“All done,” she said, jumping to her feet.
His hand touched her arm, sliding up to cradle her face. “Are you sure there’s no chance for us?” he asked, searching her eyes. There was longing and sadness in his. “After this is over, maybe if we go away, take a vacation.”
“I’m not right for you, Jamie. What about destiny and those mate marks?” He didn’t have one, unless it was hidden underneath his tattoos. She’d seen every other part of him.
“It doesn’t happen to everyone. My mother wasn’t part of a clan, she was a buffer, so I’ve got mixed blood. I might never get a mate mark. I don’t care, anyway. I know what I want.”
“But you’re a warrior, you must have a mate out there somewhere. She deserves you.”
“I don’t want her,” he said, lowering his head. Before she could stop him, he touched his mouth to hers. His lips were warm, the taste of him comforting. He was everything a man should be. Decent, honorable, strong, and kind. And handsome to boot. Was she insane to pass him up? Another face came into focus, another body. She wouldn’t use Jamie as a substitute.
***
Cody put the sword back on the wall and headed upstairs. He owed Jamie an apology, even though he started the fight. Cody had been an ass from the minute he saw Shay hugging Jamie at his house. It still pissed him off, thinking about Jamie’s hands on her, but Jamie was trying to protect her now, and Cody respected that. He touched his neck. It was time to come clean with her. Tell her what he was holding back. How the hell would she take it? First, he’d take Jamie aside and explain to him, man to man. Cody reached the bathroom door, and the apology on his tongue fizzled and died. Shay was in Jamie’s arms, locked in a kiss.
“What the hell?” He didn’t even recognize his own voice, cold and rusted as steel.
The kissing couple broke apart. Shay turned, her face flushed. Jamie tensed. He still had one hand on Shay’s arm, and his jeans were unzipped. Bloody hell. Was he going to take her right here with the door open?
Cody didn’t think. All he saw was red. He stalked forward and took Shay by the arm. “I need to speak to you… alone,” he ground out, pulling her toward the door. Jamie started after them, but Shay held up her hand. “It’s okay. I’ll talk to you in a few minutes.”
The hell she would. Cody strode down the hall, opened his bedroom door, and pulled her inside. Slamming it shut, he faced her, his chest burning as if his heart were being ripped out, one chamber at a time. “You let him kiss you? After last night? Why?” His voice cracked. “How could you do this to me? Wasn’t it enough that you destroyed me once?”
“Destroyed—” Cody cut off her words with his mouth. He would get Jamie Waters off her lips and out of her head one way or another. He kissed her, his mouth desperate, biting and licking and tasting until her body softened under his. He lifted his head, regretting his actions, but she clutched his shoulders, pulling him back. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d kissed her. How was it that her lips felt so familiar, like he’d been kissing them all his life? An explosion sounded behind Shay’s head. Her teeth bumped his.
“Shay?” It was Jamie.
“I’ll be out in a second,” Shay called. She was breathless, her lips swollen.
“When we’re finished,” Cody added, his voice as ragged as Shay’s.
“I’m leaving,” Jamie said quietly.
Shay scooted past Cody and opened the door. “Jamie, wait.” She smoothed down her hair and ran after him.
Cody’s heart dropped. Was she choosing Jamie? Still? Over his dead body. He took off after them.
Jamie turned. “I’m outta here.”
“Good idea,” Cody said.
Jamie stepped closer, both men bristling like angry bulls. Shay inserted herself between them.
“Get back, Shay!” Cody roared, setting her aside.
“What’s all the yelling about?” Marcas asked, walking toward them. The others were behind him.
“They’re at it again,” Lach said. “I haven’t been back five minutes, and you two are fighting.”
“I say we give them back their swords, and the last one standing gets the woman,” Faelan said, scowling. Bree elbowed him in the ribs. “I’m jesting. I wouldn’t actually let them kill each other.”
“You’re a damned hypocrite,” Jamie said to Cody, eyeing Shay’s swollen lips. “If I’m reading things right, I’d say you overstepped your boundaries a long time ago.”
Frustration and anger rolled into a ball of fire inside Cody. “Hypocrite? I’m not a bloody hypocrite. I have a right to kiss her.”
Jamie balled up his fists. “Says who?”
“Says this,” Cody shouted, pointing at the tattoo on his neck. “It’s a mate mark. For her. She’s mine. She’s always been mine.”
Everyone froze, staring at him. Shay’s mouth worked, but nothing came out. Jamie looked as if he’d been kicked in the stomach. Strangely enough, Duncan didn’t look much better.
“Your mate?” Lach said. “Why didn’t you say something?”
What had he done? Cody started toward Shay, but she took two steps back, bumping the wall. Her cell phone rang. She moved stiff as a zombie, prying it from her pocket. She looked at caller ID. “It’s Renee,” she said, her voice numb. She pushed the button. “Renee, where are you? I’ve been worried—” the blood drained from Shay’s face.
Cody grabbed the phone and put it on speaker.
