Page 159 of Primal Bonds

Fane dropped onto the wood chair and picked up his ale. But he didn’t take a drink, just turned the brown bottle in his hands, unsettled by the encounter with Roald.

Marjani began eating with a delicate greed that reminded him of a stray cat that had adopted his family when he was a kid in Newfoundland. A sleek gray female, the cat hadn’t been able to look awkward if it tried—just like Marjani.

She was halfway through when she gave a rueful grin and offered him the plate. “I’m starved—sorry. Would you like some?”

He helped himself to some bread and cheese and then handed back the plate, telling her to finish it. “You need it more than me.”

“Thanks. I’ve burned a lot of energy this past week.” She touched the quartz, and then flicked him a look and hurriedly dropped her hand as if afraid to draw his attention to it.

Irritation spiked through him. What did she think he was going to do, rip the goddamn quartz from her neck? Then he remembered that she’d been attacked. Maybe some man had ripped it from her neck.

He took a gulp of ale.

She ate more slowly now. Her tongue flicked a crumb from the corner of her mouth, and he was reminded again of the graceful gray cat. He half expected her to swipe a tongue over her palm and use it to wash her face.

And why the hell was that arousing? But it was. He pictured her strong dancer’s body under his while he licked and nipped at her lush rose lips. Or maybe straddling him, slim fingers wrapped around his cock as she closed those soft lips around the head…

She licked a dab of goat cheese off her finger and he shifted on the chair, so hard it hurt.

He dragged his gaze from her and finished his ale. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. “Marjani.”

She paused in the act of lifting her bottle to her mouth. Whatever she saw on his face made her set it on the small table between them. A steel stiletto jumped into her hand.

At least that was an improvement on the iron switchblade. She could cut him with steel, but with his fae blood, he’d heal fast. Iron, on the other hand, could do some serious damage.

He blew out a breath. “Put that damn thing away. You have nothing to fear from me.”

“No?” She cast a pointed look at the tent in his jeans.

He lifted a shoulder. “I’m a man—and a fae. I like sex and I find you attractive. Doesn’t mean I’m going to act on it.”

She set the tip of the blade on her index finger. A flick of her hand, and the stiletto began spinning. She let it spin for a few seconds and then sent it flipping over the back of her hand. She caught it with her other hand and threaded it through her fingers in a dazzling display.

His mouth quirked. If she thought her little demonstration frightened him off, she was mistaken. But he was sorry if he’d made her uncomfortable.

“I get the point, love.” He leaned back in his chair, left foot hooked over his right thigh. “Literally. And if it helps, I already knew you were lethal.”

She slipped the stiletto back into her boot. “And you know this how?”

“It’s my business to know things. You’re Adric’s second—one of his top people. No one knows much about you, except that you were at his side as he fought his way to alpha. But I’ve heard those knives aren’t just for show. “

In fact, she was the Baltimore clan’s top assassin, but he was too canny to say it aloud. Let her guess how much he knew.

Her smile was full of teeth. “Just for the record, you might want me—but there’s no way in Hades you’re going to have me.”

“As you say.” He waved a negligent hand. “Now, how about I tell you a story about a little girl who grew up at court? A beautiful and Gifted girl with more natural power than the court had seen in a generation. She would’ve been a court favorite except for one thing. She was born of an ice fae father and a night fae mother.”

“Go on.” Marjani drew up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees.

He stared at a softly glowing fae light, formulating his words. He wasn’t telling the story to be clever. He was forbidden to speak of Lady Blaer directly to an outsider.

“Maybe she was born twisted, or maybe it was because she was shunned from a young age. I don’t know. Her mother kept her for the first decade or so and then dumped her in Reykjavik and told her to make her way to the ice fae court. The king took her in and kept her close—she was too powerful to do otherwise—but she spent most of her time in the east tower with only goblins for company.”

“Holy mother. That’s inhuman.” Marjani shook her head against her knees. “And you people call us animals.”

“They’re not my people,” he growled. Once, he’d hoped… But not now—they’d made it clear he was an outsider, one of the lesser races. “And yes, they are inhuman. They’re fae.”

She blinked. “Gotcha. So who is this lady and why do I care?”

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