Page 10 of Maiming
“I’ll explain it later.”
“What happened between Kain andBrylee.” Her name has a harsher tone to it now that I can’t really explain.
Rime doesn’t meet my gaze as he looks to the ground. For a moment I think he might not tell me. That maybe it isn’t his place to tell me about Kain’s love life.
“She wanted Kain. Then she wanted Chaos.” White streaks of cold frost are in his eyes. “Chaos never clicked. He never formed a bond. I think it messed with Chaos that he was just a backup in a way. The guy she’d fawn over when Kain was busy. In the end, I think it pissed her off that it was just Kain. I think it pissed him off that she wanted so much more, but he doesn’t talk about it. It’s hard knowing you’re not enough.”
My stomach pivots low as I stare up at the absent look in his eyes. My chest presses against his as my hands push through his messy hair. Still he doesn’t look at me.
Do they think that about me? Do they know that they’re completely enough?
I’ve never had several people I care about. I don’t know how any of this works.Honesty. Honesty is important here. I can tell that it’s the backbone of our relationship.
But I should start vocalizing all of this more. I never want them to think I don’t care about them. Because I do. I care so much it scares me.
“She tried a lot of things, tried a lot of men. I think with the women here having a couple of men each she thought she’d be some sort of fucking queen bee of dragon shifters.”
There’s something pressing to each word he says. Like he’s building up to something he doesn’t want to say.
“One night she came up to me, furious and demanding, probably a little drunk.The broken oneshe called me. She said she’d fuck the broken one too if that’s what it took to get Chaos to find an interest in her.”
A new sort of anger rips through my chest at the sound of her words on his tongue.
“What did you say?”
“I told her if she was looking for more meaningless sex in her life, she could go fuck herself.”
My lips pull with an astounded smile, but the serious look in his eyes takes away all my amusement.
“She mocked Chaos’ sexuality over and over again for days to my face and it fucking enraged me. I never acted on it, but the strain between she and I ruined the bond Kain had started to feel. She threw a tantrum from hell, telling Kain he should banish me from the village. He refused.” There’s a painful sound to his voice now. A guilty sound. “So, she said she’d have her father banish me if Kain didn’t have the balls to address my outbursts.”
My fingers dig into his hair, pulling lightly as my arms tighten around him. There’s an irrational need to protect him, to protect him from something that happened a long, long time ago.
But I can’t.
I can only be here for him now.
“I told Kain I’d just go, I’d go lie low for a while.”
“That’s bullshit, Rime.” The words snap from my mouth without thought.
“That’s what Kain said.”
“What happened?”
His palms push low against my back, aligning our bodies just right. His eyes warm as he meets my gaze.
“He broke the mating bond without telling her. All three of us left. We traveled around a little bit. Got into trouble. And then we met this sexy fucking babbling mage.” The way my heart falters is like my emotions telling me they’re going down hard. And there’s nothing I can do about it. “She was smart when she wasn’t trying to talk her way out of things. Pretty when she showed her vulnerability. So strong when she let her emotions out.”
His lips part like he wants to tell me more but instead of speaking, he seals his lips against mine. My palms shove his shoulders and he stumbles back but never breaks our kiss. I guide him until his boots falter against the three steps that lead down. A smile parts his lips as he tries to keep kissing while he stumbles down the cellar steps.
“You really want to fuck in a cellar?” His voice is a whisper like Kain’s mother might hear us if he says the f word too loudly.
I press my fingers into his shoulder until he sits down on the bottom step, and he pulls closed the thin wooden door above him. Only dim lantern light highlights his perfect features. I stand in front of him in the small room next to a pile of lumber.
I can’t help but wonder when Kain might return down here.
“I wasn’t planning on fucking you.”
