Page 39 of Twisted Devotion

“I still take a little credit for this,” Allison says smugly, and Tristan glances at her. “That’s right. You’re welcome.”

He chuckles, shaking his head at her before turning his attention to me. “How’s everything going? Are you doing all right?”

I shrug. “Well, he’s still alive.”

Tristan grins, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Atta girl. Nikolai’s been keeping tabs on the arrangement?”

“Yeah,” I say. “There hasn’t been much to report, but he likes to stay in the loop.”

“Keep up the good work. I’m sure you’re counting down the days until your contract is fulfilled, but we really appreciate you taking this on.”

I smile faintly. “It hasn’t beenthatbad.”

“It might be better if you sleep with him and get it over with,” Aurora points out, and I smack her leg as Tristan sends her a furrow-browed look. “What?” she says to me. “Oh, come on! Think about it. Maybe you just need to get it out of your systems. Clearly, you’re both thinking about it more than you want to. Why else craft this challenge?”

“Because he has the maturity level of a teenager?” I mutter, and Allison snorts, kicking her feet up on the coffee table.

“What challenge?” Tristan asks.

“Don’t tell him,” Aurora rushes to say. “You don’t want his input. It’d be almost as bad as asking Nikolai.”

Tristan narrows his eyes at the back of his wife’s head, but his lips are curved upward ever so slightly. “I take offense to that.”

“Good for you,” Aurora says back in a singsong voice, her eyes glimmering with amusement as she glances back at him.

“Perhaps you’d like to help me make lunch in the kitchen,” he offers, holding her gaze. Their auras are faint swirls of light pink and warmth, clearly affectionate—and slightly horny.

Oh, dear god.

I glance over at Allison. “Are they always like this?” I’m happy to shift the topic of conversation away from me and Jackson. I’ve been holding my breath for the moment one of them asks me if Iwantto sleep with Jackson. I’ve thought about it far too much to even attempt to feign indifference.

Allison nods. “You’d think, after surviving all that they have together and now living this plain, mundane life, they’d cool it with all the tension, but no.” She drags the last word out.

After everything they’ve been through, it’s safe to say they enjoy theirplain, mundane life; and I can appreciate that—even though I’d never want it for myself. I was born human, yes, but now that I’m not, now that I have eternity, I can’t imagine my life without it. I want to see and experience too much of the world to do it within a certain number of years.

Aurora casts a sideways glance at her best friend. “You’re hilarious.” She gets off the couch and lifts Adam out of the playpen, smiling at him. He grins back at her, and the sight melts my heart. She walks out of the room, murmuring to him about getting his lunch ready, and the three of us follow her into the kitchen.

13

After spending the afternoon with Tristan, Aurora, and Adam, Allison and I head back into the city so I can drop her off at her apartment.

She waits until I shift the car into park outside her building before she looks over at me and says, “Maybe think about what Aurora said. About Jackson.”

My cheeks flush, and I shake my head at the reminder. “Yeah, no thanks.”

“Can I ask you something?”

I press my lips together, then sigh. “I guess.”

“Do youwantto sleep with him?”

There it is.The question I worried would come up.

“I mean, there has to besomethingbetween the two of you,” she says. “The way you get all bothered when you’re talking about him . . . you’ve at least considered it, right?”

Unfortunately, thatisright.

I groan loudly, and drop my head back against the headrest. “I hate this. How did it get so damn complicated so fast?”

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