Page 78 of Vipers and Vendettas

‘Fuck, baby,’ he pants, taking me in his arms as he puts me back in the bed carefully and covers me with the blanket. ‘That was one of the hottest things ever.’

I nod, still trying to get my breath back.

‘I meant it. Just so you know.’

I look at him in question.

‘I’m going to drag you into an alley and fuck you just how I described.’

My eyes are wide as I reply. ‘Okay, but you can’t …’

‘Can’t what?’

‘You have to be careful because of Jellybean.’

His mouth quirks upward. ‘Jellybean?’

I nod.

Iron leans over me. ‘Jules,’ he says, ‘even if you weren’t pregnant, I wouldn’t hurt you unless you wanted me to like in the club, not ever again, okay?’

I nod.

‘Can you ever forgive me for how I treated you?’

I snuggle down in the bed, letting him sweat for a minute.

‘I’d already forgiven you before I left,’ I whisper.

He’s quiet for a while.

‘You shouldn’t have. You should make me earn it,’ he says somewhat coldly.

But I just smile, not opening my eyes.

‘Oh, you will, Jeremy. Don’t you worry about that.’

‘Deal.’ I hear him laugh a little. ‘Okay, I know I’ve exhausted you, babe, but we need to go soon. It’s past nine at night, and we meet up with the others.’

The prospect of making sure the others are all okay with my own eyes has me out of bed immediately. I go into the bathroom, gasping at the sight of myself without my conjure. I never put it back on.

I stare at myself for a minute. How long has it been since I actually looked at myself properly without the conjure? Years, probably. But I think Iron is right. They are fading.

Why?

I go back into the room and throw on my clothes, deep in thought.

‘Ready?’ Iron asks me, taking my hand.

I nod, letting out a long breath. I’m going to see them in a few minutes, and thinking about the conversation that’s going to follow has me wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans.

‘Let’s get this over with,’ I mutter, and Iron squeezes my hand.

He puts the link key on the door and opens it. We step through together, and the roar of the breach, the light of the portal itself, is almost soothing.

But about a second later, the tunnel is plunged into darkness, and my hand is ripped away from the Iron’s by some unseen force. I don’t even have time to scream before I feel myself falling. I break through and land hard on a red carpet. It’s plush, and thankfully, the pile is high, or I have probably broken something.

I get to my knees. ‘Warn me next time, maybe,’ I growl at Iron.