“Wow, I’m sure that makes both of us feel so much better.”
He shrugs. “Didn’t know making you feel better was my job.”
And just like that, I’m totally exasperated with him again. Also very confused. I mean, what was going on in his head earlier, when he burst in here and twirled me around the room like we were best friends or something? And what’s changed to bring him back to his oh-so-un-lovable self?
Not that I’m complaining. This Hudson I know how to handle. The other one completely freaked me out.
“Huh.” Hudson snorts from where he’s leaning a shoulder against the wall. “That’s what I get for being nice.”
“Yeah, you probably shouldn’t do that,” I agree. “It’s not a good look on you.”
“Please. Everything’s a good look on me and you know it.” He emphasizes the point by giving me what can only be described as a “male-model catwalk” look.
I burst out laughing—I can’t help it. And though Hudson pretends to be thoroughly disgusted with me, I’ve gotten to know him enough to recognize the gleam of humor deep in his eyes.
“I’m going to bed,” I tell him when I finally stop laughing.
“Is that an invitation?” he asks.
Suddenly my cheeks are burning and everything feels too hot. “To not be a total douche for the next six hours so I can sleep? Yes. For anything else? Not a chance in hell.” And with that parting shot, I pick up my laundry basket and head back to my room.
“Good. I didn’t want to break your heart anyway.” But he’s whistling as we make our way up the stairs, and it’s only after we get back to my room that I realize the tune is Flo Rida’s “Good Feeling.”
I don’t know why that makes me smile, but it does.
Which is probably why, when I slide into bed a few minutes later, I whisper, “Thank you, Hudson. I really appreciate all your help today.”
There’s a long silence, so long that I would think he’d fallen asleep if I couldn’t see his eyes. Eventually, though, he sighs and says, “Don’t thank me, Grace.”
“Why not?” I roll over so I can get a better look at his face as he leans up against the side of my bed.
“Because,” he tells me, indigo eyes burning hotly with a myriad of emotions I can’t begin to decipher, “if you do, I’m going to do something that you’ll regret.”
58
Always Look on
the Bite Side
“What do you get when you kiss a dragon?” I ask as soon as Jaxon answers his door. I reach up and idly twist the pendant he gave me in my hand. I’ve been wearing it nearly every day since I got back, but this is the first time it’s not buried under a ton of clothes.
He looks at me with sleepy eyes and says, “Nausea?”
“Close. Burned lips.” I hand him the tumbler full of blood I picked up for him at the cafeteria. “Here. Drink up.”
He takes it, a small grin playing around his lips. “Thank you.” Then he leans forward and takes my mouth in a short but powerful kiss. “I think I’ll skip the burned lips and kiss a gargoyle instead.”
“Good plan.” I put my own hot-chocolate-filled tumbler on the table next to his door, then wrap my arms around his neck as I pull him down for a longer, more satisfying kiss of my own.
Jaxon makes a sound deep in his throat as he moves closer. He kisses the corners of my mouth, then drags his tongue along the line of my lower lip before wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close. “What about Hudson?” he whispers, his breath hot against my ear.
“He’s still asleep. It’s why I decided to meet you up here instead of in the foyer.”
“I like the way you think,” Jaxon tells me, even as he turns us so that I’m sandwiched between him and the wall. Then he runs his lips along the edge of my jaw and down my neck until he gets to the hollow of my throat.
“And I like the way you do that,” I answer, tangling my fingers in the cool silk of his hair as I arch against him.
“Good.” He skims lower, nuzzling the collar of my shirt down a little so he can kiss along my collarbone. “Because I plan on doing it for a long time to come. Mate.”
“Jesus. Corny much?” Hudson butts in out of nowhere. He looks as sleepy-eyed as Jaxon, and half his