Page 44 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

“Well that was terrifying,” I finally whispered, when I knew we were alone.

“Terrifying is far too weak a word.”

My lips curved upward, just slightly. “It could’ve been worse.”

“Of course it could’ve been worse. I could’ve lost you.” There was a growl in his voice that made me shiver.

The rain seemed to have stopped, but my mind was moving too quickly to pay attention to that. And of course, it had gone back to the very thing that had stressed me out earlier, even after almost dying.

A prime example of my shitty traumatized brain, I supposed.

I couldn’t help it; I blurted my thoughts. “Oren thinks the bond is pushing you to feel more for me than you would otherwise. It creates attachment, he says.”

Aev didn’t answer immediately. His lack of response told me he probably agreed.

And if he agreed…

Well, then we needed to fix it.

“I don’t want you to fall in love with me because of a bond,” I said quietly. “I don’t want you to lose your mind because of our connection if the next klynna kills me. We’re just friends—and as your friend, I think we need to break the bond to protect you.”

Aev’s body was completely still against mine. He barely seemed to breathe. “What do you suggest, then?”

“I can ask the female fae. One of them might be willing to kiss you, to remove the connection. I—”

“Iwon’ttouch another woman. And I doubt vows would be enough to break us at this point.” His voice was hard, and…

Maybe cold, too.

My throat swelled. “I can talk to Teris. He’s probably in pain after ending things with Sunny. I know he wouldn’t fall in love with me, too, so he’d be a safe choice.”

“I don’t trust Teris.” Aev’s voice was harder, and colder.

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t keep doing what we’re doing.” I released my grip on him, and he stiffly let go of me so I could take a step away. “I’m saying that I don’t want to hurt you. And I don’t want our connection to turn into what you had with Naomi.”

“You bring me to life when she darkened and deadened me, Thorns,” he said, those gorgeous blue eyes burning me furiously. “Our connection is nothing like that.”

“But I don’t want to hurt you.” I tossed a hand toward the trees. “What if that klynna had killed me?”

“I would’ve ended it brutally, and spent the rest of my fucking days freezing its heart in its chest over and over again.” The words were a low growl, but more than that, they were a promise.

“That’s not healthy,” I protested.

“Then what is it?” He stepped toward me, carefully taking my face between his hands. “Tell me, Thorns. What is this fear in my chest, this need in my belly, this desperation in my mind?”

“It sounds like—” I cut myself off, not allowing myself to finish the sentence.

Because it sounded likelove, and I had no idea what that would mean for us.

A tense moment passed before his lips brushed mine once, and then again. With the third kiss, he didn’t pull away. Hecapturedme.

His tongue slipped into my mouth, his hands tilting my face back further as he slowly stroked into my mouth once, and then again.

My body came to life against his, my fingers digging into his back as he kissed me slowly, and intensely.

“Take your shirt off, Thorns,” he murmured against my lips.

“Do it yourself,” I countered, breathless as he pulled away. His fingers slid beneath the hem of my tank, and smoothly lifted it over my head.

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