Page 62 of Rule

I pressed my forehead against his and tooka deep breath. “Thank you for offering, Court, but I don’t think it’s a goodidea.”

“It is,” he said.

“It isn’t. If we sleep together, it’ll makeyou feel guilty and it’ll cause tension between you and Bran.”

“It will not,” he insisted.

I lifted my head and he cupped the back ofmy skull again. “Perhaps there will be some guilt, but just as I am helpingyou, you can help me.”

“What do you mean?” I said.

“Bran does not feel the way that I do. He hasslept with a female without me. Eventually, he will look for a mate to helphim raise Bella and to have more children with. We tried before to share amate and it,” he paused, “ended badly.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“I do not wish to talk about it.” His tailhit the rungs of the chair so hard, I was surprised it didn’t crack them. “Thepoint is, just like you must learn how to sleep with a Draax and please theking, I must learn how to sleep with a female on my own. We would be helpingeach other.”

He made a certain kind of sense. Maybe itwould be helpful to him. Or was that just my desire to sleep with himconvincing me it would? Shit, I had no idea.

“Can I think about it?” I said. “I need abit more time.”

“Yes.” He pressed a brief kiss against mymouth. “I want this, little human, but I will not force you to fuck me if youdo not wish to. You do not have to be afraid of me.”

I gave him a startled look. That thoughthad never crossed my mind. “I know that, Court. I don’t think you’ll force meto do anything and I’m not afraid of you or Bran.”

“Are you not?”

“No,” I said. “I know that sometimes Iflinch, or I act afraid but that’s an instinct thing. I hate that I do it andI hope that eventually I’ll stop, but I promise – I’m not afraid of you or Bran.You both have been very kind to me, and you saved my life by giving me the gallberryjuice.”

He gave me another kiss, but I pulled awaybefore I could give in to my urge to deepen it. “I won’t make you wait longfor my decision. I promise.”

* * *

Evelyn

Not making Court wait long for my decision wasthe understatement of the year. Our conversation had taken place, what – eighthours ago – and here I was standing in front of his bedroom door.

I glanced at my body, wishing that I had somethinga little sexier to wear than my tank top and shorts. Shivering from the cold,I glanced at Bran’s closed door. It was late, after midnight, and the entirehouse was quiet and dark.

I still wasn’t one hundred percent certainthat I was making the right choice, but my desire to be with Court had overriddenthe last of my worries.

It would be better if Bran joined us.

I glanced at his bedroom door with my handraised to knock on Court’s. Yes, it would be better with Bran there. In fact,it didn’t feel right to me that we were doing this without him despite how littleI knew about either of them, but I had no choice.

Bran didn’t want me the way that I wanted him,and I really was afraid that the king would send me packing if I wasn’t good inbed. And Court needed my help learning how to be with a woman without Bran.

This was a good thing, I told myself beforerapping softly on Court’s door. I was helping him, and he was helping me. Softlight spilled out from under his door so at least I didn’t have to worry aboutwaking him.

The door opened and the look of pure delighton Court’s face washed away the rest of my doubt.

“Hello, little human.”

“Hello, Court. Can I come in.”

“Yes.” He stepped aside and I walked into hisbedroom, my nerves singing at me as I brushed past his half-naked body. He waswearing just a pair of sleep pants and I stared at him in the flickering lightof the fireplace. His room was deliciously warm compared to mine.

He stared at the goosebumps on my arms andlegs before his gaze settled on my tits. Warmth ignited in my belly, startinga slow burn of need, and I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry it’s so late.”

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