55. Jasmine

The truth was that the same thing had occurred to Jasmine, so she couldn"t blame Edgar for being suspicious, but it still hurt that he didn"t trust her.

If one of the gods had indeed bitten her and then made her forget it, it hadn"t been done to take advantage of her or do something inappropriate but to help her heal.

So yeah, there was an ick factor to the act that couldn"t be ignored because the bite was associated with sex, and all three gods were in loving, committed relationships. Still, maybe there was a workaround, some clause that allowed biting to aid someone in trouble or something like that.

Edgar"s angry expression faltered, doubt flickering over his features, but then his jaw tightened with stubborn resolve. "What am I supposed to think? When you left the day before, you had to be carried because you couldn"t put any weight on that foot. Humans don"t heal that fast without help." He handed her the headphones and started the rotor.

Fitting the headphones on, she leaned back in the seat and fastened her harness. "I don"t know how it happened. So don"t use that accusing tone with me."

Performing a final check of his instruments, Edgar didn"t answer, and she thought that maybe he hadn"t heard her. Maybe her mouthpiece hadn"t been turned on?

The wind outside howled as he grasped the controls and increased the throttle. The engine"s growl deepened as the rotor blades gained speed, blurring into a continuous circle overhead. Then, the helicopter began to lift off the ground, the force of the rotors battling against the push of the wind.

As the ground receded rapidly below them, Jasmine"s stomach lurched into her throat, especially when a gust of wind made the helicopter tilt precariously. She had a moment of panic that the chamber would slide out, but then Edgar managed to stabilize the craft, piercing through the curtain of wind.

Letting out a breath, Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest. "Your jealousy was kind of cute at first," she said, even though she wasn"t sure he could hear her. "But now it"s just ugly. I don"t appreciate the accusation in your tone. Besides, you have no right to feel possessive and jealous over me. We are not in love, and I didn"t make you any promises. We were just enjoying being together."

A flash of hurt passed over his face. "It seemed like more than that to me."

"Oh, really?" Jasmine huffed. "If you were so into me, you wouldn"t have waited for Amanda to mention me to Max and, when he declined the offer, to jump on the opportunity. Unlike Max, you"d met me before, and I thought we could have something, but you never came to visit me in the staff decks."

"I was not allowed. You know that. Not until Amanda gave me the green light."

Jasmine snorted. "If you were so into me and couldn"t stop thinking about me, you would have found a way. You would have badgered Kian or Amanda to allow you a visit or snuck in to see me without waiting for anyone"s permission."

Edgar stared at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. For a moment, it seemed like he might argue, try to defend himself, or plead his case. But the words died on his lips, and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

Except, that didn"t last long.

Like a dog with a bone, he didn"t seem capable of admitting she was right. "You say you didn"t promise me anything, but that"s not true. You implied that I would be your inducer, which is a big deal for us, and you know it. You only agree to be induced by someone with whom you feel a bond. But that was a lie. You were holding out for your prince all along, weren"t you? Keeping me around just in case he was dead or ugly or just looked too alien. And now that you know that he"s alive, you want to cast me aside."

There was more than a smidgen of truth to what he was saying because she"d had thoughts along those lines, but she hadn"t acted on them. Besides, that wasn"t the point of their argument. She wasn"t accusing him of infidelity or any other wrongdoing, while he was attacking her for no good reason.

Jasmine snorted, the sound loud and jarring in her ears. "Are you even listening to yourself?" she asked, her voice dripping with disdain. "Have you taken a look at the prince? He looks like a corpse, Edgar. A fucking corpse. Do you think I"m romantically interested in him?"

Her patience wearing thin, she threw her hands up in exasperation. "And let"s not forget how this whole thing started, with you accusing me of sleeping with one of the gods and letting him bite me. What"s next? Are you going to suggest that I had some orgy with all of them? That they passed me around like a party favor and took turns sinking their fangs into me? That would explain my rapid healing. Venom from three different gods would do that, right?"

"I didn"t mean it that way," he murmured weakly.

She shook her head. "I abhor jealous tantrums." Her voice rose with each word, her anger and frustration boiling over. "I am so sick and tired of that, Edgar. So fucking tired. Without trust, there is no future for us. Your lack of trust means that you don"t respect me, and I could never love a man who thinks so badly of me."

As the words hung heavy in the air between them, Edgar looked like he had been slapped, which, in a way, he had been.

She might have been too harsh, and there could have been a gentler way to say what she"d said, but she had spoken the truth. Even if Edgar"s lack of trust was just a personality flaw, and he would have been suspicious of any woman, regardless of who she was or the circumstances that caused his suspicion, Jasmine couldn"t think of it as anything less than profound disrespect.