Page 78 of Love Bites Hard

I nodded, biting my lip.

I’d never felt that way myself, but it didn’t surprise me that Clementine did. She had always been a romantic. And while she talked big about sleeping around, I knew she didn’t enjoy many of her one-night stands. She was just looking for someone she could stick with.

“I’ve been talking to Avery about it. If I mated with Talon, the dragon king, I’d be safe. Right? And Blair’s told us that he says he needs a siren for something. So I’d be safe, and wanted. Isn’t that enough?”

“If you can choose between safe and wanted, and loved, I don’t think it is,” I admitted.

She let out a long breath. “I know. But how am I supposed to find love when everyone wants something from us?”

“By waiting for the right person?” I suggested. “Other than that, I don’t really know.”

“That makes two of us.”

Blair and Zora surfaced with battle-cries as they hauled ass out of the water, lunging toward the other opening of the pool and diving back in.

“Damn, that’s a lot of glitter,” I remarked.

Clem laughed, though it was a little half-hearted. “We’re going to sparkle for weeks.”

“Every siren’s dream.”

She met my eyes with a smile, but it looked forced.

“What does Avery think about the dragon king?”

“She thinks Talon’s insistence that he needs a siren means I should stay as far away from him as possible. There aren’t many things a man needs a siren for, and he’s not struggling with moving on from his past the way Porter was. As far as we can see, the only reasoning would be problems with his man parts, or some kind of torture.”

I snorted. “Magical beings don’t get erectile dysfunction.”

But unmated sirenscouldbe used as a part of a torture process. It hadn’t been done since young arranged matings had become a thing for us, but ithadbeen done before.

“It’s the best possible reason though, isn’t it?” Clem teased.

“Honestly, yes.”

She laughed, turning around and leaning her head back against the edge of the pool. It didn’t look comfortable, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“I know an arranged mate bond doesn’t come with romance, but part of me wants to just jump in and hope for the best, you know? Hale basically forced Blair to seal the bond with him, and they’re so happy together. You should see how much she smiles now. It’s ridiculous, and I’m stupidly jealous. Avery keeps telling me that not all arranged bonds end up that way, and I know it’s true—but part of me wants to try it anyway.”

“My mate bond isn’t like that,” I said, studying the rock in front of me. “I’m in a sex war, remember?”

“But that’s your choice, isn’t it?”

“He wasn’t sleeping in my bed. It was the best way to force him into it. Much of the time, being mated just feels like one big power struggle.”

“But when the power struggle ends, there’s happiness, isn’t there?”

“I don’t know. Is there?” I looked at her, my emotions a bit raw.

Things were looking up for me and Porter, but there was no guarantee he wouldn’t step back as soon as I ended our war. There was no way to be sure he wouldn’t change his mind about redecorating when the furniture got there in a few days. There was no way to know that he wouldn’t get tired of leading the pack like he was, and disappear into the forest.

“I hope so,” Clementine said quietly.

“I do too.”

As the words slipped out, I realized they were true.

Ididhope that there was happiness at the end of our power struggle. Ididwant to figure things out with Porter the way Blair and Hale had. Ididwant the kind of love that I’d realized existed.

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