Blood & Tears (Jane #3) Read Online Free PDF

slight glare marring his face.
    "I didn't know you were still
here."
    "Where would I go?"
    He shrugged, letting a grin spread
across his lovely lips. He made his way around the table and sat
next to me, turning his chair and mine so we were facing each
other. He pulled my chair close, so my knees were touching the wood
on his. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the arms of my
chair. I leaned back, clasping my hands behind my head, trying to
affect Felipe's classic smirk. His beautiful, toothy white grin
faded and he leaned back.
    "I don't want you to
go."
    "What?" To say I was confused was
an understatement.
    "I don't want you to go on this
mission, Jane. It's not safe."
    "Um, duh? None of them are safe.
And you can't tell me not to go. You guys are short-handed as it
is. Without me, you would be outnumbered three to one. Don't you
dare ask me to let you go into that alone."
    I gritted my teeth, hating that I
was practically begging him. I could feel my voice shaking, my
hands trembling. A picture of Steven inexplicably flashed through
my mind. Felipe took my hands in his, pressing them tightly
together as he kissed them. I kept my eyes on his chest, afraid of
letting the tears that were sitting in them fall. I was sure he
could see them. It's hard to miss the pink water sitting in a
vampire's eyes when they're about to cry.
    "Jane," he said, placing a hand on
my cheek and forcing me to meet his gaze. "Please don't be upset.
You can go. But don't be mad when I worry about you the entire
time."
    His smile was contagious and he
pulled me close. I crawled onto his lap as he wrapped his arms
around me. We sat there, snuggling in that uncomfortable chair for
I don't know long. I don't know what he thought about, but I kept
running through the upcoming battle mentally, worrying about
everything that could possibly go wrong, imagining an infinite
number of ways I could lose him forever. Eventually, he looked at
his watch and sighed.
    "I have that meeting with
Bellini."
    I held him tighter, not wanting to
let him go. He returned the squeeze before pressing his lips to my
cheek. For the past six months, the kisses had been migrating
closer and closer to my lips. The first peck had been after a
particularly successful training session. He'd wrapped his arms
around me and kissed me near the ear, much like my mother used to
do when I was a teenager. This was not that kiss. This time, his
lips were so close, I could feel them brush faintly across my mouth
as he pulled away. I met his eyes, silently pleading with him for
more. For a very tense, very brief moment, I thought I might win,
but then he smiled and kissed my nose.
    "See you at dinner," he said as he
pulled away, set me on my feet, and walked out the door.
    I frowned and plopped back into a
chair. My emotions were worse than a seaside town after a
hurricane. They were in utter chaos. Part of me berated my other
self for not remaining completely and unfailingly devoted to Steven
til the day I died. Another part was constantly arguing that I'd
mourned for six months and that I deserved to find love again. My
head thumped (a bit painfully) into my hands and I groaned out
loud.
    "Jane? Are you ok?" Annie's soft
voice made me bounce out of the chair like it was
electrified.
    "Yeah, I'm alright. Just... I
dunno. Being stupid, I guess."
    "Wanna talk about it?"
    I paused, almost saying no
automatically. I've had so few friends in my life that my default
response when someone asked me how I was was "fine", and "do you
want to talk about it" elicited a solid and resounding "no"
nine-tenths of the time.
    "Yeah, I do, actually. Do you have
some time?"
    "Absolutely." She seemed more
excited to listen to me than I was to talk. Her grin lit her face
liked I'd never seen and she slipped her arm in mine. I let her
lead me to her office—or more correctly, what I'd assumed was her
office, but was really office/residence. She unlocked the door and
I followed her in.
    Right inside was indeed