“Oh, you’ll need them. We hold shit like this over each other's heads.” The edge of my bed dips as he sits.
I know what he’s doing, babbling to remove the awkward air, so I’ll lower my defenses.
He continues, “Wait till you meet the others. Ryker is a scary fuck. He produces more grunting sounds than words, claiming it’s his wind magic talking. He looked at a guy once on the battle field. One look from Ryker and the guy stab himself. True story. One less person to kill. It wasn’t a fae, so I mean no insult. Contrary to what you think, we don’t kill fae for sport. Oh, and Ryker’s eyes are violet. Freaky shit.”
I cross my legs, feigning a relaxed position. “Violet?” I’ll indulge him.
“It’s an odd color, right? Have you ever seen violet eyes?”
“Can’t say I have,” I respond. “So you and Nero are together?” I thought Nero was like his brother? Maybe I was wrong and they consider Nero family because he’s Tristen’s partner.
“Together?” He scratches his head, “Not like that. We just share sometimes. He’s a copy-paste of me. We like the same thing, a woman sandwiched between our bodies.”
“So there are two of you to worry about?” I arch a comical brow.
“Twice the pleasure.” Tristen smirks. “Not that you’ll ever experience that, nor would you need to. Tell me, is sex with a mate all it’s cracked up to be?”
Hiding my blush is impossible, so I answer, “Yeah. It’s like having sex for the first time, but it doesn’t hurt. Every sensation is new, hard to explain. You want it again, and again."
“You’re not bashful. Bonus points.”
“What’s with this change in attitude towards me?”
“Blame it on mood swings. I’ll be honest: when I first realized you were his mate, I wanted to find a way to break the bond. But I realized that either way, I’d lose a part of him. If I broke the bond or kidnapped him, he’d never forgive me. He’d always try to get back to you. I had no choice but to jump on this bandwagon and help two star-crossed lovers.”
“That’s quite a rendition of the truth.”I think you’d still pull us apart if you could. I don’t blame you.
He shrugs. “What can I say? I like to embellish.” He hesitates. “Well, not when it comes to myself. I have no lack of confidence when it comes to my cock and how good at sex I am.”
I roll my eyes.
“I should warn you, Ember is not going to like you at first. She’s our sister, crazy protective, double standard because when we chase guys away from her, she bitches up a storm.” He grins at a memory.
“And what about Cyrus? You don’t mention him as much.”
Tristen’s playful demeanor vanishes. “We’re protective of his privacy.”
“Why?”
“It’s a need-to-know basis.” He shifts closer to the edge of the mattress. “Why did you call me in?”
“I can see Cyrus is a button,” I murmur.
“Yes. Don’t push it.”
I throw my hands up. “I won’t. But if I’m part of your family, I’ll need to know why.”
“Family bonds are earned.”
“Noted,” I reply. “Are you this hot and cold with the ladies?”
“Only one certain one.”
“How special.”
His eyes darken. Did Titus teach him how to camouflage so seamlessly?“What did you need?”
I bite my lip, feeling the ache in my neck from where Titus fed from me. The wound has healed thanks to him. “You’d do anything for your family. I…” I inhale sharply. “I need you to do something for me.”
