Changes (Belle Morte Book 4)

Chapter Six

Jason

He needed his friends.

Yeah, he'd thought before that he didn't want to intrude on their time with Edmond and Ludovic, but there was literally no one else he could talk to right now. And if he didn't get a chance to talk to someone, if he didn't share what had just happened, then it would feel like it hadn't happened at all.

So he found himself knocking on Renie and Edmond's door, before he had time to think better of it.

Edmond answered, and Jason assumed that he hadn't interrupted sexyfuntime, otherwise Edmond's dark hair wouldn't have been so perfectly groomed. Unless grooming was something he and Renie counted as foreplay.

As a man who loved hair and styling it, Jason could understand that.

The thought of running his hands through Gideon's honey-gold hair, taming and teasing it, made Jason shiver.

"Jason," Edmond said, lifting one dark eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

Suddenly Jason felt like an idiot. Even if Renie and Edmond hadn't been in bed, this was their time together, and he'd interrupted it for what – to tell her that Gideon had been in his room? That, for a fleeting moment, he'd thought that Gideon wanted to kiss him?

He hadn't kissed him, so why was Jason really here? What had really happened to make his blood fizz in his veins? Why was he so desperate to see his girls?

"Jason?" said Edmond again, and Jason realised he'd been standing there like a moron, just staring at the vampire.

Renie came to the door, leaning one hip against it.

"Hey, you okay?" she said.

"Er . . . yeah . . . I just . . ." He trailed off, heat creeping up his neck.

Real love stood right in front of him, and he was getting all excited about his crush?

Renie and Edmond exchanged a look.

"I'll just . . ." Jason made a vague gesture down the corridor.

Renie moved away from the door and took Jason's arm. "You look like you could use a drink."

"God, yes." Jason shot an apologetic look back at Edmond. "Sorry if I've interrupted . . . anything."

Edmond made an elegant gesture with his hand. "It's nothing we can't pick up later."

Renie blew him a kiss.

She was barefoot, Jason noticed, and he felt a strange pang of envy. In many ways, both Renie and Roux were still adjusting to their new lives here, but in other ways they were completely at home in the vampire mansion. They'd both been through a lot, but they both had men who would die for them, who would help them through every struggle and dark day.

Jason wanted that with someone.

To some extent he had it – with his friends and family, but . . .

He wanted someone he could go to sleep with every night and wake up with every morning.

He wanted someone he could give his heart to, someone who would treasure it.

He wanted someone who would see all of him and love him.

Renie fetched Roux without Jason even asking her to, and that pang of envy turned into a flush of love. How well she knew him.

They made their way to the bar, all of them in silent agreement, but it wasn't until they got there that Jason remembered the girls couldn't drink anymore. Not unless he wanted to serve up a blood cocktail of some sort. Which he didn't.