“I wasn’t pretending to be your friend. I am your friend.” His tone was biting. “And I already told you why I was there. Asking repeatedly isn’t going to change my answer, no matter how much you dislike it.”
I crossed my arms. “Newsflash, Jaxon. Friends don’t lie to each other like that.”
“Hmm.” He tilted his head, studying me. “You’re red.”
“What?”
“Your aura. It’s pulsing red.”
Was he for real? I was not going to stand here while he checked out my aura. Shaking my head, I took a step toward the glass doors.
“Don’t go.” Jax grabbed my hand.
I froze.
His hand was warm and soft, and the feel of his touch sent a shudder through my body—not of revulsion but of something I refused to acknowledge. He’d touched me like this before, but I hadn’t reacted like this. Was my reaction different now because I knew him?
I glanced down to where our hands met, and my heart rate skyrocketed. This was wrong. Yet, I couldn’t physically remove my hand from his.
Jax adjusted his hold and laced his fingers with mine. I needed to stop this. Now. I flexed my fingers, determined to break whatever weird spell he had me in, but I ended up tightening my hold on his hand.
His lips twitched with an impending smile. “Well, that’s interesting.”
“What?” My voice cracked, and I barely managed to force the word out of my mouth.
“You’re still red, but now it’s steadier and slightly hazy.” He tilted his head again, eyes narrowed. But that almost smile was still firmly in place.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
His smile fully formed, and a single eyebrow lifted. “Lust.”
I jerked my hand from his and huffed. “I don’t think so.” I stormed inside, fuming.
Lust. For Jax? Yeah, right. He certainly knew how to mess with me, though. I had to give him credit for that. It was going to be a long summer trapped in this cabin with him if this was his idea of fun.
Jax entered the cabin, his laughter light and easy. I glared at him from where I’d flopped down on the couch.
“I don’t know why you’re getting mad at me. They’re your emotions.” He sat on the opposite end of the couch. Thank God.
I wasn’t sure I could handle having him any closer. “So, what? You can just know my emotions based on the color of my aura?”
“Pretty much.” He kicked his feet up on the coffee table.
“Awesome,” I said drily.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you’re secretly lusting after me.” A devilish glint lit his expression. He was enjoying this way too much.
I rolled my eyes and reached for the remote. Turning on the TV, I aimlessly flipped through the channels, not really paying attention to what was on any of them. I was too distracted.
Not only did I have to worry about Sean learning the secret I kept, I now also had to worry about my emotions flashing like a neon sign for Jax. This situation couldn’t possibly get any worse.
I desperately needed something to distract me, and there wasn’t going to be a more opportune time than now to ask some of the questions that had been on my mind.
“Why did you want to be a vampire so bad?” I asked and tossed the remote onto the couch between us.
“Why not?” He shrugged. “Heightened senses. Immortality. Good looks.” He grinned. “I’m superior in every way.”
“Yeah, but… isn’t drinking blood gross?”
Jax laughed. “Not for us, no. Trent did tell you that we only drink animal blood, right?”
I nodded. “So, you never had any doubts about turning?”
“None,” he said with a note of certainty I’d never heard from anyone before. “What’s with all the questions? You know you can never be changed. Not by us. And Trent would lose his mind if you ever allowed another vampire to change you.”
“Yeah, I know.” I stared at my hands in my lap. “I guess I’m just finally starting to realize that what you said to me is true. There’s no way for me and Trent to ever truly be together.”
“Chloe.” He sighed. “I only said that because I was trying to protect my brother from the same heartache I had to endure. If you really want to be with him, I’m sure you’ll find a way. You’ll have to if you’re his soulmate. And my brother’s stubborn enough to devote himself to you until you die, and then he’ll be insufferable for the rest of eternity.”
“Maybe.” I picked at my cuticles. “But you eventually healed from losing Hannah, right? There’s hope Trent would heal from losing me, too.”
“I haven’t healed. I’ve simply learned how to live with the constant heartache. There’s a difference.” His tone was clipped.
My shoulders drooped. “You’re seriously saying if another woman came along that you liked, you wouldn’t be able to love her? That you wouldn’t want to?”
Trent had told me vampires loved a lot during their existence, so I knew it was possible for Jax to love someone other than Hannah. Maybe he really didn’t want to.
He hesitated, his gaze landing on me and lingering much too long. “Would I want to? Of course. Could I? Maybe.”
“But…?”
“What do you want me to say?” He stood and paced, his frustration evident with every step. “You want to know the truth?” He stopped and gripped the back of the couch.
I twisted around so I could face him.
“I loved Hannah. A lot. But she wasn’t my soulmate, and I hate myself for that, because that means I destroyed her for no reason. If I had just left her alone.” He shook his head.
My jaw dropped. The reason he was so committed to her, even in death, wasn’t because he loved her, but because he felt guilty for what had happened to her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push,” I said.
“You are Trent’s soulmate, though, so it’s completely
