Chapter Ten

 

 

 

After spending the weekend with Erin, Jude was out of sorts when he returned to the coven. He’d wanted to stay at Erin’s, but it seemed intrusive to ask him if that was okay, and Erin didn’t offer. In retrospect, Jude thought he might have made a mistake by not asking. Then again, Erin was used to being single. He probably needed some space.

Or not. He might be scared, and being alone could exacerbate that. Or he might go out looking for a way to keep his mind off his health. Jude pressed a hand to his stomach since it felt like that part of him was trying to drop down to his ankles. He reminded himself that he didn’t own Erin, that they’d made no commitment to each other.

It’d be nothing short of what he deserved if Erin did go out and fuck other guys after the way Jude had nagged Jesse about a threesome.

“Well, don’t you look like a grumpy fucker.”

Jude bit back a groan as he looked up from the book he’d been trying—unsuccessfully—to read. “So you’re saying I resemble you?” he retorted to Augustin.

Augustin flipped him off and patted his own butt. “You wish you were this fine.” He sauntered over to the table and sat down by Jude. “So what’re you reading and glaring about? Are they one and the same?”

There was zero chance of Augustin going away if Jude ignored him, so Jude didn’t bother. “No, two separate things. The book is boring as hell, and my thoughts are annoying as hell. I should get up and do something.”

“Or someone,” Augustin suggested, waggling his eyebrows. “I heard a rumor you were banging Andy’s brother…all weekend long. That’s a record for him and you both. You hardly ever get laid.”

Jude tried not to get prickly over the comment about Erin, because it was only the truth. “Well, maybe I’m just that good in bed, and maybe he’s just that good in bed, and together, we’re goddamned amazing in bed.”

“So,” Augustin drawled, “why aren’t you in his bed now then?” He blinked in a bad pretense at innocence.

“Because.” Jude scowled at Augustin. “Is Claude gone or something?”

“Clod’s doing his mate, or vice versa, and quite noisily, I must say,” Augustin replied. “Tony’s counseling another vamp on a personal hygiene issue. So here I am, bugging you until you spill all your secrets to me.” He leaned close. “You might as well just give it up and tell me everything. No one can resist my annoying questions and insightful nagging.”

“What a winning combo,” Jude observed. He closed the book on indoor gardening. “How is it that no one has buried you out in the desert yet?”

“Don’t be a bitch,” Augustin replied without even a hint of annoyance. “That’s my job. That, and to have the hottest ass in the coven, which I do. Now tell Uncle Augustin what’s wrong.”

“You calling yourself Uncle Augustin for starters,” Jude retorted. “Although with that receding hairline—”

Augustin thumped Jude on the nose.

“Ow!” Jude’s eyes watered as he jerked back.

“You deserved that,” Augustin informed him. “And I may have a receding hairline, but you’ll wake up bald if you give me shit about that again.”

“I won’t, I promise. Besides, it’s not that bad.” Jude rubbed his nose. “I can’t believe you hit me.”

Augustin rolled his eyes. “I thumped you, stop being a crybaby. What’s bugging you? And if you say your nose, I’ll thump it again.”

Jude had been about to say that, so he was glad for the warning. He didn’t want to spill his guts to Augustin, but he did want to talk to someone, he realized. Claude would have been his best option… Except Claude had put a dinner together to help find Erin a mate, so maybe not.

“Fine,” Jude grumped. “So, I’ve had a thing for Erin for years, I was just waiting until he was ready to settle down, I guess. It seems like he enjoyed his time with me. We had some deep conversations, too. I think we have an agreement to be friends no matter what, and we are—” Jude fanned himself. “Holy shit, the sex is incredible.”

“Has he let you bite him?” Augustin asked.

“First time we had sex, yeah,” Jude said.

Augustin seemed surprised by that, his eyebrows shooting up high. “Really? Huh. He’s never been with any other vamps that I know of.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he has either, but we…we connected, you know?”

“And he let you bite him, so you connected very well,” Augustin surmised. “And I still don’t get why you’re not at his place.”

“Because he’s not used to having someone around all the time, and I don’t want to push myself on him,” Jude explained.

Augustin gave another eye roll. “Um, okay. I’m pretty sure Erin would tell you if he didn’t want you around, but I’m not sure he’d know how to ask you to be there for him, with him, since he’s never done that with anyone else.”

“Oh.” Jude swirled that around in his head for a minute. “So I should call him.”

“Or just show up at his door. It’s dark. You can leave, right after you tell me what else is going on with you,” Augustin said.

“Anything else isn’t my info to share.” Jude stood and picked the book up. “It isn’t, so don’t even try to get it out of me. I’ve told you all I can.”

“Fine, fine, go run off then. At least I have some juicy details.” Augustin stood as well. “Andy is all flustered over the dinner he and Clod put together. Seems they told the single male vamps that there was a cute human needing a mate. And now…” Augustin laughed, and it was a rather evil sound. “Well, now Andy is afraid that the dinner was planned all for naught, because Erin seems to like you.”

“We haven’t even come close to the point where we can discuss being mates,” Jude said. “Not even close.”

“Then I guess he needs to come to the dinner, doesn’t he?” Augustin smiled like the devil himself and walked off.

Jude looked at the book in his hand and wondered if he could bounce it off Augustin’s head.

“I feel your evil intent and suggest you stifle it,” Augustin said before he exited the room.

“That man is weird as fuck.” Jude put the book back on the shelf. He stretched and scratched his chin, then decided, Fuck it. Augustin was right. Jude needed to get his ass back over to Erin’s place.