Page 168 of Bitten By the Fae
Her lips parted on a quick breath, her pupils dilating. “I want to break it.”
“No, you don’t,” he replied softly, pulling away from her ear to meet her gaze once more. “As Zeph said, you’re upset. I’m sorry. He’s sorry. Fuck, I think even Shade’s sorry. None of us meant to hurt you. And before you accuse me of not caring again, why do you think the three of us went to the LethaForest, Aflora? Why did we bite you?”
“To hide my growing powers,” she answered without hesitation. “Everything you’ve done is to protect yourselves.”
He shook his head. “How did forming an Elemental mating bond protect me?”
“That was an accident. You blamed me for tricking you, remember?”
“Because I was shocked,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I wanted you and still do.”
“Is that what you told the humans this week? The ones you played with and fed from?” She narrowed her gaze at him. “Do they all get false promises, Kols? Or just me?”
“Just you,” he murmured, his lips going to her ear. “But they’re not false, princess. My vows to you are every bit true.”
She snorted, not buying it at all. “Right.” Those blue eyes met mine over Kols’s shoulder. “And what about you, Zeph?”
I arched a brow. “What about me?”
“I saw you last night, looking refreshed from blood consumption. Did you give her false promises, too? Or do you just tie up your playmates and gag them?”
A vision of her tied up in my bed entered my mind, intriguing me. “Do you want to be tied up, Aflora?”
“Is that really all you heard?” She shook her head and searched out Shade.
He’d hopped up off the ground some time ago to lean against the wall and observe. His expression now dared her to taunt him with her exquisite mouth.
“I don’t even want to know where you’ve been the last few days,” she muttered.
“Miss me in your dreams, little rose?” he asked, amused.
“No.”
“Liar,” he murmured.
She growled, then went back to trying to shove Kols away from her. “Let me go.”
“Never,” he promised, his hand gliding to her throat to force her attention back to him. “Our souls are engaged, Aflora. You can’t change that.”
“Watch me,” she snapped.
His lips curled. “It’s not possible, sweetheart. Your soul claimed mine and vice versa. Even Sol saw it, despite the glamour tied to my wristband. He about killed me for it.”
Aflora stopped fighting, her eyes widening. “Sol?”
“Yeah, big guy with rocks for fists,” Kols drawled. “He introduced one to my face. Thankfully, I heal quickly.” He released Aflora and took a step back. “He gave me a few things for you. They’re in a bag in my room.”
“What? Why didn’t you give them to me when you returned?”
“Because you stormed through the room last night, slammed your door, and refused to come out afterward,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “You haven’t exactly been all that chatty lately, Aflora.”
“Because you were off playing in the Human Realm.”
“If by ‘playing,’ you mean meeting with Exos, Cyrus, and Sol, then sure. And before you ask, yes, I fed. Something I can do without fucking, by the way. But I’m really glad we’re having the exclusivity discussion because if you so much as touch another male, I’ll kill him.”
“Same,” I agreed.
Shade merely shrugged. “You two have it covered.”
