He leaned forward, closing the distance between them. Unlike their desperate kiss in the hallway days ago, this one was gentle, exploratory. Azelon's lips were cool against his, but warming quickly.
The bond between them flared at the contact, emotions flowing back and forth until Corin couldn't tell where his ended and Azelon's began—wonder, relief, desire, hope.
All of it more intense than Corin had ever felt it.
All of it more wonderful.
When they finally parted, both were breathing harder.
"We should return to Jamie," Azelon said, voice rough once more. "He'll wake soon."
"What will we tell him?" Corin asked. "About the bond?"
"The truth." Azelon said with a smile.
Corin couldn't argue with that.
Together they made their way back through the store, which seemed to respond to their passing by opening the doors before they reached them.
As they approached the bedroom, Corin felt a stirring through the bond—Jamie, beginning to wake. The human's emotions were muted by sleep but growing stronger, curiosity and confusion mingling with something deeper.
They entered to find Jamie propped up on one elbow, hair tousled, eyes still heavy with sleep. He blinked at them, gaze moving from their faces to their joined hands.
"Did I miss something?"
Azelon guided Corin to the edge of the bed, their hands still linked.
"Everything," Azelon said, a rare smile softening his features. "And nothing yet."
Jamie's eyebrows rose. His gaze moved between them, assessing, understanding dawning in his eyes.
"About time," he murmured, lips curving into a smile that made Corin's heart stutter.
About time indeed.
Chapter
Fifteen
Jamie stared at the two men who had become his companions in this strange world, heart beating faster than it should. Corin crawled onto the bed to lie between him and Azelon, amber eyes bright with anticipation and something like nervous energy. The fae's usual theatrical confidence had given way to something more genuine—want mixed with uncertainty.
Jamie felt it seep through the tether that connected them, that thin link that longed to grow stronger.
It tugged at him, wanted him to reach out and touch the fae's smooth skin. It was a yearning that welled up from deep inside of him. A yearning that seemed to be shared between the three of them.
The tideborn wasn't immune to it either.
Azelon's markings pulsed with that soft blue glow, his gaze moving between Jamie and Corin as if he couldn't quite believe this was happening. All the walls he'd constructed around himself evaporated, leaving him looking almost vulnerable.
Jamie's mouth went dry.
They didn't just want each other, they wantedhimas well.
Jamie hadn't come here looking to get entangled with two men. There was never any space in his life for anything like this, andespeciallynot now.
"I don't..." Jamie began, then stopped. Through the new bonds, he could feel their emotions—Corin's barely contained excitement, Azelon's desire warring with ingrained restraint.
Corin reached for him, fingers tracing along Jamie's chest. An impossibly light touch. "You don't what?"
