Page 108 of The King's Man
“Jann? What’s going on?”
“We’re going to need to cut the bindings,” he said quietly.
Oh. Shit.
I frowned and he hurried on. “It will draw too much attention to have you tied to me outside of a Neph camp—and I don’t want you hindered if we meet a fight. Not to mention that we’ll needthe freedom of movement to split up if we find any leads. I’m not putting you at risk just to—”
“It’s okay,” I sighed and stroked his stubbled cheek, letting my fingernails scratch through those warm prickles. “It was always going to happen.”
He nodded, but his eyes searched mine like he was nervous.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I don’twantto,” he said quickly. “It’s a practical decision, but not what I would choose—”
“It’s okay, Jann. I agree.”
He looked mollified, and I was glad that he cared, but there was a deep ache in the pit of my chest about it. It was awkward being tied together, but a small part of me feared losing him when we weren’t. I knew that was silly—the bond was real whether we were bound at all. But the thought niggled.
“Dee?” Jann’s hand slid to my face and he tipped up my chin, leaning on the elbow of the hand that was bound to mine. “Do we cut it, or untie it?”
“Cut it,” I said. Untying it would be—”
“Forget I said it,” he said quietly, his frown deepening. He leaned away from me, reaching for something behind him.
A blade.
He placed it on the furs between us and we both stared at it.
My heart sank. But I was arguing with myself. So silly! This had to be done—he was right that it would draw too much attention to walk through the city tied together like that. And webothneeded to be free to fight or flee or follow leads in different directions.
There was no reason to fight it… except that my heart still lurched from the thoughts of the destroyed city and…
‘Don’t overthink it,’he sent and I smiled a little bit, because it was the first time he’d remembered and reached for me in the link before I reached for him.
‘I’m thinking about how I need to stop thinking about it,’I admitted with a little shake of my head.
Jann growled and reached over my waist to pull my hips closer. He was hard, I realized. I blinked and looked up at him, half-smiling.
‘Really, General?’
‘I can think of worse ways to cut the tie, than in the throes of an orgasm.’
I snorted, smiling into his kiss when he leaned in and took my mouth, then rolled me over onto my back.
We were both still naked, so there was no further awkwardness or need to cut through clothing. But at first, I couldn’t relax. The knife lay benignly on the furs next to my arm.
Jann gathered me in and kissed me deeply, settling himself between my thighs and pinning me to the furs—a sensation I usually loved, but the moment he rolled against me I tensed.
He stopped immediately, pushing up on his elbows to look down at me, his warrior’s length falling over his shoulder, tangled and messy from my fingers gripping it earlier.
“Dee.”
“Just do it,” I whispered. “I’m not going to be able to think about anything else until you do.”
“We don’t have to—”
“I want you. I do. I just… I just need to get it done. I agree that it’s time. I’m not mad. I’m sad.”
