All Chapters of Jade: The Hybrid Mage: Chapter 71

I thought it’d end with the passionate kiss, then a quiet cuddle through the night.But no.I turned my back, but the sounds still reached me.Soft gasps.Shifting cloth.The wet, messy noises of mouths colliding.Nyomei and Orin were lost in their own desperate little world, clinging to each other like the forest itself was trying to rip them apart.I wasn’t sure if it made me want to laugh, cry, or throw a stone at them.Probably all three.Across the clearing, Brand hadn’t moved. He sat with his arms folded, his face carved from stone. Watching . . . Not watching . . . Still pretending.I sighed and shifted closer to the stone wall, trying to find a comfortable spot in the damp moss.“Just sleep,” I muttered to myself. “Ignore it. Ignore everything.”Before I could fully settle, something unexpected happened.Brand moved.He nudged his knee toward me. Then shifted again, like he was offering—Was he . . .?I stared at him.He didn’t look at me. Just kept that flat, unreadable gaze