Jaded [The Moonlight Breed 9] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Gabrielle Evans (the read aloud family TXT) 📖

to hang you up by your toes and throw wet spaghetti at you,” Jacobi answered with a wicked grin as he slid past Zavion and into the room. “Sounds delicious, huh?”

“Don’t be such an ass,” Nikola chastised. “We’re here to listen like good friends do.”

“And if that doesn’t work, then we’re going to the spaghetti plan,” Oscar added, entering the room behind him.

By the time they were all there, Zuriel’s room was feeling extremely crowded. Nikola, Oscar, and Mihail lounged on the floor, while Cicero, Zavion, and Jacobi surrounded him on the bed. “Talk,” his brother demanded.

“I have nothing to say.” It wasn’t like he could tell his friends that he hated himself, hated what he’d become. He could see that conversation going over like a whore in the front pew at midnight mass.

“Nice try,” Oscar countered. “Why have you been dodging the doc?”

“You know,” Mihail said slowly, “if I had someone like Dr. Araceli who wanted to be with me, I’d snatch him up and never let go.”

“Cian doesn’t care about the things they did to us.” Scooting closer, Zavion draped an arm around Zuriel’s shoulders and pulled him closer. “I understand how you’re feeling.”

“We all get it,” Nikola added. “When I find my mate, the last thing I want to do is tell him about how I was a fully trained sex slave.”

“You know what, though?” Reclining on his elbows, Mihail stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles. “Spiro already knows about what happened in The Hive, and he’s still here.”

“He knows about us in vague, generalized terms,” Zuriel argued. “I think it’s a little different when it’s your mate.”

“It wasn’t to Demitrius.” Oscar arched an eyebrow at him and tilted his head to the side. “I was scared out of my damn mind when I had to tell him, but it didn’t matter. He never looked at me any differently.”

“You also didn’t have a reputation for fucking anything that will stand still long enough.” Granted, he’d brought that one on himself, but it wasn’t like he knew he was going to stumble upon his mate right there in the coven.

“I was wondering about that,” Mihail interrupted. “So, what’s the story? Have you really been bumpin’ uglies with half the men here?”

“Or,” Jacobi added, “are you more of an attention whore than a regular whore?” The grin on his face said he already knew the answer, but he was going to make Zuriel spell it out for him anyway.

“I like to flirt.”

He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. The last he’d heard, it wasn’t a crime. In actuality, he hadn’t slept with anyone since arriving at Haven. Yeah, he liked the attention, but mostly, it kept anyone from trying to get too close to him. After all, who wanted to take the resident harlot out to dinner?

“Don’t you want more than that?” Nikola fumbled his fingers together in his lap and sighed. “I know I do. I want someone to love me, flaws and all. After everything that we’ve been through, I think we deserve that much at least.”

Zuriel had never thought of it that way. He was contaminated, vile, and unworthy to be with regular people. Never once had he considered that perhaps he’d survived something horrible, and Spiro was his reward. “I don’t know what to do,” he admitted.

“Oh, that’s easy.” Bouncing up from the mattress, Jacobi stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “I’m beat.” He tugged at one of his bright blue spikes and wrinkled his nose. “I think I’ll go platinum tomorrow? What do you think, chaps?”

“Wait!” Zuriel practically shouted. “What’s easy? What do I do?”

The room exploded into laughter, and Zuriel didn’t think he was imagining the knowing smirks on his friends’ faces. Finally, it was Mihail who took pity on him. “It’s not up to you, Zuri. Spiro is a big boy, and he can make his own choices. All you have to do is make the first move.”

“Okay.” He could do that. He still had his reservations and doubts, but he could try. “How do I do that?” Everyone was filing out of his room, though, and no one seemed to be paying him any attention. “Guys? What do I do?”

“You don’t have to do anything,” a familiar voice answered him from the doorway. “He’s right, you know. Tell me it’s okay, and I’ll take it from here.”

This was probably a bad idea. It probably wasn’t going to end well. If it did, though, it was probably going to be the best decision he ever made. “I want to be happy, and I don’t think I can do that without you.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.” Crossing the room in two huge strides, Spiro dove onto the bed, rolled Zuriel beneath him, and attacked his mouth in a steamy kiss that had Zuriel’s head spinning in seconds flat. “I’ve been wanting to do that for weeks now.”

“Don’t stop.” His dick was hard enough to pound nails, and he wanted his mate with something akin to pain.

“Not yet,” Spiro whispered, rubbing their lips together in another kiss. “I want your body, lirimaer, but I want your trust more.”

He doubted Spiro had planned to say that or rehearsed in front of a mirror, but Zuriel had to admit it was a pretty fabulous line. The best part was that he believed Spiro actually meant it. “Thank you.” His eyes misted, betraying the emotions he’d been battling back from the surface.

Dipping his head, Spiro kissed each of his eyelids, the tip of his nose, and finally back to his lips. “Stop trying to figure out all the answers. We’ll find them together.”

And “together” sounded a hell of a lot better than “alone.”

Chapter Four

Zuriel fidgeted with the buttons on his shirt and spent the entire car ride trying to smooth the nonexistent wrinkles from his slacks. Technically, it was his third date with Spiro, but they were actually leaving the coven this time. They were going