Good-natured laughter tittered through the crowd, and I consciously stopped allowing the flowing trails of animus into my magical core. It hadn’t been a big feed, I mused as Len carefully began freeing me, one limb at a time. But it had been enough to keep me going through whatever came next... and, more important, it had been refreshingly free of drama.
I stretched cramped joints and muscles once I was free, and gratefully accepted a terrycloth bathrobe from the woman hosting the event. Len was answering questions from a couple of shibari wannabes when my phone dinged. He handed it to me without looking at the screen, and I gave him a wan smile as I took it.
After gathering up my clothes, I fended off a couple of reasonably polite propositions from other partygoers and escaped to the bathroom. Sitting on the toilet, I unlocked the phone and checked my texts. I’d been right—the picture Len had taken was pretty hot, if I did say so myself. A new text sat below the sent photo.
Even better than I’d imagined. Day officially brightened.
I smiled almost despite myself, and texted back.
Would have been much more fun with you here.
I hit ‘send’ and an answer came back shortly afterward.
Oh... agreed. The things I could do to you...
My belly tightened and swooped, a few simple words from the man I loved affecting me far more than the eyes of a bunch of strangers on my naked body. A second text followed hard on the heels of the first.
Soon, love. But in the meantime, I’ve had an idea re: the current situation.
I wondered briefly how worried I should be.
We’ll head back now, I texted, and received a thumbs-up emoji in response.
Once I was dressed, I went back to the main part of the house, where Len was still chatting with a few of the others. He glanced up as I approached, apparently reading something in my expression.
“Time to go?” he asked, and I nodded.
After making our farewells and thanking the hostess, we headed out. I had to shoot down a couple more guys as we made our way toward the door. I did so brusquely, but not cruelly, figuring that they probably knew Len was gay and assumed that I was therefore fair game for a hook-up.
Len eyed me as we reached the entryway. “So. Sex demon, huh? I guess I can kind of see it now.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Two generations removed, but yeah. And however surprised you’re feeling? Believe me, I was about a hundred times more surprised.”
I reached for the front door knob and twisted it open, only to reveal someone standing on the other side, hand raised in preparation to knock. It took a second to register the man’s flaming red hair and blue eyes. Well... it took me a second. Behind me, Len had immediately gone very, very still.
“Tristan?” I asked stupidly. “Um... hi.”
Tristan’s eyes settled on me, but they were blank of any recognition. Of course—he wouldn’t remember me, would he? Rans had mind-whammied him to forget all the alarming parts of the night we’d met at the club.
Wow. This was certainly... awkward.
Tristan’s gaze moved past me to settle on Len, who still appeared to be frozen in place. “Len? What are you doing here? With... a date? A female date?”
“Oh,” I said quickly. “We’re not—”
Len cut me off. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Your shift doesn’t end for another hour.”
I snapped my mouth shut and slid a step to the side, exercising the better part of valor and removing myself from the line of fire.
“I took off early tonight because my head’s not in a good place,” Tristan said, a hint of anger creeping into his tone. “And I came here because these parties help me relax sometimes. It’s been a rough few weeks, all right?”
Len flinched, his face going pale. Tristan looked down, his attention settling on the messenger bag hanging at Len’s side. The one containing coils of rope and rigging equipment.
“At least I came here alone,” Tristan said. “I’m just here to chill out for a couple of hours. Whereas you clearly came here to play.”
“It’s not like that, Tris,” Len said, still looking like someone had punched him in the gut.
“Are you fucking bisexual, Len?” Tristan asked, hurt creeping in around his anger. “Is that what you’ve been hiding from me all this time? A girlfriend on the side?”
“Tristan,” I tried again. “We’re not—”
He glared at me. “How do you even know my name? Did he tell you about me? About us?”
I raised my hands and took another step back, aware that I was only making things worse.
“Tris. You’re upset,” Len said. “I get it. But if you just let me explain...”
Tristan’s jaw worked, his blue eyes snapping as anger took center stage again. “No. You know what, Len? I’ve been putting up with your lies and evasions for long enough. I don’t know what the hell is going on with you lately, okay? I thought we were doing pretty well, all things considered. But just because I’m on psych meds doesn’t mean I have to settle for someone who treats me like I’m a goddamned idiot.”
Len took a step forward, his expression anguished. “Tris,” he said, lifting one hand as though he might take Tristan by the arm.
Tris stepped back, staying out of reach. “Don’t. We’re done. I’m done with worrying about what’s going on behind my back. Just... stop calling. Stop texting. Come get the rest of your shit from the loft—preferably sometime when I’m not there. And leave the keys when you’re done.”
Len’s hand fell and hung limp at his side. I swallowed hard against the knowledge that this was something else I’d managed to ruin—more people I cared about, hurt because they’d gotten caught up in my messy orbit.
“All right,” Len
