Page 31 of Urn My Love

And I was going to take advantage of every opportunity to push his buttons.

Several hours had passed by the time I slipped on the clothes August had left, and strode from the woods. I might’ve stayed hidden until dark if not for spotting Iolani reclining in a chair in the courtyard.

She was holding the notebook she’d taken from my captors’ camp, and once again, I kicked myself for not burning the book when I had the chance.

The last thing I wanted was for my mate to read what I’d been put through or about their plans to create a breeding program with me as the stud. They believed I’d jump at the chance for sex and female companionship, but I’d refused to shift to my human form and had ignored the captive female paranormals and eager human volunteers they’d shoved into my pen.

Recently, they’d concluded I lacked a human form, and had shoved female horses in heat into my tiny electrified cage, hoping my biological needs would win and I’d mount them like the animal they thought I was.

When that had failed, their conversations had turned to finding a way to collect my semen. The only reason it hadn’t happened was because no one had been brave enough to jack off the beast who killed every man who’d touched him. Sure, sometimes I had to wait until the drugs wore off a bit, but they’d all died.

I hadn’t touched any of the females, but I worried my mate would feel disgust—or worse, pity—for me when she read those entries. Her sensitive heart was determined to locate the other captives mentioned and ensure they were safe, and that alone kept me from making the book disappear.

My eyes searched the lodge grounds that were visible from my hiding place, looking for threats to Iolani’s safety. But other than the two humans working to get all the new horses groomed and settled in the barn, the lodge was nearly desolate.

A guy had checked in shortly after we arrived, and a woman had joined Iolani on the patio area. The two had exchanged greetings, and then the woman had opened a novel and started reading. Every few minutes, the woman would burst into laughter, then quickly read the line out loud, and their giggles would echo across the valley below.

The sound was irresistible and drew me forward.

Iolani sensed me coming, and a beautiful smile spread across her flushed face. “Jazriel! There you are!”

Sitting down on the lounge beside her, I forced her to scoot and give me room.

“There were other chairs.” My mate giggled, and I found myself entranced by this version of her.

Now that she’d been fed, slept for hours, and had the energy from our bonding surging through her, she practically glowed.

Why hadn’t I realized how drained she’d been sooner? Because she was as stubborn as August and good at hiding any signs of weakness.

“I prefer this seat.” Tucking my arm around her shoulder, I pulled her close and kissed the top of her forehead.

Iolani rolled her eyes, but her body leaned into mine and she sighed happily. “Belle, this is my?—”

Noticing her panic as she tried to find the word, I jumped in. “I’m her fiance, Jazriel.”

I knew I should offer to shake hands, but it was a human custom I would need time to adjust to. While I might learn that you couldn’t kill someone over a handshake, my inner beast was going to take a while to convince.

Belle didn’t seem bothered by the lack of a handshake. “Iolani mentioned her boyfriend, but didn’t tell me she was engaged!”

Sliding her glasses down her nose, her eyes flicked down my body, lingering for a moment at the low V of my shirt where part of the phoenix was visible.

I laughed. “She’s a bit shy about it because she proposed to me.”

“Way to go after what you want! I’m here for it.” She winked at Iolani, then looked back at me and explained, “Iolani and I have been laughing over some of the cliche descriptions of the sexy men in this book, and she claimed you fit those descriptions. It turns out she wasn’t lying.”

Iolani blushed, and I fought the urge to strut. Pegasus had legendary egos, and having my mate stroke mine was an incredible high.

“I’m just lucky she gave me a second look.” Lifting Iolani’s hand to my lips, I placed a soft kiss on the back.

“It’s clear you two were meant to be together.” Belle smiled and tucked her book into an oversized tote at her side. “I’m going to my room and pretend one of my book boyfriends is real and curse the universe for not giving me a sexy hunk.”

“I hope we bump into each other again, Lani! It’s been forever since I had the chance for some girl talk.” Standing, she wiggled her fingers in a small wave and headed inside the lodge.

“She seems so nice. It was like bumping into an old friend.” Iolani turned and smiled up at me. “But I’m glad it’s just us now. I missed you.”

Her thoughts slid through my mind, images of how she wanted to straddle me, grab my face between her hands, and kiss me. How she wanted to feel me inside her, filling her as she rode me as if she’d stolen me and needed to make a hard and fast getaway.

I was getting hard just from her thoughts, but she simply tucked her head against my chest. It was cruel, even if it was my own fault for eavesdropping.

---