Page 29 of Dante's Circle Reborn

And then his face was over the slats, then half of his body, and he held out an arm. “Sorry, I forget that not everybody can jump as high as I can.”

She didn’t know if he was blushing, couldn’t tell even in the moonlight, but she heard embarrassment in the tone of his voice.

She jumped as high as she could, and he gripped her hand and then pulled her over with ease. So quickly, in fact, she didn’t even touch the top of the fence as she sailed over it.

His strength was amazing. She knew that most shifters were that strong, but for some reason, he felt stronger. Or maybe that was just the bond that wanted to flow between them, making her hormones act crazy.

Jonah got them inside a two-story house, and she looked around the dark home, wondering where she was, and how exactly she had gotten herself into this situation.

“Let’s not turn on the lights just yet,” he whispered, and she jumped, not realizing that he had gotten so close.

“Where are we?”

“My home.”

“You live here? In the human realm?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t live in the human realm at the moment. However, I do have a home here. At my age, it’s good to have backups in case something happens. And it’s always good to have a connection to the human realm. After all, it’s the realm that connects all the others.”

“At your age?” she asked and felt heat rising in her cheeks.

Jonah just smiled softly. “I’m a few hundred years old. Not too old for a shifter.” He paused. “How old are you, Poppy?”

“Twenty-five,” she whispered. So young compared to him, but that didn’t matter in most cases with the supernaturals.

Jonah let out a harsh breath. “Ah, well, that makes sense.”

She narrowed her eyes, feeling like she should be insulted. “Why does that make sense?”

“Because you have no fighting skills whatsoever.”

Affronted, she frowned. “Hey, I punched.”

“And you had your thumb in the wrong position. If you had used any strength at all, you would have broken your hand.”

She scowled, even as sheknewshe blushed even harder. “I’m not that bad.”

“You are. But if you want, I can help you.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“For many reasons.”

“Tell me.” They had more important things to worry about, but she couldn’t stop this train of thought.

“How about the fact that I don’t want to see someone get hurt? Or that Dante hired you and, therefore, you’re sort of part of our circle.”

“Our?” She didn’t want to sound jealous, and that feeling wasn’t for another woman or man. It was for the fact that he actually had agroup. She’d seen him laughing with his friends over a drink. She’d tried not to watch, but her gaze had continuously been pulled in his direction. The long, lean lines of his body, the strong line of his jaw. The way he constantly watched the entrance of the bar, a protector at his core. She loved the smoothness of his skin, and the stubble on his face. She had watched him all night, and she had wanted him.

And she hated herself just a little bit for it. Because she didn’t have time for feelings. She didn’t even know if she deserved those emotions.

“I’ll also help you because of what we are.”

There was a pause when she tried to think of what to say. “And, who am I to you?” she whispered.

“You’re really going to make me say it?”

She shook her head, knowing one of them needed to say the words. They both knew what pulsed between them. It was a feeling. A knowing. And there was no mistaking it. Not for them, at least. Perhaps for others, but not for them.

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