By the time I was getting ready to leave, Nadia and Jezebel had me wrapped around their fingers, and I had trouble moving them off my lap because I felt bad. But Raph offered to walk me to my car, and I had some major butterflies happening in my stomach as I gave my goodbyes and headed out with the bulky warlock.
I didn’t need someone to walk me out since the car was right there, but I figured he wanted to talk to me privately. I stopped at my driver’s side door and lifted a brow at him in silent question.
Raph sighed and ran his hand through his hair, shooting me a sexy smile. “I’m glad you came over tonight.”
I nodded and leaned my hip against the car. “Me too. I wish Izzy didn’t go up early.”
His smile dropped as he nodded. “Me too.” He took a breath, stepped closer so he was only a foot away, and grabbed my hand in his. “Laz…”
“Yeah?” My voice was breathy.
“I… what Izzy said in there before he went up… I… are you interested?”
My stomach did a somersault, and I licked my lips. “I… I am. But, Raph, I don’t want to hurt Isiah. I don’t want him to resent me.”
“He won’t.”
“He did, Raphael.”
“He doesn’t.”
I sighed. “But he did. When you two first showed up here, he did.” He started to protest, but I shook my head and held up my free hand to stop him. “I know he doesn’t anymore. We’re friends now, but I don’t want to jeopardize that. I like having him as a friend—”
“He does make a good one,” Raph interjected quietly.
I smiled. “He does. What if he says it’s okay, but it really isn’t? And… what if… is it really worth risking all that for a hookup?”
The way he jerked his head back made it seem like I’d slapped him. “Is that all you think it’d be?”
I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut. “I don’t know.”
“I’m not looking for a hookup from you, Lazarus.”
“You’re not?”
He stepped closer and cupped my cheek with his free hand. “No, baby, I’m not. I could get that anywhere. I was hoping we could see where this connection goes.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded and rubbed my cheek with his thumb. “Yeah.”
When I sucked in a breath, it was shaky. “What about Isiah?”
“He and I haven’t had a romantic relationship in a very long time.”
I blinked at that. “But you did?”
“A very long time ago.”
“What happened?”
A pained expression crossed his face, and he dropped his hand from my cheek, although he didn’t release my hand. “I don’t think now’s the right time to bring up such a heavy topic.”
That made me cringe inside, but I nodded. “Okay.”
“Iz and I are free to date whoever we want.” He stepped closer and rested his forehead to mine, which was a pretty big deal in the warlock world, according to Grady. It made butterflies flutter in my stomach. “And I want you.”
I sucked in another breath, and I was close to capturing his lips because that was so straightforward and direct and sexy and sort of romantic, but in the back of my mind, I kept seeing Izzy’s face, so instead of kissing him like I wanted, I said, “What if we hurt him?”
Raph sighed. “I know. That’s the last thing I want.”
“Raph…”
“Izzy’s my soul-pledged, Laz. I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt him.”
“Yeah, but—”
“What if I talk to him about it again?”
I nodded and bit my lip. “Do you think I could talk to him as well?”
“Yeah. That’d be good, baby.”
God, he was going to kill me with that baby. “Okay. Cool.”
He sent me that sweet smile again, then leaned up to press his lips to my forehead, letting them linger there for several seconds before he pulled back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
He grinned and winked, then finally dropped my hand from his and walked backward up the sidewalk. He waited at the door until I got into my car, turned it on, and began driving home.
The butterflies in my stomach weren’t only from nerves this time; they were from excitement, too. Nerves about Izzy, but excitement over the fact that Raph had said he wanted to date me.
I walked into my house with a smile on my face and hope in my heart.
Chapter 7
Raphael
After watching Laz pull away down the road, I said my goodnights to Alaric and Grady, then went upstairs to the guest room. It was dark, Izzy having already fallen asleep, so I got myself ready for bed as quietly as possible before I crawled in beside him.
Sharing a bed with my soul-pledged while we weren’t staying in one of our homes wasn’t really unusual, so I didn’t think anything of it. Being soul-pledged meant my magic and my body craved being near him, so even when we were in one of our homes around the world, we’d sometimes sleep beside each other. Especially if we’d had a rough day.
Today hadn’t been difficult in the usual sense, but it had certainly been emotional. And I was feeling it.
I needed Isiah close.
Rolling over, I scooted close to Izzy’s body so I could spoon him like I’d done thousands of times before.
Izzy mumbled something in his sleep and automatically grabbed my arm, lacing our fingers together without waking, and I found myself smiling against his hair as I settled in.
Just as I was falling asleep, the brief thought of whether Laz would have a problem with this if he and I were dating flitted through my mind. I wasn’t doing anything wrong in the eyes of the magical community, but I knew humans viewed love and intimacy differently than we did.
Izzy and I had been soul-pledged for nearly a hundred and fifty years. He was my best friend in the entire world, he was my family. I loved him with my whole heart. That was something anyone I dated would have to come to terms with.
But… maybe that was something I’d have to discuss with Laz.
I blew out an annoyed breath, making Izzy’s hair move. Laz and I hadn’t even started dating yet and this was already becoming work. Communicating with both Laz and Iz was key—I’d learned my lesson the hard way—and even though I hated talking about this shit, it was necessary. I wasn’t going to risk Isiah, and I wouldn’t do that to Laz, either. As much as I hated talking it out, it had to be done, and honestly, Lazarus was well worth it.
I already knew we had chemistry—our night together had been one of the hottest of my life, and I’d been around the block more than a few times—so that wasn’t an issue at all. And he was a kind guy that made me laugh. I’d enjoyed getting to know him over the past year, and I looked forward to knowing him better.
Still, I was worried about Isiah.
I hadn’t intended to say anything to Laz—ever—because I’d thought Izzy wouldn’t like it, but after he’d brought it up himself, I couldn’t stop thinking about it all night.
But had Izzy truly meant it? Did he want me to date Laz? Maybe he was trying to push me off onto someone else.