"I'm not complaining." My voice comes out breathy, wrecked.
His grin widens. "Good."
He settles his weight over me, one hand sliding up to cup my breast while the other braces beside my head. I can feel how hard he is through the thin fabric of his sleep pants, can feel the barely leashed desire humming through the bond.
This is what mornings should be like. Lazy and warm andsafe. Not rushing to escape before someone hurts me. Not tiptoeing around eggshells and bracing for impact.
With Lorenth, I don't have to hide. Don't have to shrink myself down or swallow my voice or pretend I don't want this. He looks at me like I'm precious. Like I'mhis.
And I am. The bond settled in my chest yesterday, a constant warm presence that whispersmine, mine, mineevery time I look at him.
I never thought I could have this. Never thought anyone would touch me with gentleness instead of cruelty. That someone would care about my pleasure, would want to make me feel good just because they could.
Darian never?—
I push the thought away before it can take root. I won't let him ruin this. Won't let the memory of his hands on me, his voice in my ear, poison what I have with Lorenth.
This ismine. This happiness, this safety, this bond—it's all mine, and I'm going to hold onto it with both hands.
Lorenth leans down, trailing kisses along my jaw. "What are you thinking about?"
"How different this is." I run my fingers through his hair, marveling at how soft it is. "How you make me feel."
"How's that?"
"Cherished." The word slips out before I can stop it, vulnerable and raw.
His eyes soften. "You are. You're my mate, Senna. Myeverything. And I'm going to spend every day proving?—"
A shout from downstairs cuts him off.
We both freeze.
"LORENTH! I know you're home, don't you dare ignore me!"
The voice is female, bright and musical and completely unbothered by the early hour. I scramble backward, grabbing for the sheet to cover myself, my heart suddenly hammering for entirely different reasons.
Who is that?
Did Lorenth have someone before we met? Someone who thinks they still have a claim on him?
The bond twists anxiously in my chest and Lorenth must feel it because he sits up with a heavy sigh, running both hands through his mussed hair. "Fuck."
That doesn't help.
"Who—"
"My sister." He swings his legs out of bed, grabbing a pair of pants from the floor. "I should've known she'd show up eventually. She's got shit timing."
Relief floods through me so fast I feel dizzy. Hissister. Of course. I knew he had one—he mentioned her yesterday—but hearing that unfamiliar female voice made my stomach drop straight through the floor.
Old habits. Old fears.
"Stay here," Lorenth says, pulling the pants on. "I'll get rid of her."
"LORENTH VARYON, if you make me wait down here I'm coming up!"
He grimaces. "Or not. Give me two minutes."
