Chapter 286

“I honestly think Rafe would want you there,” Luca says, giving Daphne a lazy shrug. “He’s upset, but he’s a good guy – I’m sure he still wants to be friends.”

Is that true? I ask Luca down our bond, kind of surprised. I mean, I’ve never known Rafe to hang out with his ex’s before – but then again, I’m not sure I knew he was dating anyone.

Oh, no, he’s still in love with her, Luca says, flashing his eyes to me and fighting a smile. But he told me he’s going to try and get her back – why not give him the opportunity?

My eyes go a bit wide at this, but I quickly look back at Daphne, not wanting her to know we were talking about her mind-to-mind.

The little quirk at the corner of her lips lets me know I’ve failed in that a bit, but I give her my best princess grin in turn. “Come on, Daph,” I say, squeezing her hand. “I’ll talk to him about it and if he says it would make him uncomfortable then I’ll send a note saying don’t come. But please think about it?”

Daphne bites her lip but then exhales a long breath and nods. “Okay,” she says, smiling hesitantly. “If Rafe would be okay with it…I have to admit, I’d love to come. I miss you guys!”

“And we miss you too!” I say, laughing and moving across the bed to sit at my friend’s side, slipping an arm around her waist. “Now that the issue of your attendance is settled, on to bigger and more important things. Luca was telling me that he developed a new line for picking up women. He wants to try it on you.”

Daphne bursts out laughing and turns to Luca, expectant. Luca, always game, immediately reaches for her hand and gives her a smoldering look. “Daphne, little bird,” he says, pitching his voice low. “All of your emotions are brilliant, but –“

But he doesn’t get any further than that, because the two of us are laughing too hard for him to continue. Luca joins in, scolding us and shouting that we have to let him try again. But even if he doesn’t get very far, I have to admit – my soul feels lighter than it did two hours ago.

I beam at Luca, who is so lovely, who I know has a great deal to do with the unburdening of my soul. He beams back at me, sending a flash of love down the bond, before turning back to our friend and continuing on our project to cheer her up.

An hour or so later, Luca walks me back to my room. “I’ll leave you here,” he murmurs, using the hand pressed to my lower back to pull me tight against him, looking down into my eyes. “I want to get a good night’s sleep so I can kick your ass tomorrow in the Game.”

I grin up at him, shaking my head. “Not a chance, Grant. Gonna snipe you off the field – right off your feet, first thing. You don’t even have a shot.”

Luca laughs but then closes the distance between us, kissing me hard and swift like he’s been waiting all night to do it – and which, honestly, he probably has. A soft squeak echoes in my chest as I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him back for all that I’m worth. We stay that way for probably much longer than we should, until Luca lets out a shaky exhale and pulls away.

“You sleep tight, gorgeous,” he murmurs, his fingers tracing over my face.

“You too,” I whisper. But when he moves to step away I grab his arm, pulling him back. “Luca,” I say, half on impulse and half desperate at the memory of the Goddess’s threat – that if I don’t get his mark within three months that I’ll lose him. “Can we – can we spend more time together? Like this? Just me and you? I…I really had fun, even if we spent it with Daphne, and we should…” I shrug, letting him fill in the blanks.

But Luca bursts into a brilliant smile, cupping my face in his hands. “I would love that, Ariel,” he says, beaming down at me. “I know it’s hard to find the time but…we should do that. And nothing would make me happier.”

“Good,” I whisper, standing on my toes and giving him another brisk kiss.

“Love you,” he murmurs, kissing my forehead and then starting out down the hall, glancing over his shoulder at me as he goes.

I stand by the door, leaning against the wall, watching until I can’t see him any more, biting my lip. Because, I mean, I adore Luca – and he’s so important to me. But Jackson really has been taking up the majority of my time and emotion lately. It’s not necessarily that I feel guilty about that I just…

I don’t know. Do I need to even out the time I’m spending with both of my mates?

My wolf nips at me inwardly, giving me a little growl and urging me inside the room. I sigh and nod to her as I reach for the door, pushing it open, because she’s right – I am tired, and hungry, and have other things to worry about right now.

When I get into the room, though, I’m a little surprised to see that no one’s sitting in the living room area – that there’s only a little covered plate there, apparently waiting for me.

“Over here!” Rafe calls, and I turn my head to see him sitting on his bed with Jackson across from him, a bunch of papers spread out between them. My face bursts into a smile to see them hard at work. Jackson’s eyes move immediately over me, assessing, making sure that I’m all right – always his first priority. But down the bond I feel a warm rush of love and affection and happiness that I instantly return.

“Hi!” I say, bouncing over to them. “What are you –“

“Nope!” Rafe says, pointing a finger at me that stops me in my tracks. “We’re busy, and we’re tired, and we need to get this done. You, baby trouble, will only distract.”

My mouth falls open and I cross my arms over my chest. “So rude, brother. I just wanted to say hello.”

“Liar, you wanted to jump up in Jacksons’ arms and get him all worked up,” Rafe murmurs, dropping his attention back to the papers in front of them – plans for the Game, surely.

I shift my eyes immediately to Jackson, who looks at me a little wistfully, and guilt pulses through me because…well. Yup. That’s exactly what I want to do.

Jackson’s face bursts into a smile and he turns away from me, even though his wolf howls to see him do it. “Rafe’s right,” he says with a sigh, “I’ll see you in a little bit. Let us concentrate while we can.”

I push my luck for a minute, taking a second to tell Rafe that I’ve been down to see Daphne and asking if he’s okay with it that I invited her over to the room tomorrow. He stills for a moment but then clears his throat, trying to hide a smile as he assures me that it’s totally fine – why wouldn’t it be?

“Just wanted to make sure it was okay,” I say with a sly smile, looking between the two of them.

“Of course it is,” Rafe growls, looking down at his paperwork and waving a hand at me. “Now away, distraction. We have things to do.”

“Fine fine,” I sigh, looking around. “Where’s Jess?”

“In the nook,” Rafe murmurs.

I squeak in horrified surprise, looking over at my special cozy area and noting that the curtain is indeed closed. “What the hell is he doing in there!?”

“He said he needed to decompress,” Jackson says, his voice low like he doesn’t believe it at all. “And that he was usurping it as an unclaimed and unused private territory.”

“What a nerd,” I mutter, waving to my brother and my mate over my shoulder as I storm over to my nook, grabbing my plate of food on the way. When I get there, I rip open the curtain.

Jesse goes still as his eyes flash to me, a cookie halfway to his lips, Tiger pressed close to his side and Jackson’s DVD player open in front of him in the darkness.

“Jesse!” I protest, appalled.

“Do you mind, Ariel?” he asks, raising an equally perturbed eyebrow my way. “I’m taking some me time.”

“With all of my stuff!”

“This is Jackson’s tiny TV, not yours.”

“They’re my cookies!” I shout, setting my plate safely on the bed before leaning across it and making a snatch for the packet of cookies. But Jesse grabs them out of my reach, holding them high. I just glare at him from my ridiculous position sprawled out over my comforter, one hand still poised high.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Jesse says, smirking at me in that way he’s been doing since a kid that always makes me laugh. I can’t help it and grin back. “You go take a shower and then come back here and we’ll watch TV together and eat snacks.”

“What do I get out of this?” I ask with a sigh, letting my arm fall down onto the bed. “I can do all of that without you in the nook.”

“You will get the pleasure of my company!” Jesse says, smiling like it’s a great prize. “Now get going, you smell.” Without waiting to hear my reply Jesse turns back to the DVD player and presses play.

But I give in, knowing that Jesse has had a hard day, and that I do smell, and that a TV night with my cousin might be precisely the thing I need.

“If you eat all those cookies before I get back,” I say, pushing myself up from the bed and looking over towards the bathroom. “You die.”

“Shower fast, I have limited self-control,” he mutters, his eyes fastened to the screen, his mouth full.

“No crumbs on the comforter!” I growl, walking away.

“No promises!” he returns.

But I just laugh and tug off my cap, loving my cousin and looking forward to the rest of my night.