Gods. I fucking love your cock,Maven thinks in a daze.
I smile against her skin, kissing it. “My dark little darling, did you just confess your love for me?”
“I distinctly said your cock.”
“Last I checked, that’s part of me. I’ll have to tell the others that you officially professed your undying love to me first. Hopefully, it leads to a gloriously violent altercation.”
She rolls her eyes, but I sense the satisfied sleepiness that is slowly weighing her down. My pretty newlybound keeper is going to need more rest before we leave tomorrow to hunt her prey.
I kiss the tip of her nose and gently pull out of her, trying not to groan at the sensation. I scoop her up and begin walking back to the cottage.
“I can walk,” she protests through a yawn.
“I much prefer holding you.”
She hums and slips into tranquil unconsciousness. A few minutes later, just as I’m nearing the cottage, Frost’s panicked voice floods the bond.
Maven? Where are you?
Crane is right behind him.Are you all right,sangfluir?What happened? Where did you?—
I scowl when Maven begins to rouse from sleep due to their stupidity. Sending the softest ripple of my power through her, I lull her back into a deep rest.
She’s exquisite as always, so don’t get your knickers in a twist,I tell them telepathically just as I open the door of the cottage.
Their shocked expressions are priceless, made even better because they both squint like idiots, unable to see me well in the dark.
Decimus sits up groggily. “What the fuck’s going on?”
I hush him and lay Maven gently beside Crane once more. “Shut your mouths. She needs sleep.”
“Were you just fucking heroutside?” Frost growls quietly. “Out in the dirt where anyone could have seen? She deserves the comfort of a bed at least, you?—”
I roll my eyes and touch his leg to send a much less gentle pulse of sleepiness through him, quickly giving Crane the same treatment. But when I turn to Decimus, he’s not making a fuss like the others. He’s longingly watching Maven sleep.
“So what’s it like? Being bound to her?”
“Like beautifully fucked-up puzzle pieces falling into place,” I murmur and then sigh. “Don’t pout. You’ll be bound to her soon enough.”
He lays back down, staring at the ceiling. “Yeah, I really fucking hope so.”
I slip back into Limbo, leave the cottage to gather our clothes, redress myself, and quickly return to wait for Maven to begin dreaming again.
But Decimus isn’t falling asleep. Just as I’m debating putting him out, too, he sits up.
“Hey. Crypt?”
I emerge from Limbo to show I’m here, but the dragon shifter hesitates, rubbing his neck.
“Just spit it out, Decimus.”
He clears his throat. “Thanks for looking out for me. Back then, I mean.”
Idiot. I thought we had an unspoken agreement not to talk about any part I played in his past, so I roll my eyes again.
“Never mistake us for being friends. If you lose control of that fucking dragon again and come anywhere close to hurting Maven, I’ll kill you without blinking,” I warn.
“I’d deserve it,” Decimus nods. Then he frowns in the darkness. “Was Overbite telling the truth about you burning out from your curse?”
