Page 26 of Johann

“What? Why would you go?” Danny’s brow furrowed, and he looked around the table, seeming to search his dinner companions’ faces for answers.

“I was rude,” Jay admitted, biting his lips hard enough to sting. “I should leave. Rude people shouldn’t be around company.”

“Fucking Veronique,” Soren muttered, taking a gulp of his wine.

“It’s not— She just—” Jay knew how Soren felt about his old companion. That she had a cruelty to her, that she hadn’t treated Jay as well as she should have. All of which may have been true, but also…she’d taken care of him. She’d kept Jay at her side for centuries, his only consistent company for so long. “Don’t start on her, please,” he begged.

Soren’s pale eyes—harsh and cold in his old anger toward Vee—softened at Jay’s plea, and he let out a long sigh. “Okay, Jaybird. Just stay, please. You’re allowed to be rude sometimes. Christ, I’m rude ninety-nine percent of the time.”

Some of that tight pressure in Jay’s chest released at Soren’s words, and he found himself letting out a weak giggle, pulling his chair back into the table and straightening his fork. “I just don’t like when you talkaroundme instead oftome. Even when you do it with your eyes.”

“Who, us?” Soren gave Jay his most innocent look, which wasn’t very innocent at all.

Danny waved his napkin at Soren in admonishment, turning to Jay with his big brown eyes all sympathetic and apologetic. “I’m sorry, sweetie. It’s just…we worry a little.”

Gabe cleared his throat. “Like, should you really be dating a human? Isn’t that dangerous, if they’re not even your ma— Ow!” Gabe glared accusingly at Soren. “What are you doing?”

Soren lifted his head from where he’d been peering beneath the tablecloth, arching a golden brow at his mate. “Just looking to see how you could possibly manage to fit such big feet into your mouth at every opportunity.”

Gabe smirked at him. “You know what they say, baby brat. Big feet, big—”

“Please, for the love of God, don’t finish that sentence,” Danny begged.

Gabe only laughed, his anger apparently instantly forgotten, and stole a kiss from Soren, who pretended to be annoyed but whose fingers, Jay noticed, twined around Gabe’s, holding hands even as he fussed.

Then all the attention in the room was once again on Jay.

Danny cleared his throat. “Sweetie, we just worry. You know, if you don’t, um, have a lot of experience, and you get worked up…”

Jay nodded, immediately understanding the direction of Danny’s concern. “Don’t worry,” he reassured his friends. “He already knows I’m a vampire. He saw me feeding on Colin.”

Soren gave a sharp bark of laughter. “Yourmanager? Please tell me you were able to compel him to forget.”

Jay cocked his head. “But I never compel people. That’s why I’ve been feeding on Colin.”

“Beenfeeding on Colin?” Danny asked. “Colin…knows? About us?”

“Just about me,” Jay reassured him. “I wouldn’t tell him about you all.” He bit at his lip, considering. “But I kind of slipped with Alexei in that regard.” Technically he’d only told the human about Roman, but Jay had a feeling it wouldn’t be his only slipup. He’d rather just have it all out in the open now and not worry about it later.

Roman, silent up to this point, sighed heavily, folding his napkin carefully on the table, then looked to Soren. “We’ll need you to do some cleanup. At the very least compel the manager.”

Soren was nodding along in agreement.

“No.” Jay didn’t snap this time, but he did make sure his voice carried. “No compelling. Colin and I have an agreement.”

Soren looked at Jay like his words from earlier were finally sinking in. “Younevercompel humans? But— How have you been feeding all this time, Jaybird?”

Jay fidgeted with his fork. “Vee always got me my blood, before. And after she died, I had a…friend. I don’t judge you all for it, but I don’t like doing it. It’s a lie.”

“You think I’m a liar?” Soren’s voice held a dangerous note Jay knew all too well—one he didn’t use very often with Jay—but for once, Jay refused to back down.

He held Soren’s gaze. “I think you don’t mind using deception in order to get what you need. That’s fine. I just don’t work that way.”

“Fucking Veronique,” Soren muttered for the second time.

Jay resisted the urge to raise his voice. “You can’t blame her for everything.”

“Can you honestly tell me it has nothing to do with her?”

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