Page 66

Now, she stood there, bathed in morning light, looking so effortlessly perfect. I cleared my throat, sitting up in bed. “BooDini was just chastising me for tearing the blanket.”

Jen’s face softened, her pupils dilating slightly, the sharp scent of her desire slipping into the air, brief, but enough to make my mouth water, my dick throbbing in response.

But before I could do something stupid, her expression shifted, determination overriding desire.

“Do you still want to go to the Cadmuses’ to help out?” she asked.

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling hard. “Yeah,” I said. “Just let me get changed.”

As I tugged my T-shirt over my head, Jen pulled out an ancient phone from the top pocket of my shirt, her fingers tapping at the screen with awkward hesitation.

“Do you think it would be weird if Brooke came over this evening?” she asked. “She said she has something important to ask me.”

I frowned. “Who?”

Jen scoffed, folding her arms. “Brooke? Beautiful water nymph who proposed to you, like, two nights ago?”

In my defense, I’d been too distracted at the time—watching Jen, my thoughts consumed with jealousy as a hulking, absurdly handsome orc had slid into my seat and started a conversation with her.

Unfettered rage tinged with jealousy flooded my veins at the thought of Rowan.

But Brooke? I barely remembered what she looked like, let alone her offer of marriage. I mean, she was nice and all. But Jen had been sitting just over her shoulder...

I shrugged, stuffing my arms through my sleeves. “She’s your friend, Jen. You should invite her around.”

Jen’s eyes narrowed, suspicion flashing in her gaze just as a sharp tang hit the air, like the metallic scent of holding a coin too long.

She was jealous.

Heat cracked up my spine like a whip, my heart swelling at the thought that Jen might just be experiencing the same emotions that had been twisting inside me every time I thought of her with someone else.

“You don’t think it would be a bit weird?” she asked, her tone carefully neutral, as if her only concern was for my comfort.

I finished buckling my belt, letting the moment stretch before I slowly made my way over to her. Jen’s breath hitched the second I pinned her against the wall, one hand flat above herhead, the other tilting her chin up with a teasing touch. The scent of amber and jasmine billowed from her.

“Are you jealous, my little witch?” I murmured, my voice dropping to a low, deliberate rumble.

Jen’s eyes narrowed further. “I’m reinstating rule number one,” she said, voice firm despite the flush creeping down her neck. “No more reading my emotions.”

I chuckled, clamping down on my senses. But I wasn’t letting her off that easily. “If it would make you feel better,” I mused, my thumb dragging lazily over her bottom lip, “you could always even the playing field and propose to me yourself.” I leaned in, my breath brushing against her ear. “I might even say yes.”

Jen’s lips parted, but instead of answering, she caught my thumb between her teeth and nipped—just hard enough to send a jolt straight to my cock.

Her triumphant smirk was immediate, flickering across her lips as she let go of my thumb. But then her smirk twisted into something mischievous.

I barely reacted in time, catching her wrist just as she lunged, fingers poised for a tickle attack.

With a grin, I tightened my grip. “I know your tricks, little witch.” I lifted her hand, brushing my lips over her knuckles in a slow, lingering kiss. I fingered the button of my shirt. “And I’m going to need this back.”

***

I was eternally grateful that Jen had reinstated rule number one. Because the moment we stepped inside the Cadmuses’ house, the pain etched across her face was enough to unravel me.

Every fiber of my being screamed to pull her into my arms, to turn us around, to take her anywhere but here. If I had beenforced to feel her emotions as raw and deeply as she did, it would have broken me beyond repair.

Mr. Cadmus had answered the door with hesitant confusion, his tired eyes flicking between us as if bracing for bad news. But the moment Jen explained why we were there, that hesitation cracked, collapsing under the weight of unfiltered gratitude.

His voice broke as he thanked her, tears welling in his eyes as he professed over and over that her parents would have been so proud of her. That despite everything—despite the years, the hardship, the grief—their daughter was still kind.