“Yours?” she said, barely continuing her anger. “Yours?”
Her aura snaked towards me at speed, but I blocked it. Somewhere beyond the chaos, something stirred deep in my chest, blossoming violently and spreading a warmth throughout my body. The ice that had settled in my veins when she had thrown her ring at me thawed rapidly.
Ah… so I hadn’t quite done the job.
“I’m not yours, you selfish, arrogant bastard. I want nothing to do with you. Do you hear me? Nothing!”
Quentin must have forgotten that she had said worse to me before we fell into bed together. If she thought that was enough to get rid of me, she was mistaken. And if I could still feel the bond thrumming through me, I had no doubt she would as well.
“Get out of my sight,” she hissed.
Enough was enough. I’d allowed her to get it out of her system, and now it was time for her to listen. My aura reached out for her and Quentin wasn’t fast enough to stop it. The tendril wrapped around her waist before pulling her into me and bringing her to eye level.
“First, I will remind you that this is our home. I have no intention of leaving it, especially when you are walking the hallways of it.” A ridiculous notion from a ridiculous woman. “Aren’t you wondering how I got here?” I asked her.
She was scowling at me, but it soon fell away to her curiosity. Always hungry for an answer. Knowledge was power, and she knew it all too well.
“How did you?—”
“You should know by now that I’m capable of anything.”
The scowl returned to her face. “He’s going to kill you.”
“Feels like you want to get there first.”
“I don’t care enough to bother myself with your existence.”
“We both know that’s a lie.”
“You told me I was unwanted. Story of my life, right? You broke our bond and you mean nothing to me.”
She took in a sharp breath at the same time the pain hit me, making me wince. Further confirmation that our soul bond ran deeper than words with no conviction behind them. Golden eyes found mine once she recovered from the blow.
“I broke our bond?” I asked her. “Huh? Doesn’t look like I did a good enough job.”
“You said…”
The hard resolve was fading, and I felt her mood shift towards upset.
Pulling her flush against me, I brushed loose strands of hair from her face. She was here. She was uninjured from what I could see. Living. Breathing. The relief was almost enough to have the world crumble away beneath my feet.
“I said those things because Hunter would have killed you. Do you understand that?” I asked her, searching her eyes.
They narrowed, hunting for an honest answer. The pain was palpable through our bond, but as long as it still existed, I knew I could win her back. I could convince her…
From behind her, there grew a green mist, and Archer soon materialised in the hallway. A murderous intent settled in my chest. My home had always been accessible to those I trusted, and since my home had become our home, that now extended to who Quentin trusted. We would need to discuss this later.
“How do you manage it?” Archer said, looking at us.
Quentin turned her head to look at him, relief softening her muscles. “Did you find it?”
Archer ignored her. “No matter what, you always come out on top. Don’t you?”
I placed Quentin down gently and released my aura from around her waist. I wouldn’t miss my chance of killing him. I passed up the opportunities too many times before.
He placed a gloved hand into his pocked and pulled out a brightly coloured flower that had seen better days.
“Careful, Grayson,” Archer warned. “You don’t have the advantage here.”
