Page 67 of New Nebraska Heat
“I understand. I’ll try, for you.” He growled the last two words, sending flutters through my stomach.
“Thank you, Dagger. I understand your job doesn’t allow for kind words all the time. Just be respectful and polite to the other guys here, and then, well, we’ll see…”
“We’ll see what?” He toyed with a strand of my hair.
Tense glances hung on my face, waiting for an answer.
“We’ll just see.” I beckoned for him to stoop. Lips brushing his ear, I whispered, “Be nice, so I can be nice to you…”
“Fuck,” he grunted, his voice low. “I’ll be so nice…”
I looked down to see Dagger’s dick had started straining against his dark boxers. I was reminded again that he and Hunter were twins ineveryway under their clothes, and I caught my tongue tracing along my upper lip. I composed myself and left one temptationbehind for another as I made my way to Bryce, who had moved over to perch on a stool at the kitchen counter while calling Gerald to cancel the useless blood bag order.
He slid off the barstool when I got close, “And then there’s the man who took a chance on me and who keeps spoiling me in every way.”
I opened up my arms and he practically fell into them. We held each other tight, his crisply pressed shirt soft against my chest and arms. I soaked in his citrus scent then pulled back slightly to peel off his soft calfskin gloves.
Someone behind us sucked in a breath when I placed Bryce’s hands on my cheeks. It must’ve been Seb. He murmured, “Incredible.”
“Guys,” I said around a small grin, “I don’t have the answers, but I know that something between me and Bryce makes me the only known person in New Nebraska who can touch him.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and sank into his embrace.
“And I love that touch. I love so much about you…” he murmured into my hair as he held me close.
I squeezed him back, then pulled away to face the other guys. “And I love his touch too. And I sort of made an internal pact that I’d quit depriving myself of things I want out of fear. That I’d quit letting what happened at that feeding den control me.” I took a deep breath. “Like all of you, Bryce has become very important to me. So, I don’t know what to do, because honestly, I want all of you to be a part of my life… romantically.” My cheeks and forehead surged with heat. “But I don’t know if I can… you know, with four different guys.”
“The steps you take with anyone here or when you take them is entirely your decision,” Bryce said, “and I’ll respect it, no matter what you decide.”
God, he was such an amazing man.
He kissed my cheek and his warm lips surged spicy tingles across my skin. “I’d like to say that, obviously, Serenity’s incrediblyimportant to me too, as I’ve never known anything but pain from human touch, all my life, and destruction from my powers. But now, thanks to the most spectacular woman I’ve ever met, I’m getting to know another side to life and to my abilities, like they can help people too.”
“I owe you and your new ability with that blue anti-fire my life,” Dagger said somberly.
“I’m glad I was able to do it. But the blue anti-fire was certainly a newly acquired ability. Also”—his focus moved to Hunter—“the other night, you shifted for the first time in forever. And not only that, but your jaguar seemed to be considerably larger, yes?”
Hunter nodded. “I felt way bigger. Not only that though, my speed, my stamina when I was swimming, my general capabilities felt… enhanced. I guess, now that I’m thinking about, I’ve felt a bit stronger in human form, too. Why? What are you saying?”
Bryce stepped away but kept holding my hand. Gazing into my eyes, he said, “We’ve both had intimacy—albeit non-sexual in the traditional sense, to be clear—with Serenity. And now you’re the buffest jaguar that ever existed, and I… well, I have new, powerful magic churning within me that’s spawned from nowhere. Coincidence?”
Dagger grumbled as he eased himself onto a couch, comforted by Carrot’s purrs and nudges. “Buffest jaguar. What a crock.” He looked at me with a worried glance. “Just joking though, of course.”
I winked at him, wanted to reassure him but also focused on where Bryce was going with this.
Bryce carried on. “Seb has a telepathic connection with her, even though he’s only a half-vampire.” He raised a brow at Dagger. “Have you noticed anything different since you met Serenity?”
Dagger ran his hand down Carrot’s head and body in long strokes, softly pulling upward on her tail as he mulled the question. “Well, now that you mention it, I do… get a lot more boners when she’s around. Does that count?”
None of the guys laughed. But I had an internal giggle. I struggled to keep my face stony.
“Sorry about that.” Dagger cleared his throat. “Seriously though, now that you mention it, my jaguar tat’s been feeling different.”
“What’s the punchline now?” Hunter asked through gritted teeth as he drummed the couch arm.
Dagger looked at me but addressed his twin, voice sincere. “No punchline. It’s like electrical pulses up and down this arm. It doesn’t hurt or anything. Feels like I could knock out a hippo, to be honest. The ink feels funny, like sprayed-on titanium or something.” He shrugged. “It’s hard to describe. It feels like a bulletproof vest wrapped around my arm. Except it ain’t heavy.”
“Then Serenity may not only be drawing us to her, but something more could well be at work,” Seb said sheepishly, over the top of his Bloodweiser.
“No shit, Sherl—” Dagger noted the disapproving slant of my mouth and changed his tune. “That seems to be the case, kid. The question is, what do we do about all this?”
