with someone if you aren’t into them. Right? I know I wouldn’t be hooking up with guys I wasn’t into. What would be the point in that?

I was really tired of hearing people saying this chicks name. I was just plain tired of her. I hoped I never had the misfortune of meeting her.

“Damien is an absolute snob,” Julian told me. “He has really high expectations for girls and I don’t think he’s ever met one that he truly cared about before, and that includes Annabell. They had absolutely nothing in common except for the fact they’re both high maintenance bitches. He didn’t like her, but she was a female with magic and he thought she was going to be our female. And she liked him, honey. Damien is the whole package to a girl like that. It didn’t hurt that he ignored her at first and it just made her try for him harder. He only went for it because she was there and practically throwing herself at him twenty-four seven. But I don’t think he ever liked her.”

I closed my eyes. Nothing he said really made me feel any better. I mean, I liked that Damien hadn’t really liked her, but I didn’t like that he’d hooked up with her anyways. It made Damien sound even more like an asshole.

He was high maintenance? I didn’t do high maintenance, and I sure as heck didn’t want it in a boyf… person. A boy person. Yeah, that was it.

Julian lifted his hands to my face where he cupped my jaw. Both his thumbs moved softly across my cheeks in a soft, sweet gesture.

“What are you doing down here?” he asked in a gentle voice.

With my body pressed into his warm one, his hands cupping my face sweetly and his eyes burning into mine, I had no freaking idea what I was doing down here at the moment.

“Uhh…” I mumbled stupidly. I licked my suddenly dry lips and sucked the lip ring on my bottom lip into my mouth. Playing with my lip ring was a nervous habit I couldn’t always stop myself from doing.

A wide, happy smile stretched across his face. It reached his eyes, making them glow softly.

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