Page 111 of The Stone Secret
I could believe it. After what Sharniza had told me about her upbringing, it was obvious that the goyle youth were trained to have very little wants or attachments. I suppose it made it easy for them to be trained to serve a singular cause.
Taz, fed up of being petted, wandered off with a flick of his tail.
We moved to the window and the epic view of campus and the world beyond the walls.
The tight muscles in my shoulders relaxed a little. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…beautiful…”
I glanced at him to find him staring not at the view but at me.
My stomach dipped. “Curi…”
He dipped his gaze. “You can’t be with him.”
“I know that.”
“Then be with me.”
“What?”
“I can give you what you need. I can fill the emptiness.”
“I’m fine. I don’t need—”
“Maybe not now. But you will. I want you to come to me.” He turned me to face him and stepped closer so that I had to tip my chin up to look at his face. “Promise me that when the time comes…when you’re needing…you’ll come to me.” His voice was a low rumbling caress that touched a place deep inside me. The part of me that longed for physical connection and the warmth of a lover’s touch.
“Curi, you feel this way now, but there is an omega out there for you. Maybe even a fated mate.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But until then, you have me. If you want me.”
I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell him that I’d never get to that point, but I couldn’t, because a fated mate bond was forever, and forever, when you could never have it, was an eternity. I wasn’t made of stone, and neither was Serath.
He’d proven that with Jana.
I tucked in my chin, unable to look at him when I accepted his offer. “When the time comes…Ifit comes, then I’ll come to you.”
Curi pulled me in for a hug and kissed my temple. “We’ll get through this, Basque. We will.”
And just like that, with the use of my surname, he set the boundary back in place.
“Thank you.” I hugged him back, but an icy finger slid up my spine, and my scalp tightened in warning just before a gruff male voice broke the companionable silence.
“Enjoying the view?”
I stepped out of Curi’s arms. “Curi was waiting with me till you all got back.”
Serath lifted his chin slightly, looking down his nose at us. “No need to explain. He can sleep over if you want. I’ll be at Outpost Ten with Jana.”
His words were a stab to the gut, but I bit back my gasp of pain.
Curi cursed softly. “It’s not like that with us. Cameron has a little more willpower than you, it seems.” He dropped his gaze to mine, and I blinked back the stupid tears that pressed against the back of my eyes. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
I wanted to hurt Serath. Wanted to say yes to Curi, but that would be a lie. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone. “No. Thank you, Curi. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Serath smiled coldly at Curi. “I’m sure you can see yourself out.”
Curi snorted softly and shook his head. “Fate’s a bitch.”
