Page 90 of Taken By the Fae

His words make my stomach roil. What are the odds of me getting past him and out of Jules’s apartment? Probably really fucking slim. Still, I flick a glance past him to the hallway beyond the open door, but I can’t see anything helpful.

“What are you doing here?”

“Jules asked me to see if you’d like dinner now.”

“How long did you know he was going to do this to me?” I snarl, tasting the venom in my words. “Do you know what he did to my little brother?”

“Listen, Aurora—”

“No,” I snap, squeezing my hands into fists at my sides as I inch toward him. “Does Allison know what’s going on?”

Evan shakes his head. “You won’t believe me, but I care about her. While things may not have started that way, I—”

“You knew I knew Jules, but that I didn’t know who hereallywas.”

He nods.

That’s when I snap. I launch forward and slam my fist into his face. He stumbles back, and I follow, swinging at his face again and again, almost surprised that I’m getting some decent hits in. Either he’s letting me, or he isn’t as coordinated and fast as most fae. Blood sprays from his nose and drips from a cut on his lip, but watching them heal as fae magic works through him makes my rage burn hotter. I hit him harder, faster, over and over until someone grabs me around the waist and pulls me away.

“Aurora.” Jules’s voice doesn’t help the part of me that wants to murder Evan with my bare hands.

“I’ll kill you,” I hiss at Evan, trying to break free of Jules’s hold. “I swear, I will end you.”

Jules pulls me back and turns me to face him, grasping my chin with his free hand.

I try to break his grip. “Get the fuck away from me.”

“Stop fighting me,” he orders.

I swallow hard and stop struggling. It’s not doing any good, anyway. “You sick son of a bitch,” I growl. “He deserved that.” My heart pounds from the adrenaline rush, making my hands shake as they grip the front of Jules’s shirt. My knuckles are bloody and already bruising.

Jules holds his hand over them until the cuts seal and the bruises fade. He sighs heavily. “Let’s have dinner. I did cook, after all.”

I blink at him, my lips turning down as I struggle to grasp his motive for healing me. I open my mouth to question him, then snap it shut when Evan grumbles, getting up from the floor, and walks out of the room without a word.

* * *

Jules and I sit across from each other in his small, modern dining room. He brings out two plates with chicken breast, broccoli, and roasted potatoes. He pours me a glass of white wine and one for himself before he looks at me. “Eat,” he instructs.

I narrow my eyes at him but pick up my fork and knife. I slice into the chicken, watching the serrated metal cut into the meat. How fast could I—?

“I wouldn’t,” Jules says in a casual tone, lifting a piece of chicken to his mouth. My eyes snap to his, and he smirks. “Your rigid posture and permanent scowl are fairly telling, Aurora.”

Glaring at him, I drop the utensils and cross my arms. “You can’t blame me for thinking about it.”

He tilts his head, chewing and swallowing, before he says, “I don’t. However, I know how it would end if you attempted it, and I’d rather not see that come to fruition.”

“How kind of you.”

“There’s no reason for you to get hurt. It wasn’t your fault you became a part of this world. Once we deal with Tristan, you can go back to your life, and you’ll be happy. I’m giving you an out that benefits me as well.”

“You’re forcing me to take it,” I correct in a sharp tone.

He sets his fork down and takes a sip of his wine. “It’s for your own good. You’ll see that eventually.”

“You don’t need me for what you’re planning. You overestimate Tristan’s feelings for me.” I know how Tristan feels, though, enough to know Jules’s plan to use me against him could work. The thought makes my chest ache. For all those weeks I dreaded seeing Tristan, he’s the only person I want right now.

Jules laughs. “I’ve seen the way he is with you. That’s never happened before in the nearly thirty years I’ve known him. Humans don’t do it for him, but you do.”

---