Page 24 of Unwanted
She laughed. Her blue eyes swam with mirth. Admittedly, she was extremely beautiful, but Aspen owned his heart. “I could take him a drink, if you’d like. I don’t have to say who it’s from.”
The idea of Aspen not knowing it was him was irresistible. “You don’t happen to have Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, do you?”
The blonde’s smile grew. “We do.”
“That’s his favorite.” There was no missing the tinge of sadness in his voice.
The server stood and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m on it.”
Leif stared so hard at Aspen, waiting for the drink to arrive, that his eyes burned from the need to blink. Finally, he saw the blonde server approach. He watched her mouth move while she held out the glass. The loud-ass machines around him made it impossible—even with preternatural hearing—to make out what was said.
Aspen’s fingers wrapped around the glass. He froze as her words hit.
The server walked away while Aspen still held the drink as if locked in the position of accepting it. It was like Aspen’s body refused to move.
Leif couldn’t watch anymore. He glanced at his screen and hit the button again. Lights flashed and made noises like he was about to win and then he didn’t. His throat swelled. He shouldn’t have sent that drink. All he had accomplished was rekindling the false hope he had carried for years. Weres and vampires were suddenly being paired as true mates. Hopeless love sat so heavily on his chest, he couldn’t breathe. Surely it would have already happened to them if it was meant to be. Despite his best efforts, Leif’s gaze slid back Aspen’s way. The untouched drink sat on the now empty machine. All three men were gone. He wasn’t surprised. That big of a win likely meant he had to fill out paperwork or something. The pressure at the backs of his eyesincreased. The lump in his throat grew bigger. It seemed Aspen had finally given up on him. Leif had finally broken him with his refusal to bend.
A solid but cozy warmth pressed against his back. Leif’s heart stopped. He would know that chest in a dark room filled with strangers at an orgy. Then the sweet yet wild scent of the man he loved overcame him. The crushed pieces of his soul jangled, reminding him of what it felt like to lose Aspen all over again.
Aspen nuzzled his neck, audibly drawing in Leif’s scent. When warm lips softly brushed his skin, Leif’s eyes automatically closed to savor the sensation. He didn’t want any other senses interfering with the feel of perfect lips on his skin. His chest felt like it was being stomped on by buffalo.
“I can’t beg anymore. Either come back to me where you belong or stay gone. I can’t go another night thinking you might sleep in my arms again. Don’t tease me with some half-life where you give me just enough hope to keep me hanging on. My sanity can’t handle this anymore.” Another sweet kiss brushed his neck while Leif sat frozen by the love that choked him. The tender arms that had taken him to heaven thousands of times gently squeezed him one final time. “Whatever you decide, you’ll always be my prickly pear.”
The blow was massive. Cuddly bear and prickly pear. The ridiculous pet names still haunted his dreams. Aspen’s softly spoken words, meant for his ears alone, were the last he would get of Aspen. Aspen’s warmth disappeared as quickly and quietly as it appeared. Leif was left with nothing but chill bumps and agony. A little rage, too. Aspen was the one who threw themaway. He was the one who said he couldn’t live with waking up another day knowing that day might be the one they lost each other. Leif would have stayed forever if Aspen hadn’t tossed him out of his life. Now Aspen was back. Leif didn’t know if he could survive it.
“Would you like something to drink, sweetie?”
Leif glanced over his shoulder, fighting the pains in his chest. It was a different server. Maybe he needed the comfort. “Yeah. Can I get a Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey?” He wanted to grab one last hint of Aspen.
“Sorry, honey. We don’t have that. I can get you an Old Forester.”
Leif stared at the woman for a moment before his gaze slid toward where Aspen had left his glass. It was gone. He blinked, wondering if he hallucinated the last half hour of his life. Maybe he just needed to feed. It was possible he was simply losing his mind.
Chapter Twelve
Theycouldhavegonehome. A still shocked Aspen had been given a penthouse suite for the night. Surprisingly, Fen had been the one to agree when Aspen invited them to stay. No matter how hard Kyrie tried, his muscles wouldn’t unclench. Maybe he braced for the worst since dealing with Monnie’s torture, but Kyrie knew better. Fen hadn’t torn into him yet—like he deserved—and Kyrie waited for Fen’s rage to strike him. The truth could still very well destroy them.
Instead, Fen lovingly undressed Kyrie and checked for any lingering injuries or bruises. “Do you want to tell me the story?”
“Do I? No. But you’re owed, so…”
Fen’s sexy green eyes collided with his. “You don’t owe me anything. I saw him hurting you. You endured that for me. Youtook the punishment so I could escape. I have a feeling you did it, even though you didn’t believe I would get help.”
Kyrie’s guilty gaze hit his lap.
“I’m nae coward.”
Kyrie’s chin shot up. “No. I would never think that. You’re amazing.” Fen had to believe him, or Kyrie couldn’t live with himself. “I just thought you finally agreed to go because Monnie made you hate me.”
“No.” Fen stroked Kyrie’s face with the back of his knuckles. “Confused me, aye. But no one has the power to make me stop loving you. With that said, I would like to know what the fuck just happened.”
As Kyrie had said, Fen deserved to know. “After Neo died, my best friend,” Kyrie reminded him in case he didn’t remember. “I was too scared to make friends again. Plus, I immediately became a pariah. Everyone knew I had gotten Neo and his family killed. They just didn’t know how or why. People literally crossed the street when they saw me. All I did was work and sleep, trying to get through every day until I could save enough to get out of that town.”
Fen crawled onto the bed and tugged Kyrie into his arms. “I assume you were afraid to use your powers.”
Kyrie nodded against Fen’s chest. “Using my powers is the reason Neo is dead. I’d just kind of discovered I could do somestrange things—like I was growing into my powers. No one had warned me not to use them. Hell, I didn’t even know what I was using. Then I was alone in the world… kind of.”
“Monnie?”
