Page 18 of The Magic of Betrayal
"Well yes, but, how do you know? Like, you have no doubt that we're mates?" I asked, and I needed to hear his reasoning on this, because I know what I had felt in the aftermath of whatever had just happened downstairs, but I wasn't exactly up to date on shifter mating habits.
"Hmm, well, from the moment I met you, I've felt this protectiveness over you, a need to provide. I even made the food for you and Fischer's date. Yeah, I like to cook, but I felt almost... compelled to do that. To take care of you, even while you were on a date with another man." Leaning forward, Kai pressed his lips to mine softly before continuing. "So when I knew you were in trouble, and Cam and I hunted you down in that magically doused forest you created, I started to wonder if maybe this was something more. But what are the odds of such a thing? So I pushed it down, we had more urgent things to deal with. While we were having sex with Cam, something in my brain flipped," he confessed, sighing.
It wasn't hard for me to remember that event and when the supposed switch flipped.
"Was it when you were sniffing my soul out of my vagina?"
Kai sputtered, his eyes wide before tossing his head back and laughing like hell.These dudes better quit fucking laughing at me all the time.
"You're so perfect for me, Sprout. I swear." He wiped his eyes with his hands, a big smile lighting up his beautiful face. "But yeah, probably happened around that time. What can I say? I loved the scent of you, knowing how turned on you were? Fuck."
My cheeks flamed, there's just something deliciously dirty about having a sexy man's face between your legs and sniffing like he's gonna do lines of coke off your pussy.Very fucking weird experience, but also, need that to happen again...
"What does being mates entail? I mean, obviously I feel a strong connection between us, and that feeling I had after we had sex downstairs, that was new."
Kai sighed, bringing his hand up to my cheek. "So, it means we're bonded. I want you, always, forever. Bagheera and I are in complete agreement about you, and so our intimacy downstairs most likely snapped the bond in place."
I furrowed my brow at that.
"You should have told me before we did that, I feel kind of like I didn't get a choice in the matter, Kai," I muttered, feeling kind of pissed off about it.
"Sprout, the bond never would have happened if you didn't want it. It's not the act of sex that caused it to happen. The other night we were together and nothing happened, and that's because it wasn't on the radar, but earlier? Some part of you had to have wanted this with me, you can't force a mate bond on someone who isn't willing," Kai explained, looking pained. "I'd never force you to do something you didn't want. If you need time, or..."
I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into the crook of his neck. "No, that's not it. This has just been a really fucking weird week."
Kai began purring as I ran my fingertips through his thick hair.I have a mate. A forever mate... didn't see that one coming.
Of course Kai wouldn't force me into something, none of the guys would. Oh fuck. They know what happened. Ohhh, Daddy was not a happy Daddy. Shit. What does this mean for the rest of them?
"I can practically hear you thinking, Sprout. Talk to me," he urged.
"The others... I can't, I mean—"
"Our relationship with each other is just that, ours. I love that you're with all of us, and earlier, with Sloane... I'm sorry. I'm not a jealous fuck, at least, not with the other guys. I'm going to have to guess that it was due to being in rut for the first time, my instincts were screaming at me that you were mine and I had to have you to myself. Sloane knew what was happening, he should have known better."
My whole body relaxed, thank the stars.
“What does Bagheera think about sharing?” I questioned.
Kai smiled. “We both just want you to be happy, and we know that what makes you happiest is all of us. Coincidentally, everyone being together makes us very happy.”
I thought that over for a moment. The love these guys had for each other was unconditional. Their bond was so strong and I found myself wishing that I’d grown up with a tight knit group like theirs. But maybe I’d get the next best thing and get to keep them as mine.
"I still don't want to share you, though. Not with another woman, ever," I confessed, and pulled back when a growl began building deep in his chest, the rumbling causing my nipples to pebble.
"There will never be another woman for me. Look in my eyes, I'm deadly serious right now, Saige." Kai gripped my chin, not roughly, but firm enough to get my full attention on his face. "I am yours. Yeah, we haven't known each other long, but fate wrote it in the stars that we're destined. You never have to worry about other women, they no longer exist."
He was being one hundred percent truthful, the conviction in his eyes was enough to make me squirm under the intensity of it all.
"It's so bizarre. I feel like I barely know you, and yet, I feel like you're this extension of myself that I never realized I was missing until right now."
"I know. But don't worry about that, Cub. I'm going to wine you, dine you, and sixty-nine you until you know everything there is to know about me, and when you do fall in love with me, you won't have a single doubt in your pretty head that I'm the fucking mage for you."
Laughter escaped my mouth, just moments before Kai's lips crashed against mine in a searing kiss. Gods, this man kissed like he had something to prove, and he spent the next couple of hours doing just that.
Speeding towards the apartment on my vintage Indian, the bite on my arm throbbed, reminding me that I was suddenly dealing with a big, big fucking problem.Fuck!
Mates. They're fucking mates.
