“So they convinced you to talk to me?” I did my best not to make a face. If Patrick speaking with Saneth helped bring us together, I couldn’t despise him for that. It was only jealousy that made me feel a certain way toward him.
“Them and… Yamileth.”
Jerking back, I looked at him incredulously. “Yamileth? She poisoned me!” I bellowed.
“Well… She also had good advice. And gave me liquor when I was too nervous to confront you. She’s not as bad as she seems.”
A series of choking sounds escaped me, but I couldn’t come up with something to say. On the one hand, she’d helped Saneth when he needed her most. On the other— “She poisoned me!”
He rolled his eyes. “She did not. She gave you the shits. Apparently, she tried to do the same to me, but it didn’t workas effectively as it had on you. I don’t hold a grudge, nor should you, after what she did for us.”
That didn’t make me feel any better. If anything, it only made me angrier. I could take the pain and humiliation. No one was allowed to hurt Saneth. He was mine to protect.
Warm, roughened hands cupped my face, drawing me down. Saneth’s lips on mine drew me away from my wrath, settling me in the way only his presence ever could. He was my best friend, my confidant, closer to me than my own family. Becoming more, having him wrapped around me like this, was worth the pain and suffering I’d endured. He was worth it.
Drawing away, I rested my forehead against his with a gusty sigh. “Fine. I will let it go. But I don’t trust her.”
“You’ll also apologize to Patrick,” he informed me, making me blink again.
“What? Why?”
That got me an exasperated look. “You were cruel in your jealousy, and he still chose to help me. You will apologize to him and make it right.”
I made a face, but I should have known better than to argue. Saneth called me stubborn, but he was worse than I was. He used a move we’d learned during our training to flip me onto my back, straddling my hips as he glared down at me. I appreciated the view and hoped that his intention was to distract me with more sex, but again, I should have known better.
“No. No more sex until you apologize,” he insisted with a glare. “He’s my friend, Tavik. He helped me reach you. You’ll apologize to him or else.”
Since I didn’t want him to find out yet just how much I’d give him, including apologizing to Patrick, I instead playfully asked, “Or else?”
He leaned over, surprising me by sinking his teeth into my neck in a bite that was just shy of painful. I groaned, andmy hips lifted automatically, my cock swelling. If this was my punishment, I wasn’t going to say anything to Patrick because I wanted him to continue. Perhaps with a few orgasms, I’d be more open to the idea.
Moving his mouth to my ear, he whispered, “Or else I’ll make you hard and keep you that way until you do. You forget, I know you well. You’ve confessed to me what drives you wild in the past. I will use that to my advantage.”
Exhaling sharply, I looked up at him incredulously when he pulled back with a smug grin. “You truly are evil,” I breathed.
His grin only grew until he looked like a shadowstalker ready to devour me. How had I not noticed before that I wanted him? Seeing him like this, making demands and fighting for what he wanted, made my heart skip and my cock twitch. I was a fool not to have seen it before.
“Alright, fine. I’ll apologize,” I said, defeated.
“Promise?” he demanded insistently.
I nodded. “I promise, brokkul. I will make it right.”
I’d hoped he would help me with my swollen cock once I admitted defeat. He’d told me once that he tended to be a possessive lover. I didn’t think he’d want anyone to see me wanting like I was. So when he rolled off me and grabbed his legwear, it took me off guard.
“Wait. Now?”
“Yes, now,” he said, tossing my own legwear at me and hitting me in the face with it. “He should be up already to make breakfast with Yamileth. We can talk to him before things get busy.”
He gave me no choice but to get moving, nudging and shoving me when I dragged my feet until we’d done a thorough search for the man and eventually stood outside Verus’s tent. He was so intent on seeing his friend that he didn’t hear the sounds Idid before calling out. I had to bite back a laugh. At least I wasn’t the only one being interrupted for this.
“Patrick?”
The sounds stopped, and whispers replaced them before Patrick called out in response. “I’m coming!”
My muscles went taut as Patrick and Verus stepped out, my instinct to start a fight with the man who’d ignored my interest on the tip of my tongue. I swallowed it down, keeping my gaze on Saneth, who raised his hands placatingly.
“He’s here to apologize,” he rushed out.
