Though when he put his hand just a little too low on my belly I inched back.
“Do you want a contraceptive binding or not?” he growled.
I gritted my teeth harder and let him touch me. He closed his eyes, muttered a few words and that was that, all done. Simple, it seemed.
Thank God.
“Now… as for another binding?” He stepped back and slowly circled me, peering closely. I felt like an animal being inspected. He touched my back between my shoulder blades and the back of my neck, then circled back around to the front and touched my stomach.
“Hmmm, yes… there is a binding in place restricting your form.” His tone was impassive.
“Can you remove it?”
He shook his head. “I cannot. Whoever put it in place was a master. I do not know the conditions required to remove it. Yet, I sense that despite its strength, it is weakening, probably why you can’t quite keep a human or nymph form completely yet.” He shrugged. “Come back in sixmonths, and perhaps I’ll be able to break it with sheer force at that point.”
He turned away. “You may dress now. Was there anything else?”
Nope, I was done with being poked and prodded — even if I’d asked for it — by this haughty ass-hat.
“That’s all,” I said and quickly slipped my clothes on.
I left the clinic and meandered back to my dorm, wondering what it meant that someone had put a binding on me to keep me looking human. I mean, it made sense that I’d have to look human growing up in the human realm, but… something about it felt… wrong.
Like… why was it weakening? Why now?
And why wasn’t Pointy-ears able to remove it if it was failing? He’d mentioned something about conditions, but… Well, I didn’t know enough about bindings to form any sort of opinion about it. I’d have to talk to someone who knew more…
But from what Professor Rheoran had said, that would have to be an elf. And I hadn’t yet met an elf I liked.
Which put me right back where I started.
Though, I’d at least confirmed Ihada binding andthatwas why my eyes and ears and hair were doing strange things. That was something, some small piece of the puzzle. Though I thanked my water-magic instructor more than the doctor. She’d been the one to guess the cause.
And since there wasn’t much I could do… my thoughts meandered back to Vyns… and Myel… and Rook.
Rook, despite being a demon — that still blew my mind — seemed like a decent guy. I still hated him for turning me in to the fae-police or whatever, but that was really the only black mark on his record. He was sinfully sexy and hadgiven me more orgasms — and achingly good ones at that — than any man ever. Though he was an incubus, so… that made sense. He’d also helped me a bit while I’d been here, and he’d — mostly — respected my personal space in the whole bathroom-sharing issue.Plus,he’d kept the secret I shouldn’t have let slip about being bonded to someone.
Did I trust him? No. Because I didn’t trust most men, but he was slowly earning his way out of the doghouse for betraying me.
And Myel. If I trusted any man here, it was him. He’d never betray me. The bond wouldn’t allow it.
Huh… odd… Pointy-ears hadn’t said anything aboutthatbond? Was a mate bond different than an elven binding? I had no clue, but I guessed it must be, if the doc hadn’t sensed it. And a good thing he hadn’t too. I probably should have thought of that before I’d gone to see him. Maybe I shouldn’t go back, just to be safe.
Anyway, yes, I trusted Myel, but he was complicated in a completely different way. He wanted more from me than just sex, but I wasn’t ready to give it. He’d said he accepted that, but… I wasn’t so sure. He’d also said I should see other guys — and I guess I was now, sort of, just not sexually — but again I had a feeling Myel wouldn’t like me being around others.
I wondered if the bond worked both ways on that. I tried to imagine my beautiful Goth being swarmed by other women.
Oh… yup. It worked both ways. I didn’t even know who these imaginary women were, but I wanted to kick their asses to get them away frommy man.
Wow, that near to overwhelming sense of jealousy gave me a strong sense for what this bond was doing to me.Perhaps I’d give Myel a little slack for his jealousy, if and when it reared its ugly head.
I just had no clue how we’d make things work going forward. Would I eventually give in and want more from him? My warning bells screamed at me that that would only lead to heartache and pain. He wouldn’t leave me, but what if he died? Given his dangerous life, that was a distinct possibility. That meant keeping my distance… as much as the bond would allow.
And Vyns… Fuck.
He wanted more from me emotionally as well, but in a completely different way. He wanted me to be a superhero and save this world, for him and all who suffered. And… yeah, I had a feeling Vyns wanted more than that too, that he wanted… me, but that seemed secondary for him.
And I definitely didn’t trust him, despite all his impassioned words, pouring out his pain to me. He seemed dedicated, but… most men lied. The question was, who was he lying to… me or Saldrea?
