Isabella understood. Ella loved Marcus, but his actions hurt. She could hear it in the strain of her voice. “Okay, the cemetery, but not unless we have security with us.”
Nate gave a gusty cry and she heard Ella talking to him. “I have it all arranged. Just come over.”
“On my way.”
Isabella replaced her phone in her back pocket and tapped down the main stairs as the front door clicked open and in walked Jake. She reached the bottom step as he stared up at her.
“Well, you look much better.” He stepped forward and tugged on a strand of her hair.
“Ow, that hurt.”
“Serves you right. Your vampire did that thing again right in front of me. It really doesn’t do anything for me, but some women like being swept off their feet. I debated about following, but I didn’t want to intrude.”
She frowned at his admission, but he pressed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her escape.
“He isn’t my vampire, Jake. I told you before.” The words trundled out, even though her heart raced as she thought about Roman looking after her last night. She shook her head to dispel the memories, and studied Jake. “He’s broken off our engagement. I don’t know why, but it’s over. I’m free—yay.”
The words sounded hollow and empty. She should be happy, but even Jake stood in shock.
“Wow. I expected more—much more. He’s a vampire. I expected him to want to fight me and drink my blood.” He smiled but she didn’t.
“Not the right sex for that, and he already fed.”
At that, he removed his hand and stepped back. “I see.”
Isabella didn’t need to tell him that and wondered why she did because she could see the cogs turning inside Jake’s brain. He wondered whether she had slept with the vampire.
“It’s finished with Roman, not that we were ever an item in the romantic sense…” Isabella stared away, lying.
“It’s okay—you don’t have to explain. I think you need to think about what’s going on inside your head, and I’m not going anywhere. Well, actually I am. I’m going with Drayton to the Veil. What I mean is, there’s time for us to figure out what’s going on, when I get back, but for now, this will have to do.” Reaching out, he cupped her chin and pressed his lips over hers.
She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his back, feeling his muscles press in her chest. She gave the kiss her all, sinking all her emotions into letting go, and opened her mouth as he slipped his tongue inside. But Roman’s face appeared. The way his smoldering eyes locked tight with hers, unyielding, as if he would eat her alive as he brought her to the edge and tipped her over, giving her that mind-blowing orgasm. Shock rippled through her, and she untangled her arms from Jake, shoving him away to gasp for air.
“I’m sorry, Sparkles. What a jerk. You were sick last night. Are you all right?”
She stared at him, on the border of hysteria, and wished everything would be all right. But it wasn’t. Nodding, she stared at the forlorn man, grabbed hold of his jacket lapels and kissed him hard and fast. After a minute, she pulled back. “Don’t do anything stupid, Jake. Stay close to Marcus and Roman.”
He nodded. “You make sure you look after yourself, too, Sparkles, because I want a proper kiss when I get back.”
She gave a small smile. “I’m invincible, Jake, don’t you know that?”
With that, she walked out the front door and charged across the lawn toward Ella’s house. The kiss wasn’t bad, but she couldn’t blot out the memory of Roman.
****
Isabella stood next to Ella as she pushed her stroller over the gravel path winding its way through the misty cemetery. Nate was still asleep after the short car ride, and she gazed at the sleeping bundle wrapped up tight in a warm blanket. Dear God, she must be getting soft. She didn’t do babies.
“You can hold him when he wakes if you like, Isabella.” Ella stared at her with those tell-me-everything eyes.
“I seem to remember the last time you gave me Nate, you cornered me into a confession.”
“Well, I have to say—it proved easier than I thought. Holding Nate does have that effect. He is what makes me get up every day. He’s what this fight is all about. He makes you realize what’s important in life.”
“Wow, how profound—and you haven’t even sipped your coffee.”
“I brought some chocolate cake in the baby bag to share. What do you think?”
Isabella surveyed the quiet, ghostly cemetery. Hardly the place to chat on a sunny day, surrounded by graves of the dead, but this morning, with the thin layer of snow on the ground and mist rising, she didn’t want to prolong their visit. “Let’s pay our respects to Josephine and eat the cake back at yours, by the fire. What’s with the cake? You don’t normally have a sweet tooth.”
She peered at Ella closer and caught the soul-shifter pressing her lips tight. Reading her friend was easier than Marcus and she caught her last thought before she shut them down. “Shit,” she said. “You’re pregnant.”
Ella stopped and grabbed her hand. “Don’t tell anyone—please.” She wiped away a tear.
Isabella wrapped her arm around her shoulder and hugged her. “By anyone, you mean Drayton?”
A black bird cawed from the trees behind her and she glanced in the direction of the noise. Several feet behind them walked their protection for this morning’s trip. Redirecting her focus on Ella, her friend nodded and she continued. “It’s not my place to say anything.
