Page 26 of Urn My Love

Earlier that afternoon, I’d caught the lingering scent of her arousal on the trail. Jealousy had surged through me, and I’d fought the urge to shift and pluck her from his back. I wanted to carry her into the skies and show her the pleasures of mating thousands of feet above the earth.

Gryphons didn’t share mates. Trevor had confided in the pride that he struggled with sharing Ryls in the beginning. So why wasn’t I angry at having to share her with Jazriel? Probably because I saw how easily he could bring a smile to her lips, and I would do anything to see her happy.

My resolve was growing weaker by the hour. It was selfish, but I wanted to claim Iolani as my mate. I was experiencing the stirring of emotions now, so maybe I could offer her more than a cold, unfeeling heart. But I didn’t know if that would be enough. Especially now that she was experiencing what it was like to have a mate with unbridled emotions and passions.

Gryphons only had sex once they found their fated mate, so it had never been something I thought about. Now I spent my days harder than granite while imagining all the things I could do to hear her scream my name.

I wanted to claim every inch of her skin with kisses.

I wanted to taste her mouth, her skin, her sweet cream.

I wanted to hear her whimpers and feel her tremble with release after release.

I wanted to be her protector. But what if my callous nature caused me to be the one to hurt her heart?

When we finished eating, I resolutely set my jaw and moved her from my lap to the blanket. Then I headed into the woods without a backward glance, knowing I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from trying to show her how badly I longed to be given a chance at being worthy of her love.

My heart sank as August’s face hardened and his eyes shuttered. He went from the gentle guy I was falling for to the powerful warrior I was also falling for. Why did he keep putting up the wall between us?

I wanted to cry, but I refused to show my weakness over a man who kept running from me.

“He’s arrogant, but he’ll come around.” Jazriel wrapped an arm around me, pulling me against his side.

“I don’t think so. He’s forced to be around me right now, but once we get to the lodge, he will be gone.”

Jazriel laughed. “You don’t force a man like August to do anything he doesn’t want to do. He is aware I can protect you as well as he can, but yet he’s still here.”

“I don’t understand why he thinks he has to protect me.” I picked at a loose string on the blanket.

“Maybe because you haven’t told him what you are?” Jazriel suggested, reaching up to ruffle my hair. “He might be less afraid if he knew you were the mother-clucking queen of the phoenixes. See what I did? Cluck? Because you are a bird?”

“Seriously?” I wrinkled my nose. “It’s a good thing you’re cute, because your puns are lame.”

“You think I’m cute?” He slipped his finger under my chin and turned my face up to his.

My cheeks warmed, and I batted his hand away. “That’s an understatement.”

Grabbing the notebook I’d left on the blankets, I flipped it open.

“Will you ever tell him?”

Resting my chin on my palm, I stared into the woods and considered Jazriel’s question. “No. August is a man of honor. If he thought we were fated to be together so he could aid me in battle, he would accept the claim without question. He would risk death for me, he just isn’t willing to risk falling in love with me.”

“But he would fall in love once you two bonded.” Jazriel intertwined his fingers with my free hand.

My throat tightened, and I shook my head, unable to speak.

Jazriel’s thumb stroked in gentle circles on the back of my hand. “But you don’t want him to love you out of duty or because of the mate bond.”

“No,” I whispered. “And I won’t ask him to risk his life for me. It’s hard enough to ask for your help.”

“Technically, all you’ve mentioned needing from me is the energy that comes from the mate bond”—his eyes twinkled—“and I assume from sex. Lots of sex.”

“Jazriel!” I yelped.

“What? I’m more than happy to offer my services.” He bent, brushing a kiss across my lips, then pulled back. “Which reminds me, I’ve been thinking, and I believe I can help. How much do you know about pegasus?”

“Very little.” I motioned toward the notebook in my lap. “And it seems despite how long you were held captive, they didn’t learn much about you either.”

---