Blazing hot lips trailed down her throat and along her collarbone, pulling her from sleep. A heated caress over her mound made her gasp with hunger. His hips flexed, pushing his straining length against her thigh. Her breath quickened as lips closed over her silk-covered nipple.
“Oh, oh please,” Jackie moaned as his fingers slipped under her panties and delved into her heat. Hair draped over her arm as he tugged down her nightgown with his teeth, then kissed across her chest to suck a nipple into his mouth.
Realization slapped her in the face. She was in Eddie’s bed.
Her eyes flipped open. He lay over her, grinding, working her body closer to release. “Eddie, wake up, please. Eddie!” she cried.
A deep, rumbling purr rolled through him as she came undone. Her fingers delved into his hair as her back arched. The determination to fight almost left as his lips covered hers, his tongue demanding her attention.
Her heart broke at knowing he wasn’t awake. This wasn’t about giving into a passion that had been growing forever.
No. He was dreaming about Kim.
He moved over her, his hard length slipping through her slick folds. His hand caressed her side, sliding her nightgown up. Tears burned her face as she pushed at him, half-heartedly. He was stronger, but more so because she wanted him worse than she wanted to stop his unintended seduction.
Eddie pushed into her and with a rush of guilt, she realized she couldn’t let him fuck her. Not when he would never choose her as a bed partner. Gripping two handfuls of hair, she yanked his head and screamed, “Wake up, Eddie!”
His eyes fluttered open. Full lips curled into a smile as he leaned down to kiss her.
“Stop, please stop,” she whimpered, pushing at him again, because if he didn’t stop, she would let him fuck her, screwing up their friendship in the process.
He blinked slowly, then scrambled off her so fast she lay there for a moment, trying to catch her breath.
“Jackie, oh fuck, Jackie, I'm sorry,” he pleaded from the other side of the bed, his erection standing proud over his pants.
She needed to escape before she pulled him back to her, encouraged him to finish what he’d started. Offering a lame smile, she climbed off the bed and backed toward the door. “Hey, let’s forget it happened. You were having one hell of a wet dream.” She yanked her nightgown into place and blinked back tears. “You’re half-crazed with grief. I’m going to take a shower.”
The devastation on his face proved she’d made the right choice, though it had crushed her.
* * * *
What the fuck did I do?
He stared at the door for a long moment before looking down at his rock-hard dick.
“Ah shit.” He pulled his pants up and looked at the mussed bed. Her taste lingered on his lips, her smell on his skin.
She must hate me. The look on her face, the way she trembled in fear. Shit.
His eyes closed, he sank onto the bed, tears flowing freely as his shoulders shook. He thought about telling her the truth. That she’d starred in that dream—every dream.
But that would be a dumb fucking move. He should be grieving, not trying to claim Jackie.
Eddie groaned when he dropped his head into his hands and smelled her desire on his fingers. His heart twisted further.
What the fuck did that mean?
He got her off, and she stopped him.
Standing up, he paced the room. Shit, maybe she was dreaming of Stefano until she woke up. Fuck!
So many things he wanted to say to her, and none of them seemed right. His alarm blared and he slammed his hand down to shut the noise off.
Two hours until he would meet Zhi for breakfast and help plan Kim’s funeral. Instead, all he wanted to do was repair the damage he’d caused with his morning assault. Not that anything could do that.
He heard Jackie call his name and craved her so fucking bad he couldn’t think of anything but sinking inside her. Until he registered the tears in her eyes and reality hit him like a lightning bolt.
Frustrated, he hit the wall, then did it again, not feeling a damned bit better as he spun and slid down the fractured surface, dropping his head into his hands.
The door cracked open and Jackie leaned in. “Eddie, I… shit, don’t do this to yourself. Please.”
He met her gaze and shook his head. “How do I fix us?”
She crossed the room and sat beside him, leaning against his shoulder, staring into his eyes. “Don’t have to fix anything. You’re hurting enough. You weren’t even awake.”
Her aquamarine eyes held him captive.
Eddie wanted to kiss the worry from her face. She was right, though. He should be torn up over Kim. But as much as losing Kim hurt, it was nothing compared to the fact he may have destroyed their friendship. Jackie was the one person he couldn’t live without.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just… fuck. I’m such a bastard.”
“Shh.” She laced her fingers through his. “It’s only wrong because you thought you were with someone else.” She blinked back tears. “I have to do a few things this morning, but I’ll be here tonight. We’re fine. We’ll talk then.”
He couldn’t process those words fast enough. While he sat there stunned, she leaned over to kiss his cheek before leaving the room.
Eddie stared at the door, trying to sort out what she’d really meant. His phone buzzed, reminding him work would start in an hour, but there was no way he could manage today. First time in four years he had called in. He couldn’t imagine they would say no.
Eddie pulled up Toryn’s number and hit talk.
The phone had barely rung when he answered. “Hey, heard about Kim. Dude, take the day off. Take a week off. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, man. Hey, I need to ask a huge favor. Can one of you maybe keep an eye on Jackie? I fucked up and doubt she wants to see me right now, but I have to know she’s safe.”
“What did you do?”
He let out a sad laugh. “Took things too far in my sleep. Scared the shit out of her. She left instead of talking about what happened. Jackie says she’s fine, but fuck, I doubt she is.”
Toryn was silent too long. Before Eddie could further explain, he finally answered, “Uh… I think you two will work things out. But one of us will keep an eye on her today. Don’t stress.”
That gave him a flutter of hope. Toryn didn’t often offer insight into the future, but he was never wrong when he did. “Thanks. If something happens and you need me, call. I doubt I can handle more than a day or two off.”
“We’ll be fine. You take care of yourself right now.”
“I’m getting ready to meet Kim’s father. We’re planning the funeral in a few days. I’ll want to be off for that.”
“Of course. Seriously, take all the time you need.”
“I will. Later, Toryn.”
Eddie checked the clock before heading to the bathroom. He’d better take a shower, and wash Jackie’s scent off, before meeting Mr. Xhangxi.
* * *
Jackie walked to the park in silence. The last place she should be after Kim’s death, but she couldn’t redirect her feet. Seeing Eddie so broken up didn’t help. He blamed himself, but the morning wasn’t his fault. She knew it had everything to do with the powers she wanted to ignore.
Brent was right. She needed to talk to him about her mother, and what was going on with her. Fear held her back. She wanted to hide awhile longer, avoid the bitter truth.
Jackie plopped down beneath a tree. Wrapping her arms around herself, she attempted to figure out what to do.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Mike asked as he sat down beside her. He often brought his dog, Sasha, to the park. They’d been friends since high school, and later went to art school together. Until some months before, he’d hidden the fact he was a druid. When he finally told her the story, she understood why.
Sasha put her head in Jackie’s lap. She rubbed behind the dog’s soft ears.
Sighing, she turned to face Mike. “My whole world is falling apart.” Quite possibly a massive understatement. “I think I have to talk to Brent before I really wreck things with Eddie.”
“What do you mean? You two…” Mike looked away with a strained laugh. “The two of you will figure it out. I can’t imagine one without the other.”
Blushing, she looked away. No way did he mean what she hoped.
“You heard about Kim?” she asked.
“Yeah. Investigating the cause of death. Seems we have a vampire problem.”
Jackie cringed. “I met a vampire last night. Should I be worried?”
Mike nudged her. “Who?”
“Stefano. Didn’t ask for a last name. Brent says he’s Tiana’s nephew.”
“He’s not one of our suspects. His record confirms the relation to Tiana, but I’ll look deeper to make sure you’re safe.”
She smiled over. “Thanks. Who are you guys looking into?”
“Two Shadowstalkers who came to town a couple weeks ago. We knew they were vampires, but not the subspecies, until Others started showing up drained. We did some digging into their travels in Europe. I wish we’d caught the problem sooner.” Unclipping the dog’s leash, he threw a green tennis ball and Sasha charged off. “They’re the psycho mass murderers of the bloodsuckers. They get high on Other blood. Can do some scary shit, so don’t go out alone at night. Have Eddie pick you up or something. I’m sure he’s worried sick.”
A groan slipped out. “He always is. Especially after this morning.”
“This morning?” His brow arched.
She sighed. “Don’t ask. I have to talk to Brent. I’m working up the courage.”
“What about?”
“My other half.”
“Which means?”
She shrugged. “You know I’m part mage?”
He nodded.
“Well, I’m also part fae. Siren to be exact. I went through an awakening I guess.”
A smirk lifted one corner of his mouth as he looked away. “I heard.”
Jackie groaned. “Someone probably should have told me what that was about beforehand.”
“Nah. You had to get through it. Otherwise, you would have put off the discussion. Trust me, I know all about that.”
She smiled. “I remember you turning into a tiger at Scotty and Jayde’s party. Got to say, I’m impressed.”
He nodded. “Thanks to Gwen, who got through to me, I finally accepted my true nature.”
“Why did you hide for so long?”
“My mother had convinced me no one should ever learn about my magic. Our father was a truly evil man. A blood druid. Similar to a dark mage, though he drew power from blood, instead of essence. I didn’t believe her until Amanda freaked out one night.”
“When a mugger attacked you guys and you shifted, even though your magic was supposed to be locked down?”
He nodded. “Amanda feared all magic, thanks to her brother. Well, her leaving convinced me I was a monster. It took Gwen to pull me out of that darkness.”
“I’m glad she did.”
“Eddie will accept you, regardless of your parentage. I do. Hell, Eddie works with fae. They’ll show you what you need to know. No one will be afraid of your magic.”
“Except myself. My magic, at least that portion of it, is sexual in nature.”
“What happened this morning?” Mike asked.
“I should talk to Brent before I try to understand.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” he offered.
Her brow arched. “What’s that?”
“You talk to Brent, figure this out, and get ahold of me if you’d appreciate an extra set of ears. Meanwhile, I’ll call you when I learn something more. Stop stalling. If you’d like, Sasha and I will walk you to the café.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got to do this on my own.”
“A word of advice. Accept your nature, embrace it. You’ll be happier.” He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight. “Trust me.”
“Got to happen sometime.” She stood up and grabbed her bag, giving Sasha a final pat. “Thank you, Mike.”