Chapter 7

The Breath of Danger

"I've already told you, it's new. Just chill out, Mom."

"Darling, you've been wanting to go so solo for a while now, and this is a little exciting for me. I'm just worried this is a big step that is coming too soon in your young career. This lead sounds very high profile."

"It is, but I'm ready to take it. Besides, Uncle Grayson and Aunt Angelica will be there."

"I know. Tell Grayson I'll kick his ass if anything happens to you."

I laugh a little at her overzealousness.

"Really, I'll be fine."

"I was really upset you didn't tell me about Hedin being the one who steered you and your team into that fight that went wrong the first time."

I stare at my nails, growing tired of this same old song and dance. Everyone has been saying the same thing.

"You already knew."

"I know, but I wanted you to tell me. I'm your mother, Aralia. Your safety is all that matters to me. If you had told me, I could have called the commander and-"

" And that's exactly why I didn't tell you. I'm fine, and in the end, it all turned out okay, thanks to you. You still got to be my hero, just in a different way. How's Uncle Brazen?"

"I'm fine," he murmurs too close to the phone, and I gag inwardly at what they must have been doing when I called.

"Okay, well… I need to get going. I'll, um... talk to you later," I rattle out awkwardly, and I hear both of them giggling as I hang up the phone.

"Now that is gross," Rex pops off while walking over to me in the small waiting area of the hotel lounge.

"Really? You showed up too?" I sigh out.

"I had to see my baby sister go solo."

If he hadn't been peeking in on my future with what bit of his gift he can use, I wouldn't be standing here right now. Of course, he's never going to let me grow up either.

I roll my eyes as he comes over to hug me, and then I slap his chest.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Spying on me," I say with a scolding scowl.

He laughs a little and then I hug him so tightly that I almost crack his back. My tears threaten to fall as he kisses the top of my head.

"What's that for?" he asks more seriously.

"Spying on me."

He lets a small laugh free, and then he starts leading me out to meet the rest of our party. I start to follow him into a hummer when I feel cool hands around my waist pulling me back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jase whispers, and I almost giggle like a fool.

"With you?" I ask rather than state.

"Exactly," he says while ushering me over to his car. "I'm glad to see you didn't replace the clothes."

His brow dances menacingly while staring at my eye-popping ensemble. The white leather shorts come up very high as the red leather shirt crisscrosses to show my stomach all the way down. The high, red boots add even more sex appeal, making me groan inwardly.

"Well, you detained me all afternoon, and the damn stores were closed when I tried to go a few minutes ago. I ended up calling my mother instead of shopping."

He laughs and shrugs innocently as he cranks the car, and we pull out to take the lead.

"You know it's hard as hell to track in the night without full blood vision," I murmur softly, aggravated that we chose a nighttime departure. I really, really want to just stay in with him instead of going out on detail.

Not to mention, I'll have to use the night vision I'm not supposed to have in order to track this late. It's a pain in the ass to keep so many of my secrets .

He stifles a grin, and then he leans over to me.

"Let me know if there's anything you want to see. I'll let you use any part of my body you need."

I roll my eyes while secretly flushing. Damn he's so much hotter now that we've fucked. I want to straddle him here and now and say fuck the mission.

He smirks more deviously as he sees my lip between my teeth, and he pulls me closer so his lips can be on mine for a brief moment before he pulls back, maintaining control of the vehicle without so much as letting it swerve.

"When we get back, I want to take you out to dinner. Then I want us to go somewhere just to get away for a few days," he says with a boyish grin too adorable not to be infectious.

I grin, of course, and then I lean into him.

"Well, with the war going on, that's going to be a little hard to do."

"Not really. Don't get mad, but I checked your vacation hours, and you've got more than plenty built up. I've got so many built up that it's sort of depressing. We can take a weekend, and the United will be just fine without us."

"A weekend, huh? That sounds doable," I murmur as wildly erotic fantasies tangle in my mind.

I can't help but think of his lips on me in places that only seemed like a dream yesterday, and suddenly the car swerves as if he just lost track of the road. I squeal as we run over all kinds of shit before he jerks it back onto the path.

"Damn it. When did you learn to drive?" I tease.

His cool cheeks look flushed, and he shakes his head as if he's ridding his mind from something.

"Damn deer in the road," he mumbles under his breath.

My phone rings, and I reach into my pocket to slide it out and answer.

"What happened?" Uncle Grayson barks. "You're not pulling one of your mother's stunts are you?"

I laugh a little as Jase slumps down.

"No, Jase almost hit a deer. These woods are pretty full of wildlife."

I hear a sigh of relief coming from my uncle, and then Jase takes the phone from me.

"We're about to go dark stalk. Make sure all drivers are full bloods."

"They are. I prepared for this," Uncle Grayson says to my full blood who seems to be acting more in charge than him.

It's hot as hell too.

I see a smirk spreading over his face as he hands me back my phone. I turn it off before sliding it back into my pocket.

"Something amusing you, Aria?"

"You're just really sexy when you act all authoritative. I swear it sounds like my uncle is taking orders from you, and believe me, that's unusual."

He grins a little bigger while pulling my hand to his lips, and then he shuts off the lights while driving the same, hellacious speed in the stealthy, almost silent car.

His eyes nearly glow as his night vision kicks in, and my glow-free ones start working as well to scour the landscape for anything that could put us on the right trail.

"These woods are crawling with ambush-worthy hiding places. Let me know if you hear anything, since your hearing is better than mine," he whispers.

"I will."

I keep my eyes burning against the ground, hoping to find something. It would really look bad if I finally got a shot at proving myself, only to fall flat when it counted.

"Stop," I whisper.

"Here? We're nowhere close to the lead my sister's team found."

"Stop," I repeat, and he halts the convoy following us as I climb out of the vehicle to investigate the unusual tracks.

I bend down to examine the tread patterns, but someone has covered them up. They just barely missed a ridge on the right that holds the secret of their trip turning and heading a different direction than what we where intending on going.

"These tracks were covered up. They barely missed this spot. They've got a sweeper on the back of their vehicle. It's a sophisticated one too."

"Then how did they miss these?" Angelica asks while squatting down with her flashlight.

"Because that stone lifted the sweeper enough to leave these behind when they turned. They're heading to Northshore. These are the guys who broke through our boundaries six months ago. This same sweeper was used. I can smell the rubber on it, and it's a rare blend," I murmur while sniffing the mud.

"Damn it. This is a bigger lead than I thought. Call ahead. Tell Northshore we're heading their way, and we'll need access to their security feed," Uncle Grayson says to a shorter man standing beside him.

"Good job, sweetie," Aunt Angelica says while patting my back, and I smile triumphantly while turning around to see the smug face of my full blood.

"What?" I muse while walking back to him.

"That was by far the hottest thing I've ever seen. I'm definitely going to come in the field with you more often," he says while pulling me to his body, and his lips stroke mine lightly before opening my door for me.

"If you think that was hot, you should see what I can do in the daylight," I seduce, and he tugs at his collar as if it's too tight.

"Something tells me I'm going to have one hell of a time with you," he whispers while walking around to the other side, and my lips find his the moment he cranks the car.

"Starting right now," I murmur with all the intentions of making his jaw drop.

He smiles behind the kiss as he gasses the car to pull ahead of the night vision pros behind us, and I slide over to be straddling him as my hips grind against his. He starts peeling my shorts off, but it's impossible to do with me in his lap, so I shift over to pull them free just as I smell a gust of uranium.

"Stop!" I scream.

He reacts quickly by slamming on the brakes, violently bringing us to a halt, and slinging my body through the windshield.

The glass shatters and bounces off my body as I twirl through the air, and I get sick when I see the disturbed ground I'm about to land on... full throttle.

Please work for once. Please work.

Using my gift, I veer my path, and I land on the other side of the landmines while sliding through the mud with my undone shorts. I taste the grit in my mouth, and I smell the wet soil tangled in my hair, smeared against my face, and cloaking my body. I wipe away mounds of it as I quickly do my shorts back together.

"Aria!" Jase yells in a panic.

"I'm okay. I'm disgusting, but I'm okay."

The foul scent of the stagnant puddles that are mingling with the mud are drenching me in a pungent aroma. Jase runs too close, and I squeal while holding up my hands.

"Stop.Don't move!"

He freezes, as does everyone else running up. I slowly climb up, and I carefully navigate myself through the maze of puffed up spots.

"There are uranium landmines all over the place. They worried we would catch on, and they set a trap," I murmur while crossing the path without falter.

Jase jerks me to his body the second I'm safely back on the other side.

"Damn it, that was close. How the hell did you know?" A guy murmurs through strained, rattled breaths. "Those would have taken us all out if you hadn't seen them. Just one of them would have set off a chain reaction."

I nod, agreeing with the corporal speaking.

"I smelled it. Any time there's that much uranium in the air, a bomb is close. We need to find a different route and have the experts defuse them when it's light out here."

"It'll be hard as hell to get there in time if we take different route. I can just get rid of them all at once," Uncle Grayson says.

"Ah crap. We're going to need to step back," Aunt Angelica huffs.

Jase and the others start moving their cars, and my aunt steps up behind her husband.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm going to keep the explosion away from everyone, including Grayson. The closer we are to each other, the better control we have. Just stay back."

I nod before I blur across the long distance, and Jase opens his arms for me to step into.

"I'm covered in mud," I huff out while refraining from getting him any dirtier than I already have.

"I'm a big fan of mud," he sweetly remarks while pulling me to his body.

I smile against his chest, and then I turn to watch my aunt and uncle show the world how truly gifted they are as he incinerates the mines, leaving their blasts much more subdued, but one escapes his grasp. My aunt quickly shifts the explosion, and she pins it down to keep him and all of us safe as they work together like the power couple they are.

"That's pretty amazing," Jase murmurs against my head as he kisses my muddy hair.

"They are amazing."

"I meant their connection," he says softly as he pulls me to him.

"My mom says it's powerful, but then again, she says the same thing about what she feels for Brazen. I suppose it's just love in general."

He kisses me again, and his hand slides down my back as we watch the fireworks still in action.

"Ever been in love?" he asks, worry etching his tone.

"No, you?" I muse, my breath catching in my throat.

"Not yet," he says while smiling into my hair.

Not yet?

Does that mean he's falling for me? Do I want him to fall for me?

Yes I do, because I'm falling for him.

Northshore's wind is much stronger than most places. I cringe as I see the blood spilling free from the man's mouth after my uncle slams him into the wall for the hundredth time.

"That's all of them," he growls while injecting the bloody man with a sedative.

"Good. We'll start interrogations as soon as we can get someone out here. I should have prepared for this," Jase says while inspecting the heap of unconscious men.

" You should have?" I chuckle out. "You mean Unc should have."

He and my uncle exchange a look, and then Jase shrugs.

"I'm usually the one in charge of assembling groups. That's all I meant," he says casually, and my uncle walks over to start calling someone.

"Any chance you'd come out of retirement long enough to grill some men for me?" he asks the person on the other line.

"Really?" my mother asks in a puffed tone, and I smirk as I see Uncle Grayson working his magic on her.

She has always had a soft spot for him. I swear she secretly adopted him and never told anyone.

"Please, Araya. It would really help us out right now. No one is half as good as you are, and your daughter kicked ass by finding these guys. I think it'd be cool if the whole family worked together for one night."

Oh he's good.

Rex smirks while joining me and Jase, and then he wraps his arm around my shoulders while whispering, "She's coming."

I giggle lightly, and then I almost hear my mother roll her eyes.

"I heard that, Rex," she playfully scolds.

"I knew you would, Mom," he adds.

"I'll be there in thirty minutes. Northshore isn't far from where we're staying. Tell the commander not to get any ideas though. This is a one time deal."

"I'm sure he understands the special circumstances," Unc says while looking toward Jase.

I see that secretive smirk emerge, and then Jase's lips find my forehead as he pulls me into his arms.

"You really were amazing. You saved all our lives, and you found what we were looking for. I'm impressed."

"Well, you should be," I smugly retort, and he chuckles lightly while kissing me sweeter.

"I need a shower though. As much as I love a good mud bath, I'd like to be clean before my mother gets here and starts asking a bunch of questions. Let's leave out the part where I went flying out the windshield."

He winces lightly when that memory floods back, and his grip on me tightens as he kisses my head again.

"How did you go flying out the window?" my aunt asks while walking up and leaning over the car, propping her elbows up on the hood.

"Oh… I … um… well… there was…." I was trying to get fucked.

Jase starts laughing ridiculously hard at my stammering attempt, and then my aunt rolls her eyes while walking away.

"And you claim to be nothing like your mother," she playfully snarks with her back turned, tossing her hand up in the air.

Crap.Touché.

"Come on. I'll get us a room," Jase laughs out while tugging on my hand.

"We'll stand guard of the men, Sir," a guy says to Uncle Grayson.

"I'll stay. I'm not risking losing sight of them. Just go watch for Araya Mordel."

"How will we know it's her?" a newbie asks, and I stifle my grin as Uncle Grayson shakes his head in exasperation.

"You can't miss her, trust me," another man says with drool forming on the corners of his mouth.

"Arayans. They're everywhere," I giggle out.

"Personally, I'm an Aralian ," Jase playfully adds.

I force a smile as he holds the door open for me, and he walks up to the counter as his back turns on my dreadful sight.

I hope so. It's going to hurt like hell if you're playing me for a fool.

I see his head tilt to the side, and then he returns to me with the room keys in tow. He looks a little worried or anxious as he jerks me by the waist and plants a ridiculously incredible kiss on my lips in front of the whole lounge area that is packed with people.

Oh damn. I'm definitely falling hard.

My hands wrap around his neck as he lifts me into the air, and I feel his body climbing the stairs as he keeps me firmly pressed to him, his lips still devouring mine. A door presses against my back as an accepting beep sounds out, and then it opens as he continues carrying me. He starts to pull my shirt off, and I smile behind the salacious lip tug of war.

"I need a shower first. I don't want dried, gross mud all over the clean sheets," I chuckle out.

He smiles against my lips, and I feel the acoustics of the bathroom making a melody formed by our torrid breaths. His lips find my neck as he pulls me into the shower, and my leather cracks under the dried mud as it washes away.

He strips it from my body as though the tight leather hasn't shrunk against the unforgiving grasp of the mud, and it slaps the floor with a wet, heavy thud as he drops the shorts over the top. He pulls my shirt up very slowly, and his eyes fall on my breasts as he finally rids me of the slinky ensemble.

"You're so fucking beautiful," he almost whispers as he stares at me like a priceless painting hanging inside a palace for only royalty to dwell.

So are you.

He smiles as his lips find mine again, and I grin goofily as my arms wrap around his wet shirt. I pull back to see the fabric clinging to him as the water pushes it to show his defined body that is begging to be freed.

I smirk as I slowly undo the buttons, and my lips trail over his chest and stomach... all the way down, until I reach the top of his pants.

His breath hitches as he feels my hands working slowly, undoing his pants. He tosses his wet shirt out of our shower just as I free the part of his body that is proving its desire in firm form. I slide the jeans and boxers down in unison, and he lets me pull them free and discard them from our steamy haven.

As I rise back up, I stop and my mouth closes over his erection for the first time. His exhaled breath comes out shakily as my rhythm hastens, and one hand tangles in my hair while his other grips the side of the shower to help give him stability.

"Shit," he breathes out while reveling in my skill, and I stifle the grin that would force my lips away.

I keep my perfect rhythm, and he grips my hair tighter as his hips start moving to meet my mouth's thrusts. I moan when I feel his desire for me, his panted breaths worshipping me, and then I feel his warmth filling my mouth.

I smile as I swallow his sex and candy, and then I slowly stand, kissing his stomach and chest on my way up.

"Damn it, that was fucking incredible," he gushes as his mouth closes over mine, and then I feel the tile cracking as he slams me against the side of the shower.

Hell yes.

I feel his smile behind the kiss as my legs wrap around him, and he holds me up while kissing me harder, his need for me growing. I'm throbbing painfully, and my teeth graze his shoulder as I consider giving myself to him in a way no one else has ever had me.

"Please do it," he murmurs against my neck, and then he surges into me with an ungodly force that almost forces my barely unsheathed blood bringers to break the surface.

I cry out as I relish his incredible touch, and then he thrusts in even harder - as if he's trying to make me break the surface. I want to so damn badly, but I'm so scared of surrendering myself completely.

"Trust me. Do it, baby," he murmurs against my neck, and then he slams in once more to send my head back as his punishing rhythm becomes divine.

I grip him tighter, and I force myself to stop thinking of taking his blood in my mouth, though it's damn near impossible to do. It's even harder to deny when he's essentially begging me to. He even called me baby . No one has ever made me feel like this, and I'm almost terrified of how quickly I'm completely his to own.

His breaths grow harsher against my face as his pace only quickens, and I cling to him more as the water cascades over us and slides between our bodies to intensify the fucking incredible sex.

His tongue is forceful as he pushes his surreal chill into my mouth, making me moan as my heated breath clashes in the most unfathomably delicious way. He's too sexy to be full blood. Only hybrids are supposed to be this phenomenal.

He grips me at my ass, and then I feel my body starting to tremble against his. His teeth graze my neck all the way down to my shoulder, and I'm wishing he could just break my flesh and take my blood.

He could, but he doesn't know that. Hybrid blood is supposed to be poison to full bloods, but mine isn't. Like my mother, my blood is complex but perfectly safe. I almost want to tell him so he can do what I'm too afraid to.

His teeth bite harder against my shoulder, and I feel the sharp sting of his blood bringers coming dangerously close to piercing my flesh. I want him to do it so badly, but I can't tell him what I am.

"Fuck," he growls while letting his blood bringers slide back in their sheathes, but his breaths, his touch, his everything all at once becomes my undoing as I cry out my release for the world to hear.

His warmth follows my shakes, and he grips me tighter to his body as I fold around him. We both stand there; two lovers in one shower. The water rinses us free of the night's mud bath and shower indiscretions as his lips own mine.

"I should probably wash my hair," I sigh out through the kiss, but he holds me closer when I try to move.

"I just want to stay like this for a while," he murmurs against my lips while letting his hands caress my back.

I smile like a fool as I clutch him tighter, and then he huffs as he pulls back.

"Damn war," he grunts, and I let a laugh escape.

"I know. Shit happens though."

He stifles a grin as I soap up my hair, and then I feel his lips trailing over my collarbone on their way back up my neck. I smirk when he reaches my lips and makes shampooing my hair an incredibly difficult task. Then I feel his hands massaging the suds out under the water as his deft fingers work over mine.

It feels so incredible to share anything with him, and I don't know if I've ever had anyone make me feel so perfectly, insanely giddy.

"Aria, can I ask you something a little personal?" he almost whispers while kissing the side of my neck.

"You can ask me anything you want as long as you're doing that," I playfully seduce while rinsing my hair.

He smiles, but it's banished quickly as his serious breaths take over his seduced ones.

"Have you… I mean… You're hybrid," he huffs, and I let out a laugh.

"Okay, yes, I am hybrid, but that wasn't a question," I tease.

He sounds so nervous in so many ways, and I'm a little confused. He's had me in such intimate ways. How can he be nervous about asking me anything right now?

"Have you ever blood fucked anyone?" he finally blurts out, and my eyes open under the water as it trails over them and blurs the face of the man looking as though he needs a brown paper bag to breathe into.

I sigh out, and then I go back to rinsing my hair as if his question didn't rattle me as much as it has.

"No.Never."

"Can I ask why?" he asks while letting his cool hands slide over my waist.

"I've never been that intimate with someone before. It's not like regular sex. It requires more trust, more depth, more... everything really."

But I want to with you so, so badly.

He's the only person I've ever even thought about doing it with, and that's just crazy. I barely know him at all.

"So, you wouldn't ever… I mean… I don't know what I mean," he stammers out while turning around to hide his flustered nerves.

"Maybe one day, if you stick around for a while," I say to answer the question I can only assume he was trying to ask, and I feel his lips back against mine.

I smile against the kiss, and my hands tangle in his hair as he grips me almost too tightly.

"I'll be around for a long damn time, Aria. I'm not going anywhere."

Mmm.Good.

"Don't let my mother interrogate you, and I mean that literally."

I'm blocking the door I know my mother is hiding behind, praying this doesn't turn out to be a disaster. He stifles a laugh, and then he shrugs.

"She'll learn to love me," he says too cockily, and I accidentally show him the grin I was trying to suppress.

It'd be hard not to learn to love you.

His eyes soften, and his lips find mine in front of the room holding my mother and my very intimidating stepfather. He always has a damn grenade dangling from his belt like a badge of honor... or a badge of what's to come later rather.

Jase starts laughing, and I pull back from our broken kiss to show my confusion.

"What?"

"You taste nervous, baby," he murmurs while kissing my forehead.

He called me baby again. That's it. I'm officially mush.

He smiles bigger, and then he tugs on my hand as we walk into the room. The long, dark hair hangs past my mother's bra line just barely as her eyes study the man on the other side of the glass. Uncle Brazen's arm is snaked around her waist as she leans into him. It's as though they can't keep their hands off each other, but then again, I sort of know that feeling these days.

I feel the cool, soft lips pushing against my forehead, and my stepdad turns around just in time to see it.

"What the hell?" he grumbles in surprise.

I stifle a laugh, and Jase smirks. Suddenly Uncle Brazen's eyes widen as he stares at Jase a little closer, and he shakes his head with a grin.

"Boy, are you in trouble," he chuckles out.

In trouble? What does that mean?

Jase's eyes widen, and the two men seem to share a silent conversation as my stepdad turns back around and nudges my tuned out mother.

She slowly turns her head just enough to see me, and she lunges over to wrap me up in a hug.

"Oh, I'm going to kick your ass if you don't start telling me the whole story," she scolds.

"Whole story?" I muse.

She draws back, and her eyes narrow at me.

"The landmines? I heard you were launched toward them, but you used your gift to land at a safe distance."

Whew. I was worried she was talking about my fucked up power I used once to stop the hearts of hundreds of men.

"Oh. Sorry. Minor detail," I say while shrugging, but she has lost interest in stories about work and life and... stuff, as she stares at my hand being held by the incredibly sexy full blood on my left.

"When did you two start-"

"It's been recent," I interrupt.

Jase extends his hand, and he smirks at her gaping mouth.

"I'm Jase Ericson. It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Mordel."

Her eyes carry her secretive gaze as she stares from me to him. I'm sure she's plotting a list of interrogation tactics.

"Nice to see you as well, Jase. That's a rather odd name. Short for something?" she says with a hint of suspicion.

Here we go.

He smiles a little bigger, and then he points to the man behind the glass.

"I believe you have bigger fish to fry, Mrs. Mordel."

She lets a small smile free, and then she rolls her eyes as if she knows my full blood a little better than I realize.

Crap. He better not really be an Arayan.

"Indeed I do. I'll be right back. I need to change into something a little different."

Seduction. Damn it. I hate seduction interrogations. And crap, he'll never think I'm sexy again once he sees her at work in that damn box. It was fun while it lasted.

I let a small huff free, and Jase kisses my forehead while walking over to the corner to set up the recording equipment.

"Your father would flip the fuck out," Uncle Brazen chuckles in a whisper, and I cover my smile with my hand.

"It's just a fun thing right now. Don't overanalyze it, Uncle Brazen. We barely know each other," I whisper back.

Even though I still want to spend every damn second with him.

My eyes fall on the full blood masterpiece, and I swear he's grinning as he slides in a new chip and checks the static in the line to the earpiece my mother will be wearing.

"He always told me he'd keep the full bloods away," my stepdad rattles out a little smugly.

Oh good grief.

"That should have it all set up," Jase chirps with his daring smile seducing me as he resumes my side.

"Good," Mom says as she returns, her eyes smiling at our hands holding tightly to one another. "I'm about to go in."

Her skimpy shirt barely covers her breasts as it slides down with just one strip going down the center of her stomach and connecting to what I can only assume is her underwear beneath her tight, tight, tight leather pants.

"Wow," Uncle Brazen gushes, his eyes popping out of his head, and she smirks as his lips find hers.

"I have to go to work, Brazen," she murmurs against his lips, and I have to look away before I throw up in my mouth.

Jase snickers under his breath while letting my face find his chest, and then his arms wrap around me as his lips stroll over my head.

"Don't take long," Uncle Brazen grumbles.

I suppose a seven hundred year vow of celibacy has left him a little excited to finally have her again, but I wish they'd keep that crap out from in front of my eyes.

Jase lets out a laugh, and I look up to view his incredible, pale eyes.

"What?"

He shrugs, and then Mom walks out to join the man in the room.

And here's the part where I lose the guy to the woman all men drool over. Thanks, Mom.

She struts like a confident, sexy lioness on the prowl for her prey. Her eyes fall on the man just barely before she stares at her blood red nails, feigning disinterest.

"So, Calvin, is it?" she asks while flipping through his file with casual nonchalance.

"I've got nothing to say to United scum," he says in a thick, almost undecipherable accent, and then he spits to the floor - as if he's disgusted to share the air with her.

His eyes tell a different tale though. He can't stop looking at her perfectly contoured body. Her exposed skin is driving him crazy, and you can see it in the way he squirms when she deliberately sways her hips to the music playing very dully in the room.

"Sorry," she says, not acknowledging his vicious comment. "I love this song."

Her hips begin swaying more, and his heartbeat quickens to the point it can be heard. Uncle Brazen smiles as he leans back to enjoy the show, but I refuse to look at Jase. I don't want to see him falling for my mother just like every other fucking guy.

"Please stop," the guy strains out, and then I see something that tells me why he's about to combust.

I know why she chose seduction now. His tattoo reveals itself on the side of his neck when he turns his head to follow her seductive dance.

"He's from the Vergo brotherhood. They vow celibacy as a way of purifying themselves from the full blood race," I murmur aloud, though it was meant to be a thought.

"Hmm?" Jase says from behind me, and I feel his fingers tracing over the lines of my gifted sparrow that is tattooed on my back - between my shoulder blades.

I finally turn around to see his eyes are glued to my back as he continues his patterned drawing.

"What are you doing? You're missing the show," I tease, though I pray he doesn't fall into the net my mother unintentionally casts.

"What?" he asks while snapping out of his trance, his eyes finally withdrawing from my tattoo as he lets my hair fall back into place.

"I said you're missing the show."

"I'm not here for a show. I'm here to hear the answers. I can hear everything just fine without having to see it firsthand," he says with a shrug, his eyes returning to my back as his finger trails down my exposed skin.

This stupid shirt is completely backless, but I had nothing else to wear. The front dips low, and the vee-cut pattern of the front exposes my hiplines, while the tight jeans barely rise up high enough to cover my secrets below.

"You're very distracting," he mumbles while going back to tracing the lines on my body, and I giggle lightly at his odd behavior.

"Since when aren't you an Arayan?" I whisper.

His lips come down to be almost against my ear. His cool breath chills my skin in the most delicious way fathomable as his fingers stroll across my lower back.

"I never said anything about being an Arayan. I think I made it perfectly clear where my preferences lie," he seduces, his lips tugging lightly on my earlobe and making my breath catch.

Mmm. I'm ready to get the hell out of here now.

The song changes, and it actually makes me gasp when a louder, faster beat emerges. Jase's arm pulls me back to his body as his lips find my neck.

And he said I was distracting.

My mother continues to dance, and the goon continues to drool, but I've tuned out her interrogation we begged her to do as my mind wraps around the only thing in this world that exists right now. Jase.

His grip tightens on my waist, and I'm worried Uncle Brazen is about to get a show he doesn't want front-row seats to. I hear a reluctant huff coming from my full blood though, and then he goes back to trailing his fingers over my lines as my mother's seductive interrogation hits the next level.

I lean against Jase as she stalks over to the brooding beast of a hybrid, but I feel my full blood's eyes against me instead of watching her. Deep down, that feels incredible, and it sends a smug smile to my face.

No one ever chooses me in anything. It feels good that he is, even if that's not really what he's doing. I'm sure he's just a little turned on by her show, and I'm feeling the spilled over energy. Ew.

"I really just want you. Only you. I swear I'm not the least bit enticed by your mother," he chuckles out in a whisper, and I shiver at how well he seems to know me already.

All I want is you.

His lips stroke the back of my head, and then I hear the man in the other room crying as my mother unwinds her legs from around his waist and stands to her feet.

"Did you get all that?" she asks while walking in to join us.

Shit. No. Not a damn word.

Jase smirks as he tilts my lips up to meet his, and then I hear a bit of giggling as my stepdad jerks my mother out the door to wrap her up in his arms.

"I've got it recorded," Jase whispers in my ear, and I grin while blushing feverishly.

"Good, because I managed to miss the entire thing."

He smiles while pulling both of my hands in his, and then he kisses them along the edges of my knuckles as my mother returns with a more suitable outfit - though still Araya-sexy.

"Brazen and I were wondering if the two of you would join the rest of us for a bite to eat in our room? Grayson, Angelica, and Rex will be there as well."

I could eat with my family, or I could fuck the hottest guy I've ever seen. Decisions, decisions.

"I'm fine with that. Aria?" Jase interjects.

Crap. Now I have to say yes.

"Yeah. Um, what about your sister?" I ask while turning around. "Didn't you say she was meeting you?"

His lips tighten as if he's forgotten, and my mom shrugs.

"Bring her along. The more people the better. I'm sure Brazen has ordered enough food to feed an army since he loves eating," she teases, and he kisses her while shaking his head.

"That sounds perfect. I'll call Mel right now," Jase says sweetly while walking out of the room.

"Don't say it," I caution, my eyes turning away from the false hybrid blues staring expectantly at me.

"Say what?" she asks, feigning innocence.

"Whatever it is you want to say. I like him. That should be enough to keep your momma-bear routine in hibernation."

She laughs lightly, and then her fingers intertwine with mine as she leads me out of the room.

"I think he's good for you actually."

I almost trip over the words that just fell out of her mouth.

"What the hell? Who are you and where is Araya?" I scoff, and she frowns a little.

"Am I that bad?" she huffs.

"Worse," Uncle Brazen chirps while coming to scoop her up and carry her bridal style.

My hand slips free from hers as I watch her smile in a way I worried she never would again after my dad's span ended. Even though it's a little weird to see her with Uncle Brazen, it's also very comforting.

He's her full blood. If she hadn't known dad first and loved him the way she did, she might have completely overlooked him and married Uncle Brazen right away.

"Mel said she'd be there," Jase says to the newlywed couple that is oblivious to the world as he rejoins me at my side, his smile finding me and lighting me up.

Damn, he's so fucking perfect.

He smiles lightly before draping his arm around my shoulders, and Mom giggles as her husband spins her around. I let a laugh escape when I accidentally delight in her happiness, and Jase's smile only grows as we follow them out of the doors of the interrogation tower set up in the Northshore city.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" he asks softly as we continue following behind my carried mother.

He's asking me to stay? I assumed we would be staying together, and now I feel a little silly for such. It's not like we're in a real relationship, at least not a defined one. Now I'm worried he's asking because he feels obligated to. My stuff is piled up in the room that I thought he got for the two of us.

Oh I'm such an idiot.

"Um, nah. I can get my own room," I say with forced casualness, and I see him frowning out of the corner of my eye.

"So you don't want to stay with me?" he says while changing his question around.

Of course I do. I would be if you hadn't just made it feel as though I assumed something I wasn't supposed to.

He even called it our room earlier, or at least I think he did. Why do that if he's going to-

"I want you to is the reason I'm asking," he says to interrupt my inner ramble, and I shrug again while slipping my hand out of his.

"I'll just get my own room, and we can see each other tomorrow. You and your sister don't have to come eat with my family. I'm sure that would be a little awkward for the both of you."

Considering you view me as someone you have to ask to stay with you.

"Why are you acting like this?" he huffs out.

"Like what?"

"Like this," he growls while gesturing to all of me.

"I suppose it's because-" because I'm apparently falling harder for you than you are for me "- I don't know what to say to be honest. Maybe this is a bit much. We just started… whatever this is. I'm not sure a dinner with my family is the most appropriate step this early on. Maybe you and your sister should have some family time, and I should do the same."

He shakes his head, while my happy family laughs and giggles ahead of me.

"All of this because I asked you to stay with me tonight?" he scoffs in disbelief while gripping his head.

All of this because I thought we were in a different place than we actually are.

I need to take a step back. My blood is too valuable for someone to get their hands on, and everyday I'm with him, I'm closer to trusting him more than I should.

"I'll see you tomorrow. It's not like you'll be missing much."

He rolls his eyes, and then he leans against the wall in front of the hotel.

"Why do you think one thing and say another?" he gripes.

"Unless you can read my mind, you can't say that. I'm saying exactly what I'm thinking," I lie, and it's very convincing.

"Aria, I'm so confused by you right now. It's as if you don't want to want me, and it doesn't really make a whole hell of a lot of sense, considering I'm obviously lost in you. Just stay with me tonight. Let's go forward with the dinner as planned, and then let's sit down and talk about us tonight. I want this to be more than you apparently think I do."

I just want to fall into his arms. I want to feel the way my mother does with my stepdad, but I'm starting to doubt I have her incredible talent for finding a man who loves her without waver.

I keep letting myself forget love like that is rare. Most people rarely feel that instant attraction that blinds you to the world. My emotions are fucked up - overly heightened - because of what I am, so I know for a fact I feel much more than he does. I knew this was a foolish idea.

Jase isn't so head-over-heels that he would wait seven hundred years to be with me, and he probably never will be.

"I just think tonight is a good time to take a step back and breathe. I think I got a little wrapped up. I'll call you later," I murmur while kissing his cheek and fighting off the pathetic tears trying to escape.

I walk away quickly, refusing to glance over my shoulder to see if he's watching me or not. I'm sure he's already walked around to the other stairs or elevator.

"Where's Jase?" Rex asks while walking over to throw his arm around my shoulders.

"He… he forgot he had something to do tonight. He and his sister are going to go out to eat, and then he's going to handle some business. I'll see him tomorrow though."

He narrows his eyes suspiciously at me, and I pat him on the back before disentangling myself from his grip.

"I need to go grab something. I'll meet up with you in a few," I murmur softly while walking toward the front desk.

The full blood woman behind the counter smiles warmly at me, though her rehearsed smile doesn't reach her eyes.

"Can I help you?" she obliges with her fake but beautiful grin.

"I need a room, please."

"How many guests?"

He would have had to answer this same question. I should have listened in when he did. Then I could have avoided all this awkward melodrama.

"Just one," I sigh out, my heart sinking in my chest.

My eyes land on the full blood beauty walking beside his blond, giggly sister as he escorts her to the elevators. He hasn't noticed me here in the lobby, and I pray he doesn't.

"What happened to your girlfriend?" she muses. "I thought we were eating with her family."

"She decided she didn't want me there."

My heart breaks. That's not what I said. That's not even close to being the reason why.

"Her loss, Jason. Just let her go. You've got too much going on as it is anyway. I think she's a little bit too distracting."

Jason? I suppose Jase is short for Jason, but why wouldn't he have told me that?

"She shifts gears too damn fast for me to keep up," he grumbles, making me feel a little worse. Then he shakes free from his thoughts. "Let's not discuss it."

"We need to discuss it if it's bothering you. You've got a lot on your plate, and she's the last thing you need to add into the mix."

I guess his dear sister doesn't like me too much.

"I'll just ride it out. In the meantime, let's discuss you. I'm tired of talking about me and Aria. It's giving me a headache."

Ride it out? I'll give you a fucking headache.

My eyes tremble as I stare at him. I barely acknowledge the overly perky receptionist handing me a key. I take each step toward the elevator against the will of my feet that feel to be cemented to the floor.

I crack my neck from side to side just in time for him to stop laughing and see my face - my broken, tormented eyes burning against him. He slams his hand between the shutting doors to halt their escape, and he slides out as his sister's eyes bulge.

"Aria, why are you giving me that look?" he worries.

"You've ridden it out," I snark. "I'm sorry our whatever was such a headache."

"Don't say was. Ten minutes ago you said you'd see me tomorrow. I haven't said anything at all wrong," he continues, his eyes showing their fear.

"Then you and I have a very different notion of how one should act with someone they supposedly care about. I'll send my brother by later to collect my things."

I blur away from him, knowing I'm too fast for him to catch up with, and then I disappear down my hallway. I text Rex and ask him to cover for me. I can't go sit down and eat with my family in this shape.

I'm so fucking stupid. I knew he was too good to be true, and now I've been proven right.