Page 102 of Reluctant Rebel

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jinx demanded when he attempted to get up. She pushed him onto his back before straddling his waist. “I think that is quite possibly the most beautiful way to tell someone you love them.” She leant down, her lips hovering above his before brushing over them. “Thank you.”

Mikhail felt his chest tighten, his newly synchronised heart threatening to burst from the pressure. “It is?”

“Mmm-hmm,” she murmured, rubbing their noses together.

His breath left him in a rush, his arms flopping onto the bed beside him. “Thank the gods for that. Idolove you. But I didn’twant to say it just because it felt like the next step in a process. I don’t want you to think I’m ticking off boxes.”

“I don’t think that way. I believe you. Not only because I can feel what’s in here …” She placed her palm over his heart. “But because like recognises like.”

Mikhail lifted his head from the pillow. “Does that mean what I think it means?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the moment.

Jinx smiled, a soft and tender curve of her lips. “If you think it means that I love you right back, then yes.”

Relief and joy surged through him, and he pulled her close, kissing her with a newfound fervour. His heart leapt against hers, and he pulled back, smiling. “I am very much in love with you, Jinx …” He frowned, cocking his head. “I don’t even know your last name.”

Jinx spread her hands over his pecs, her palms rubbing his nipples. “Fiadh. I rarely have a need to use it.”

“Fee-a,” Mikhail repeated slowly, wondering why it sounded oddly familiar.

“It’s a family name on the maternal side. Most shifters are matrilineal, as you know. Fiadh meanswild.” She grinned at him, rocking back against his semi-hardness. “Very fitting.”

Mikhail rumbled his agreement, his hands spanning her small waist. “Very fitting indeed. Well, Jinx Fiadh, I’m in love with you. Do you mind if I say it at least one hundred times a day?”

“I think I’ll be okay with that,” Jinx promised him, tracing over the teeth marks on his neck with a finger.

They beamed at each other, and he was about to pull his lovely mate beneath him when his door burst open. Splinters of wood flew in every direction, and he flipped Jinx onto her back, creating a forcefield around them both without thought. Hestared in shock when Sabre charged into the room, her red and gold wings spread wide.

“Who do I need to fuck up?” Sabre practically snarled.

“I kind of thought she’d take this better after our last conversation,” Mikhail muttered from the side of his mouth. Jinx laughed, the movement pressing her breasts against his chest. He groaned. “By all that is holy, stay still.”

Jinx bit her lip, her eyes twinkling merrily. “Sorry.”

He mock-glared at her before turning to Sabre. “Nobody needs fucking.”

“You can say that again,” Jinx purred, stretching her arms out and arching her back. “Fucking has already been had.”

Mikhail closed his eyes and prayed for strength. “You’re really not helping.”

Sabre marched over to the end of the bed, pointing a spear at Mikhail. “I just went to Jinx’s room to see if you manned up and told her how you felt. I found a one-armed dead dude, and there’s blood everywhere and no sign of either of you. What the fuck is going on?”

“I can explain,” Jinx said. She pushed herself onto her elbows, and Mikhail made sure she was covered by a sheet as he dropped the forcefield.

“Turns out that Carrick—a fae who frequented brothels and forced himself on women—had a little obsession with me. He gave me the collar, ran to Z and told him all about it. Z gave him a round of applause and promised him a place in his new world order, overinflating Carrick’s sense of self-worth, which led to him accosting me in my room. Mikhail here took exception to that and ripped off his arm before beating him to death with it. That turned us both on, and we proceeded to mate like beasts in heat, just as fate intended us to.” She paused, thinking for a moment before snapping her fingers. “Oh, we’re also in love.”

Sabre’s eyes moved back and forth between them, the spear slowly lowering to the floor. “So, kind of a lot happened in the last hour, huh?”

“Hour?” Mikhail gasped, highly offended. “I don’t think so. It’s been much more than an hour. Right, Jinx? It’s beenmultiplehours. Right?”

Jinx exchanged a decidedly female look with Sabre before patting Mikhail on the thigh. “Of course it has, honey.”

“Don’t worry. Brax sometimes has the same problem. I try to think of it as a compliment,” Sabre offered.

“Out!” Mikhail shouted, pointing to the ruined doorway. “Get out.”

Sabre expertly twirled the spear, her wings folding back. “What do you want us to do with the guy you used as foreplay?”

Mikhail pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself as he listened to Jinx giggle beside him. “Dispose of the body. Clean up the mess. And give us the day. We’ll update everyone later.”

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