Page 80 of A Vampire's Pain
-Gabriel-
Valeri was sleeping soundly beside me, but I had a little trouble sleeping, not because I felt restless, which was usually the reason why I couldn’t sleep, and why I went out a lot to try and fuck it away. No, I felt very satisfied, and so did my little mate, whom I had pretty much fucked to sleep. We just barely got a quick shower before she was out like a light. It made me very happy to see, and yet as I stroked the skin on her neck, it made me feel a bit irritated.
Her skin was so smooth and not at all scarred as it should be with my mark. I knew I was demanding too much too soon. We hadn’t even known each other for that long or spent that much time together, but it was natural for hybrids to mark their mates almost as soon as they found them. The need to do it was strong and it drove us a little insane if we had to wait. I wouldn’t force her though. Vampires were different, and I understood she was hesitant, especially because of what she had been through. I just hoped she truly would let me do it one day.
I slowly slipped away from her and put on some sweatpants before I walked out of the room and downstairs. I walked into the kitchen and over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water when I felt another presence. Slowly I looked over my shoulder and just there by the kitchen island sat a dark form.
“You know there is something called a light switch,” I said and closed the fridge before I walked over to it and turned on the light.
Ace sat with some food in front of him, completely ignoring me, as I went to go lean against the counter in front of him.
“You didn’t use it,” he finally said.
“I was only going to be here for a few seconds, getting some water. You were sitting in the dark,” I pointed out.
“I like the dark,” he said.
“I’m sure you do …”
We stayed like that for a little while, neither of us saying anything, and Ace not even looking at me. I understood he needed space, but he had been gone from the house for quite some time now, and he couldn’t even look at me … Was it ever going to go back to normal between us? Maybe that was the wrong term for it. Had it ever been normal between us?
“Don’t you got someone waiting for you?” he asked.
“She’s sleeping.”
“And … I’m not or what?” he asked me, his dark eyes finally meeting mine.
“Don’t do that,” I said.
“Do what?”
“Don’t ruin things between us,” I told him.
“They already are.”
He focused on his food again, and I sighed.
“They don’t have to be. Okay? We are still friends. You’re still like a brother to me,” I said.
Ace huffed.
“Because you fuck your brothers?” he asked me, a clear bite in his tone.
“Come one, man! You know things were never like that between us. We sought some company, someone who could understand us, but we were never in love,” I said.
Ace just shook his head a little, and I was confused by his behavior. Could it be there was more in it for him? Had I misjudged what he felt for me? Had I lost a dear friend because of it?
“Does she know?”
“If not, are you going to try and tell her?” I asked.
I had already told Valeri the truth, but I wanted to know what Ace was thinking. He looked at me for a little while, but then focused on his food again, shaking his head once.
“No.”
“Good, but she already knows,” I said.
He looked at me a little shocked, which was a surprise because he rarely showed any sort of emotion.
