Trent crossed the room to the bed and sat. His shoulders slumped, and he hung his head. I waited, the unease in my chest becoming stronger with each second of silence.
“Growing up, Colt always acted like the big brother,” Trent said, still not looking up. “Despite the trouble he liked to cause, he always watched out for me and Jax, made sure we had what we needed, that we made good choices.”
I remained frozen in place.
“Even after all these years, he’s the same old Colt.” Trent rubbed his hands over his face, then propped his elbows on his knees, body hunched forward. “Jax and I told him everything that’s happened, not just with you, but the curse and our lives as vampires. He’s worried you’re coming between me and Jax.”
My breath hitched, and I momentarily closed my eyes. “Do you agree with him?” I asked.
“No.” Finally, Trent looked up at me. His eyes were sharp and clear. “I think you were unfairly caught between me and Jax. You made a choice to save his life, but you had no way of knowing his true intentions.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop the impending tears and nodded.
“That’s all on Jax, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive him, but I don’t blame you, Chloe. I never have, and I never will,” he said.
Swallowing hard, I took a cautious step closer. I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into his arms, but something held me back, a gut instinct that there was more he needed to say.
“Colt thinks Jax and I are blinded by you, that we’re putting you ahead of each other. And for Colt, there has never been anything more important to him than me and Jax,” Trent said.
If that were true, why had Colt stayed away from them for so long? But I kept that thought to myself, not wanting to make this situation any worse.
I kneeled in front of Trent. He straightened, and I rested my hands on his legs. “I have never wanted to come between you and Jax.”
“I know,” Trent said. “But we can’t ignore what’s going on here. He still loves you, and that’s not something he can just get over. I tried to convince myself that wasn’t the case, that I was just being paranoid and jealous, but Colt sees it, too. So does Sean.”
Averting my gaze, I blinked, tears spilling silently down my face. “I don’t love Jax,” I mumbled.
Gently, Trent lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I know you don’t. But Colt doesn’t know you like I do. He doesn’t know what we’ve been through to get where we are, and he can’t fathom how much I love you, how I’d do absolutely anything for you.”
“He should understand. He claimed Karina,” I said.
Trent frowned, but he didn’t say anything about that. Instead, he said, “I’ve been very clear with Colton that there’s nothing he can say that will ever make me change my mind about you.”
“Has he tried?” I asked, my sadness morphing into anger. While I’d suspected Colt was trying to convince Trent to end things with me, to know I was right was a kick in the teeth with a steel-toed boot.
His response was a small nod.
Angry, I stood and hastily wiped tears from my face. “So, now I’m coming between you and Colt, too? Clearly, I’m the problem here. Maybe I should just go.”
“No,” Trent said firmly. He stood and took my face into his hands, his gaze soft and loving. “Colt might be very opinionated, but he’s also extremely compassionate. When I told him I was head over heels in love with you and that I wasn’t going to ever leave you, he backed off.” Trent moved his hands to rest on my shoulders. “He’s still worried something could happen with Jax, but Colt agreed to leave it alone.”
“Yeah, right.” I snorted. “Is all that stuff he said earlier his idea of backing off?”
“I’ll talk to him again.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t need to give him any more reason to hate me. I’ll figure something out.” Even if that meant I had to avoid him as much as possible. I’d done that with Jax, so I could do it with Colt, too.
“I have seen you go head to head with Jax more than once, and you always put him in his place.” Trent smirked, his eyes twinkling as if he were proud of me. “Do the same with Colt. Show him he can’t push you around.”
“Okay,” I said, exhaustion and defeat battling for dominance.
Trent dragged his hands up and cradled either side of my neck, his thumb rubbing across the bite mark. Heated desire whipped through me. I whimpered involuntarily and leaned closer. It wasn’t fair how all he had to do was touch the mark and I was ready to do whatever he demanded.
“I’m scared Colt’s going to eventually say something that will convince you to leave me,” I whispered.
“Never.” Trent’s tone was vehement, and he applied a little more pressure to the bite mark before tilting my head and placing his lips where his thumb had just been.
I gripped his arms and held on as he teased my neck with fiery kisses. My eyes fluttered closed, and I moaned softly. I missed everything about being with Trent, but I missed this the most, the passion he could never seem to contain whenever he touched me or kissed me. The borderline desperation that fueled him.
“It’s you and me, Chloe. Together. For eternity,” he promised a second before his mouth found mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and next thing I knew, he had me pinned against the door, his kiss greedy and dominant. “Trent,” I gasped. “We can’t. Abby’s waiting for me.”
He groaned and dropped his head to my shoulder, his breaths heavy. “Tell your aunt you’re staying with Whitney this weekend,” he said, lifting his head
