Breed of Envy (The Breed Chronicles, #02) (29 page)

I was sitting on my bed, he was at my desk, and every few minutes, he’d glance at me and frown. I sighed. “You’re being an idiot,” I said, shoving my tablet aside. I couldn’t take the looks anymore.

His head snapped up. “What?”

“I said, you’re being an idiot.”

He set his tablet down. “About?”

“About me. My ribs. The hunt. Take your pick. No one blames you. Not even Greene. You didn’t get yelled at or anything. The demon came after me.”

He shrugged and his eyes went dark with guilt. “Either way.”

I grabbed Linc’s hand, and then I pinched the top of it until he yelped. He yanked his hand back. I would’ve slapped his head, but I think he saw it coming and moved away.

“What the hell was that for?”

“For that guilty, brooding look. I’m tired of it. You. Were. Not. To. Blame,” I said, enunciating each word sharply. “So lose the look, or I’ll just keep pinching you.”

His eyes stayed narrowed on mine and he kept his hands—and every other body part—safely out of my reach. Linc was a lot of things, but he wasn’t dumb. He knew I’d take the first opportunity and cause him some violence. “Look, I know it’s not exactly—”

I cut him off right there. “No,
you
look,” I snapped, pushing up from the bed. The chair rolled across the floor as he scooted away from me. “It wasn’t your fault at all. I wanted to be there.” I stalked toward him. There were really only a few feet between us, so I kept my movements slow, determined. He looked like he wanted to run, but he didn’t. Probably because he really had nowhere to go.

“Jade…”

“Don’t ‘Jade’ me. Nothing that has happened to me has been your fault. At all. The demon attacked me. Big deal. I’ve been through worse. And I would’ve been through a lot worse if you hadn’t stopped it.” I paused directly in front of him and crossed my arms over my chest as I looked down at him. “I mean, I know you dawdled and all, taking your time to get to me—”

“I did not dawdle, damnit!” he said, curling his fingers into fists on the tops of his thighs.

I raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“No!” He realized he was practically yelling and lowered his tone. “No. As soon as I saw it attacking you, I—”

“Stopped it?”

“Yes! I wasn’t going to let it hurt…” He swallowed. “I wasn’t going to let it keep attacking you.”

“You did everything you could, then?” I pressed, glaring down at him angrily. “Is that what you’re saying?”

Hurt flashed across his eyes. “Of course I did. How could you think, for even a second, that I would—”

“So you weren’t to blame.”

His chest rose and fell quickly. “No.”

I raised my eyebrows again.

His eyes went slightly wide, like he’d just realized what he’d said and realized the last thing I said hadn’t been a question but a statement. “Wait—”

“No waiting. You had it right the first time. You weren’t to blame. You saved my
life
.” He tried to turn his head away from me, but I grabbed it and held it still. “You know you weren’t to blame, and you know, deep down, that I don’t blame you for what happened, and that no one else does. I know you did everything you could. You’re the only one who isn’t convinced.”

His eyes narrowed but his breathing leveled out as he exhaled a sigh. He sat quietly for a moment, then let out another sigh. “That was a dirty girl trick.”

“Maybe. But you needed it. And maybe I did, too.”

“Why did you need it?”

“Because I’ve been feeling guilty about you feeling guilty, which is equally—if not more—stupid than you feeling guilty in the first place.”

His eyebrows creased. “I’m not following.”

“I’m the one who got hurt. I’m the one that stupid demon kept coming after. If I hadn’t gone, Greene would’ve had the stupid demon and you wouldn’t keep looking at me like I’m going to break in half if you look at me too hard.” I let out a huff of breath. “I feel like I should have just said no and kept it at no.”

He didn’t say anything immediately, but then he nodded. “I wanted you to go with me, and I’m glad you were there. I probably would’ve killed the demon, but then it wouldn’t have been for a good reason. So thank you. For going, and for stopping me from killing it the first time.” He took one of my hands and kissed it. “I mean it. Thank you.”

I looked down at the hand he just kissed. My stomach fluttered. “Oh. Well, you’re welcome.”

“And you’re right. We’re both idiots.”

“Agreed.” I laughed, then I stopped and added, “But you were definitely the bigger idiot this time.”

He grabbed my hand and, before I knew what he was doing, pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around my waist. I could feel the heat from his arms on my stomach, even through my shirt. It felt like fireflies dancing across my skin. “Why am I the bigger idiot?”

“Because you’re taller. Duh.”

Shaking his head, he laughed and said, “You’re something else, Hall.”

I grinned. “So, are you done having your girly moment now?”

Linc’s lips twitched as he fought a smile. “Girly moment?”

“Yeah. Your girly moment.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded. “Girly moment over.”

“About damn time,” I said with feeling. Maybe things would get back to normal now.

He shook his head. “Thanks, Jade.”

“For calling you an idiot?”

He rolled his eyes. “That, too. But, you know. For everything. For being there.”

I laid a kiss on his lips. “Anytime. Always.”

And I meant it.

*~*~*

Valentine’s Day was the next day, on Sunday, so Greene let everyone go into New Orlando for the day. Tasha, Linc, Chris, and I had dinner at a small restaurant with rude service and so-so food, and then we all went to see a movie together. Chris and Linc vetoed anything even semi-romantic, so me and Tasha had been stuck watching some suspense-y horror flick instead. I’d spent the majority of the time hiding behind Linc, but then he’d decided the movie was boring so we held hands and made out.

By the time the movie ended, I’d decided that maybe watching a suspense-y horror flick with a hot guy wasn’t so bad after all.

When we got back that night, Linc gave me a gift. I’d half-expected flowers or something, but he seemed to have guessed that I wasn’t the flower and candy type of girl, so instead he gave me a little bag type thing. It wasn’t really a bag, but it wasn’t quite a purse either. It was made of smooth, black leather, with a long shoulder strap, and it had just enough room for my personal tablet, the lipstick knife he’d given me for Christmas, and a little pocket for any cards or money.

The purse/bag had been quickly forgotten when Linc had kissed me. That wasn’t exactly abnormal, since as soon as his lips were on mine, I was doing good to remember my name or how to stand on my own two feet.

So basically, Valentine’s Day had been great.

The rest of the month was another story altogether. The P2 classes (and the others, if I had to guess) had picked up in pace again and the assignments took more and more time. All of the classes were getting harder—especially Demonology, despite the fact that I was so far ahead. Or maybe
because
I was so far ahead. And according to Mr. Sheldon, at the rate I was going, I’d be completely finished with the class, save the final exam, well before July.

Surprisingly, even the work on the DD was getting extreme because there were still more attacks than usual happening.

Tasha’s birthday was February twenty-fourth and Linc’s, a week later, on March third. Tasha loved shoes, so I got her a gift certificate to some fancy shoe place. She squealed and then threatened to kill me if I told anyone.

Linc was…a lot harder to get a present for. I wracked my brain for three weeks before I finally thought of something. And then I spent a week thinking it was a stupid present. He loved movies (new and old), so I bought him a video tablet with a year subscription to an online video archive. And it was probably a weird side gift, but I talked Peter into giving him some extra training on the side. He seemed to like both, so I was relieved.

After our Spring Break at the beginning of April, I had my birthday (on the 17th). I hadn’t told anyone, but somehow Tasha and Linc found out anyway. They woke me up at seven on Saturday—my birthday—with a loud chorus of
Happy Birthday
that woke up half the fourth floor and had people yelling for them to shut up, and then followed it up by breakfast in bed. Linc and I had woke Tasha up at seven on her birthday (with singing and breakfast in bed), and then she and I had done the same thing to Linc on his. I figured it was fair game and only muttered a few mean words.

We’d all spent the morning together, then after Tasha had given me my gift (a cute pair of sandals she claimed every girl needed), she had deserted us, claiming she needed more sleep. I was pretty sure she wasn’t lying exactly, but I was also pretty sure she wanted to, A) spend some time with Chris, and, B) give Linc and me some time together. Both were cool with me.

Linc and I had spent time just talking on the catwalk, and now we were back in my room.

“So,” he said, sitting across from me. “Want your gift?”

“You didn’t have to get me anything. You’ve gone above and beyond in the gift-giving department in the past few months.”

“You got me something for my birthday. Two somethings, actually.”

I frowned. “Yeah, but they were both kinda self-serving. I mean, I only got you the video thing so you’d leave me alone about movies—”

“You know what? You’re full of shit, Jade.”

I laughed. “Okay, but seriously. You’re still ahead. I never got you anything for Christmas.”

Linc rolled his eyes. “You helped me study. Hell, you taught me everything I needed to know.”

“Brain power is not a gift.”

“You couldn’t have done or given me anything better. Drop it. Zip it, too,” he added when I was about to argue. He stood up and pulled a small black disc from his pocket. It looked like one the holo-tree bases.

My gaze automatically went to my dresser where mine was sitting. Only it wasn’t there. “You stole my holo-disc?”

“Borrowed, Hall. I
borrowed
your holo-disc.”

“When? I never saw you take it.”

He grinned. “This morning. You’re really not a morning person.”

I laughed again. “Sometimes, I don’t know if I want to strangle you or kiss you.”

He winked. “You can kiss me later.” He walked over to the dresser, set the holo-disc on top. “Turn around and close your eyes.”

“Seriously?”

He made a face at me. Given his options, I was pretty sure
he
would’ve settled on strangling me. “Just do it.”

“Fine,” I grumbled half-heartedly as I twisted around on the bed and closed my eyes. “Would you like me to cover them, too?”

“No, smarty pants. Just don’t peek.”

“I’m facing a wall. There’s nothing to peek at.” Picturing what he was probably doing behind me, I grinned. “And don’t roll your eyes at me.”

“What, you have eyes in the back of your head now?”

“Pfft. Please. Like I need them to know what you’re doing.” I paused. “Shaking your head. And now you’re probably gaping at me like a fish out of water. How am I doing?”

“Eerily well. Not sure if I should be impressed or freaked out,” he said, laughing. “Now stop long enough for me to give you your present.”

I heard his footsteps before I felt the bed shift. He put his hands over my eyes. “Come on.”

Crawling off my bed was awkward, but I managed it without causing damage to anyone, so I considered it a success.

“Ready?”

I nodded. “Yup.”

“Okay.” Linc moved his hands away. “Open your eyes.”

I did, but then I raised my eyebrows when I couldn’t see anything but him. “Are
you
my present?”

“Not quite.” His lips raised in a grin. “For someone who’s easy to please when it comes to gifts, you’re actually hard to shop for.”

“Thanks. I think?”

“I hope you like it,” he said and stepped aside.

At first I didn’t see anything, but then I saw an image appear above the holo-disc. It wasn’t a tree but pictures of Linc, Tasha, and me. There were a few from Halloween, including one of Linc jumping up when the holo-zombie tried grabbing him. I laughed. “Okay, now
that’s
impressive.”

“Hold on. That’s not the actual gift part yet.” He looked around. “Where’s your tablet?”

“Why? Did you
borrow
that, too?”

“Funny. No, I didn’t borrow it.” He scratched his head and coughed. “I just had Charlie hack into it,” he said quickly, turning away from me to search my desk.

“Two crimes in one day.” I nodded. “Not bad, Stone.”

He looked over his shoulder, grinned. “What can I say? I excel at—”

“Criminal behavior?” I smiled sweetly.

“Fair enough. Seriously, where’s your tablet?”

“Should be there.” Brushing him aside, I looked down at my desk. It’d been there last night. I shuffled some papers around, found it underneath a stack of drawings. “Here.”

His gaze was on the sketches. “Still drawing it?”

“Yeah.” It was the picture of the demon I was after. Ever since Halloween, I’d been drawing it, trying to get it just right. I figured if I could get a clear image of it on paper, that maybe it’d help Peter or Greene recognize it. But the drawing wasn’t right. It never was.

He took my hand and gave it a hard squeeze. “We’ll find it.”

“Thanks.” I focused on his hand, on the warmth and strength of his touch, and made myself smile. “Now, where’s my pressie?”

An awkward look crossed his face. “Now I’m not so sure.”

“What? Why?”

“Might be bad timing.”

“How? I only get one birthday a year. So, if the timing is bad, it’s kinda always going to be bad.”

“It’s not the day that’s wrong. It’s…hell. I’ll show you. Just keep in mind it didn’t seem so bad before now.”

“Linc.” I said his name with an impatient sigh. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

He nodded, but he didn’t look really convinced. “Charlie installed this program on it. It controls the images,” he said, showing me the program that was cleverly named ‘Image Controller’.