Page 9 of Bonded Ever After

I go to take another swig and Teth catches the bottle and lowers it back down. He doesn’t say anything, and the urge to fight him wells inside of me, then vanishes. Maybe slowing on my drink right now is a good idea.

Maybe I need to calm down before I do something I’ll regret.

Instantly, my spine stiffens. I turn toward the door. I can’t see it from my spot, but I know she’s here before she steps into the room. It’s impossible to breathe. Impossible to do anything except stare. She’s wearing a short black dress that dips low enough in the front that you can see the lace from her black bra. She has on black heels that make the already tall woman look even taller. Her blonde hair lies in waves down her back, and her lips are painted with a deep red lipstick.

My groin tightens. My entire body responds. Fire courses through my veins and an undeniable need to hold her makes it hard to breathe. I miss her. Fuck, how I miss her.

She’s animated, seeming to talk to anyone and everyone , which is very unlike her. She seems to be pulling people into conversations she’s never spoken to before, and there’s laughing and excitement around her. It’s like everyone in the room is aware of her, is being pulled into her gravitation, and I don’t blame them. I feel the pulling too.

Then Ferone is beside her.

Everything changes. Everything inside of me is twisting into something dark and ugly. She turns to him as everyone watches and kisses him. Hard. His hands go to her waist. She tilts her head for him, and the floor drops out from under me.

I start to stand. Teth pushes me back down next to him.

My gaze swings to my best friend. I need help. I need guidance.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” he tells me, his dark eyes filled with warning.

There’s whooping and shouting, and I turn back to see Elora dragging Ferone up the stairs as everybody watches with excitement. Her gaze slides across the crowd, meets mine, and lingers for half a second before she looks away. Then she’s gone up the stairs, and I’m left in even smaller pieces than before.

This can’t be happening.

I get the feeling that this is punishment. Punishment for the way I spoke to her earlier. Maybe she figures she hasn’t hurt me enough, that she needs to make it publicly clear that she’s fucking this asshole right in front of me.

He’s probably already touching her. Already undressing her.

I rise to my feet, and Teth is there in an instant. “Callum…”

I drop the bottle on the floor, not caring when it spills everywhere. Then I meet his gaze. “You’re not going to be able to stop me, so please get the hell out of my way.”

He seems to search my expression for a minute before he steps out of the way. I push my way through the crowd, hating how the music feels too loud, hating that there are people everywhere. It’s like I’m crawling out of my skin and no one can see it except me.

I reach the stairs and climb them like a man climbing to his doom. If I see Ferone up there touching her, if I see him anywhere near her, I’m going to kill him. Not figuratively. I’m going to literally break every bone in his body, and no one is going to be able to stop me.

I get to the first door, try the handle, and find it locked. Stepping back, I kick the fucking thing in and see two terrified people in the middle of fucking. Turning away from them, I go to the next door and do the same thing, but the naked people in the room aren’t them.Lucky for Ferone.Two more broken doors lead to nothing, and then I’m at the final door. Heart in my throat, I kick it open.

Ferone is shirtless on the bed. Elora is in nothing but her bra, underwear, and heels. She’s standing in front of him as his hands rest on her waist. Her eyes widen as they fall on me and time seems to stand still.If I hadn’t walked in here right now, they’d be fucking.

Springing forward, I grab Elora’s dress from off the floor and throw it at her, then yank her out of his grip. I swing back my fist to punch Ferone in the face, but then Elora is there between us, her face twisted with anger.

“Get out! Get the fuck out!”

“Back away,” I tell her.

“No,” she tells me stubbornly.

I’m breathing hard. “I’m going to kill him, and you’re not going to stop me.”

She shoves me back, and in my drunken state I stagger. “Go back to your women and your liquor. We’re having our own party, and you’re not invited.”

I eye the man behind her. “Going to let your slut do all the talking for you?”

Ferone stands. “Look, asshole, if you were any other kind of man, I would’ve kicked your ass a long time ago, but my hands are pretty well tied with you being you. I get your families have beef, I get that you would be awful to anyone she dates, but we’re together now, and you’re just going to have to accept that.”

I laugh. I can’t help myself.Does he really think he can give her what she needs?His gentle thrusting probably doesn’t do a damn thing for her. She needs a man like me. A man who can be her equal.

Elora pulls on her dress between us, then grabs Ferone’s hand. “We’ll just continue this at my place.”

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