Page 80 of Blood Stone

Garrett hesitated, reluctant to accept a favour from him.

“Fuck, Calum, it’sme,” Roman breathed. “You’re going to get all sensitive about who owes what between us?”

Garrett turned the water off with a wrench of his wrist and turned to face Roman. “Tonight I watched Winter take an armour-piercing rifle round in the gut and nearly die, while Bastian and Nial agonized over her as she healed. It wasyourpeople who did that, Roman. The sniper bullet went straight through Nial and straight through Winter. Who else might it have gone through if they’d happen to have been standing in the way? Which humans, who couldn’t heal themselves? What about Kate? Would she be considered collateral damage?”

Roman’s eyes widened just a fraction and Garrett knew he’d made his point. Disgust touched him. “You and I both know that circumstances have dumped you on the wrong side of the war in the past. But you’ve never deliberately chosen to lie down with the devil. What’s happened to you? What’s going on?”

Roman’s jaw rippled. “What makes you think I’m with them?”

Garrett shook his head. “There is no neutral space in this. There’s no Switzerland. If you’re not with us, they’ll use you. You’re not even pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about, so they have you already. The Libertatis, most likely. How are they holding you?”

Roman shook his head. “Don’t do this. You won’t like where it goes.” His face was giving away nothing. His eyes were the same pair Garrett had gazed into decades ago. Nothing to see. Nothing revealed. Roman had closed up and walked away on him. Mentally, anyway.

Garrett shook his head. “No wonder I thought diving into the deep end of a long Fettercairn was a good idea. You taught me well. Too well.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Roman half-laughed, but Garret saw the touch of unease in his eyes. Finally, something other than indifference was to be seen.

Garrett walked over to the nearest shower stall and turned on the hot water. It always took a few minutes for the water to start running warm. He put his hand under the spray to test it and looked back over his shoulder at Roman. “Your punch to the gut was about three days too late. If you’d timed it better you could have happily witnessed my downfall and saved yourself the jealous boyfriend routine.”

Roman’s eyes narrowed. “The Fettercairn,” he breathed. “You really did drink it. You stupid son of a bitch.” His arms dropped. “Why is it you’re still evenstanding?” Then he rolled his eyes. “Winter, of course.”

Garrett stepped under the water. It was marvellously hot and refreshing. “I didn’t know it would kill me.”

“Then whydidyou drink it?” Roman asked, lifting his voice to be heard above the water.

Garrett turned his back so it would get wet. “You taught me well, but notthatwell. Some things still get through.”

He was actually surprised when Roman grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the water. Their shoulders rammed together almost painfully. Roman stared into his eyes, his gaze drilling into him. They stood locked together for ten of the longest seconds of Garrett’s long life.

Roman was breathing hard. “You didn’t kiss her to piss me off.” His voice was quiet. So soft, Garrett couldn’t tell if he was angry, upset or something else entirely.

He was starting to tremble. The day had held too many shocks already and this on top of it wasn’t icing, it was the back-breaker. He pulled his arm out of Roman’s grip. “It wasn’t about you. You stopped being the centre of my world a long time ago.”

Roman swayed closer. Garrett couldn’t tear his gaze away from Roman’s mouth, the sensual lips that curved so unexpected thick and full, as he leaned toward him. His heart escaped his control and slammed against his chest in a furious staccato.

He was helpless against the surge of rising hope building in his body. Naked, his arousal exposed him utterly.

Garrett relaxed and let the truth be exposed. There was no point in denying it when he was so vulnerable. Roman was right. Garrett was weak where he was concerned.

“Liar,” Roman breathed, his lips hovering a fraction of an inch away from Garrett’s.

His heart was labouring like a steam train. Garrett hadn’t felt this exposed in…centuries. Not since…

He swallowed as the memories flipped through his mind. He looked into Roman’s eyes and spoke the flat, undeniable truth. “She’s the first human since Mary that has stirred anything in me. It wasn’t just a kiss, Roman. It was such a strong reaction I was…” He hesitated, fighting to find the exact word.

“Terrified,” Roman supplied. He straightened up slowly, studying Garrett. “Panicked enough to dive into a bottle of the Bruce clan’s finest single malt.” He let go of Garrett’s arm and turned away. He gave a dry, short laugh and leaned against the sinks, his arms outstretched his head down. The tattoos bunched and crawled as his shoulder muscles flexed. “Fuckin’ ironic…” he muttered.

“Why?” Garrett demanded. “You don’t love her. You’re in her bed for other reasons. You said so.”

Roman turned and leaned against the sinks, crossing his arms. He wore a strange little half smile. “That’s right. No one is who they say they are. Not in our world, not in Hollywood.”

Garrett frowned, struggling to grasp all the cryptic double-meanings Roman had loaded that single sentence with.

Roman didn’t give him a chance to unravel it all. He got to his feet once more. “Welcome back to the human race, Calum. Thank Nathaniel for me. He’s a fucking miracle worker. It took him a few short weeks to achieve what I couldn’t pull off in decades of trying.” He pointed to the ruined shirt in the sink. “I’ll get that shirt for you.”

He strode to the door of the trailer and looked back. “And stay away from Kate, asshole. I don’t care how human you feel, now.” He left before Garrett could formulate a question out of the dozens that Roman’s bitter comment about Nial raised.