Page 87 of Soulmates

“You know I’m not going to be able to hide it soon,” he said, running a gloved hand through his hair.

“How bad has it gotten?” It had only been a little over a week since he’d shown me the blackness crawling up his arms, but Joriel said it had been spreading faster.

“It covers my legs entirely and is just starting to reach my groin.”

I winced. “You can’t feel it, right? It doesn’t hurt?”

Joriel shook his head. “No, it doesn’t hurt. If anything, my skin is a little cooler where the darkness covers it, but that’s it.”

“Show me your arms.”

“They look the same as last time you saw them, just with a little more ink now.”

“Take. Off. Your. Shirt.”

Joriel rolled his eyes, but he did as I asked. The blackness now covered his elbows with thin lines of black reaching for his biceps. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to come back from this trip.”

“What do you mean?” I demanded. There was still a lot of tan skin on his torso. He wasn’t out of time yet.

“At the speed it’s been spreading, I’m going to have a pitch-black forehead by the time we’re set to go home. I can’t go out in public like that.”

“So what exactly is your plan?”

Joriel shrugged like it was no big deal. “I’ll stay at my apartment above the club so you can keep an eye on me, but tell everyone that I didn’t come back with you. I can’t train with you and your hunters like this. It’s getting too risky even if it wouldn’t open up a whole host of questions.”

“Fine.” I yanked my phone out of my pocket and brought up Siren’s name. I’d been avoiding texting her, holding on to her number—which I’d gotten the night of the charity ball—while not giving her mine.

I stared at the screen for several seconds before giving in and opening a text thread.

Me:Siren.

Seconds turned to a minute without a response. She probably didn’t have her phone on her at the moment. There were a million better things she could be doing than waiting for her phone to go off.

I was about to shove my phone back in my pocket when it buzzed with an incoming message.

Siren:How long have you had my number?

Me:Since I got back to Boston.

Siren:I’m not even surprised. You would hold on to my number for over a month without bothering to give me yours. *eye roll emoji* How’s your trip going?

Me:Severely lacking in beautiful women.

Siren:How’s Joriel?

Me:Worse.

Siren:I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do.

Me:I miss you.

Siren:Me or my vagina?

My hand tightened around the phone as my blood started migrating south. Giving Siren my number was a mistake. She already had way too much power over me if simply texting the wordvaginawas enough to make me hard.

I stood and headed for the bathroom—away from my brother—before this could get awkward.

Me:You’re so brave when I’m hours away. Would you be asking that if I were standing right in front of you?

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