Page 11 of Lucien

Jamie didn’t get it. If someone said they were going to stay with someone, they stayed. If not, they weren’t worth anything. Not them. Not their memories.

Worthless.

Plus, his mom had Eric now, and he was awesome. A good stepdad to Jamie, an amazing father—because hewasher father, as far as Jamie was concerned—to Izzy.

“I just want to sit with you for a while,” he said, settling back more firmly into the couch. It calmed the jittery nerves, having his family nearby.

She smiled tenderly at him in understanding. “My restless soul.”

That nickname had started right around the same time as Jamie’s visions of Dream Guy. His mom claimed he’d started acting like he had one foot out the door. Like he was itching to run off, to find something new and exciting out there in the wide world.

But Jamie hadn’t run off at all. He’d stayed in Tucson, through college and afterward. He’d known his monster was coming tohim, not the other way around.

See? Patient as all fuck.

And Jamie’s wait was finally coming to an end. He smiled at the thought, leaning his head against his mother’s shoulder. She petted his hair absently, her eyes already back on her show. “Maybe you can help your sister with her math homework in the morning? When Eric tries it, the two of them end up yelling at each other.”

“Sure, Mamá. Whatever you need.” He didn’t mind helping Izzy with her homework. It would help pass the time until he could see Dream Guy again.

Or maybe Jamie would even see him in a vision once he wound down enough to go to sleep.

He had a feeling that wouldn’t happen tonight though. Not when Dream Guy was here in Tucson, close enough to touch. Close enough to smell. (And oh, he’d smelled so scrumptious. An earthy sandalwood scent—so fucking masculine and enticing.) Close enough to taste.

And Jamie wanted another taste. Did he ever. He wanted his tongue back in that man’s mouth. All over his body. Licking all around his co—

Jamie shifted on the couch, trying to rein in his wayward thoughts. Maybe snuggled up with his mom wasn’t the best place to be thinking about his attraction to certain monstrous someones.

So he’d help out tomorrow. Keep his thoughts out of the gutter until he was in a position to put them to better use. Jamie sighed happily.

Yeah, everything was coming together just fine.

four

Lucien

Lucsippedhisneatwhiskey carefully. Not bad for a desert dive bar. He took a healthier swallow and perused the horrendous art decorating the darkly painted walls.

Was that a portrait of a horse in a tutu? Christ Almighty.

He easily ignored the looks being thrown his way by the other patrons. He’d chosen a dimly lit corner booth on purpose, but the stares still came in. He wasn’t surprised. Half of them were from people who wanted to fuck him—an immodest assessment but an accurate one, in his experience—and the other half were probably from people who thought he looked like a complete ass wearing sunglasses indoors after nightfall.

He definitelydidlook like an ass. But he also wasn’t taking them off anytime soon. After all, he didn’t want to scare off his desert flower before the young man even had a chance to sit down.

If his desert flower even showed up, that was. Luc was hoping very much that he would so he wouldn’t have to hunt the human down like a horrific creep. He was determined to make a better impression this time.

He could admit he hadn’t been at his best the night before. Some might even say he’d frozen completely after the stranger’s kiss. Unable to move, unable to speak, barely even able to hear the young man’s words over the roars of the monster in his own head.

Our mate. He’s our mate. We found him. We’ll take him. We’ll turn him. All ours.

Lord above, it had been deafening, that roar, starting from the moment the green-haired youth had approached close enough for Luc to breathe him in, and not ending until well after Luc had put multiple city blocks between them.

All day long it had been a struggle, the monster’s docility at the end of the previous night apparently only temporary. It had decided in the morning it wanted to find their flower immediately. Hunt him down. Stake their claim. It wanted to take him as theirs. And it had required every bit of restraint in Luc to fight that urge.

He deserved a gold fucking medal for that restraint.

He’d continued to resist the monster’s urging.We’ll scare him. He’s young and human. He’ll hate us. He needs to be assimilated. He needs to be…courted. And we could be wrong. We’ve been wrong before.

The monster had scoffed at that last part, with good reason.Ithad never mistaken Victoria for their mate. It had been…ambivalent, to say the least. It had liked the smell and taste of her well enough, but it had never clamored for her. Never trulycravedher. Luc had thought that would change once she turned, once she became a vampire and solidified the bond.

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