"I know," she said. Resolution crossed her features. "Let's go find my brother."

Jonny had the urge to touch her again but crushed it. They'd need distance to prevent this from becoming something more than he wanted. "You get one warning this time," he said firmly. "Any sign of a seizure and you stand down. If you disobey me, you don't go out again."

The no-way-in-hell look she gave him made him smile to himself. "Sure," she said.

"You know I can see in the dark, don't you?"

"Fuck you, Jonny!" she snapped.

"Happy to, Ash."

The troubled expression returned before she spun away. Jonny crossed to the door and strode into the hallway, too satisfied with his down time with Ashley. The sense this was going to end in disaster made the pit of his stomach feel heavy. He'd had companionship most nights since he became the Black God, but he'd never had something like this. He'd never connected to anyone else the way he did with Ashley, probably because she knew what he was and chose to be with him. There was no need to alter her mind, no need to hide from her.

She knew. Even if she still resented him, she still understood. And this was something he hadn't thought would affect him. He didn't have to be alone anymore, if he chose it. If he chose her.

Conflicted and wary of the emotions starting to spill through the dam around his feelings, Jonny led her out of the dorms and into the night. The vamps were gathering in their assigned teams beyond the next building, and Jonny's step slowed as he approached the edge of his private time with Ashley. He was torn between saying farewell, just in case the worst-case scenario happened, and not acknowledging her again to maintain the distance he felt was needed.

She stopped when he did, and he faced her. Her features glowed from sex, her lips roughened by kisses and her expression more open than he'd seen it. Rather than ease the tension between them, the day together had only made it more charged, more compelling, and he actively fought the need to be closer.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You didn't change your mind. If you did, Jonny, I swear -" Her features flushed with anger.

"No," he said, amused. He racked his brain for the right thing to say. "Take care of Charles. Make sure he returns."

"I will." She studied him. "Can I tell him you said that? Because I'd really love to rub it in when he's not holding a Taser."

Jonny laughed, startled by her vehemence and then by the sound escaping his lips. How long had it been since he laughed? How completely inappropriate was it for the Black God to find humor anywhere? He'd forgotten how funny she was and it struck him he hadn't laughed this freely in years.




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