Page 186 of Bliss & Her Idols

Torin looks far too satisfied with himself.

Maybe I’ll bitehimlater.

I shake my head ruefully. “Then this sheep has something to say.”

“Bah?”

I shoot Torin a quailing look. He simply points at the nightstand.

My eyes light up, when I notice a mug of coffee, which is balanced next to my phone.

I snatch it up, taking a quick sip; it’s still warm. “You’re forgiven.”

“Thank you.”

“I was talking to the coffee.” I stroke the side of the mug. “Never trick me again. Oh, I could never stay mad at you.”

I take another long drink.

Torin snorts.

I carefully hold the mug in one hand and slide my phone on with the other. I type out a quick text, mainly in emojis, with my other, telling Piper that I’m bonded.

I ask him to pass the news to Chase and Lionzio.

Piper sends back a series of hearts followed by a grinning face, heart-eyes, and winking face.

I wish that Piper could feel this same happiness.

Chase and I now have our pack bonds, but my younger brother is still alone. Piper is awesome. He doesn’t deserve that.

I know that my brothers will be frantic to break me out of this estate if things go wrong.

I want to prove that I can do this first mission not only by myself, but with my new pack, the Idols, at my side.

Then I turn the phone off, rummaging to hide it under the mattress, in case Mena or the twins decide to snoop.

I clasp my hands around the warm mug. “I know that I suck at romance but the way that I answered your question suckeda lot.”

Torin glances at me. “All that mattered is that you said yes.”

“If I hadn’t been out of my mind with heat and pleasure, horny for your knot, this is what I’d have said.” I throw backthe covers, catching a glimpse of the bronze, cotton pajamas that Cricket has been dressed in.

The pajamas are too large for him, hanging off his shoulder. His gleaming, brunet mop of curls is haloed across the pillows.

I tuck the covers back over Cricket. He truly must be tired.

I smooth the shadows under his eyes, before I slip off the bed and crawl across the dusty floor to sit cross legged in front of Torin.

“Did you used to sit down here on the floor underneath the window a lot as a kid?” I ask. “Was this your spot?”

Torin nods. “I didn’t have a chair or desk. Zero stole this guitar for me. I composed my first songs here.”

I take a moment to be certain I know what I want to say. “My answer to whether I love you is that I was falling in love with you from the first moment that I met you in the arena.” Torin sucks in a shocked breath. His eyes are wide and vulnerable. I rest my hand on his knee. “You weren’t only my scent match. I fought it, once I knew what pack you were from, but it was like you were a missing part of my life.”

“It was fate,” he whispers.

“I was frightened of pack bonds because my job is to step in when they’re forced. But you’ve never taken away my control or decisions. You haven’t diminished me in the way that an Alpha…the wrong Alpha…would have. Instead, you’ve built me up. Finally, I feel like I’m not trapped in the shadow of my parents’ legacy. Is this what it’s like to be free?”

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