I ran my hand down my face with a groan. “Yeah, but we gotta talk first.”
“Yeah,” she replied with a resigned sigh. She saddled up in front of me, grabbing me by my horns to pull my face close to hers.
I loved it when she did that.
“I know you want to protect me, but I’m stronger than I look. Especially when I have you by my side. So don’t be afraid to lay it all on me, okay?”
I dug my nose into the crook of her neck, pulling her into me so hard, I might just have absorbed her into my body. Then we could just be one and I’d never have to worry about her ever being taken from me again.
Crazy, I knew. But this mate bond was really something else, and I thanked Ravaric and Hecara every day for making me hers.
“I just don’t want people to get the wrong idea about what happened. All of Lundaria is going to paint me as the bad guy no matter what—I’m an Oniguro, I’m used to it. But you’re innocent, and I know I’ll snap if anyone insinuates otherwise.”
She gave a small chuckle. “People can call me what they want. As long as we know the truth, that’s all that matters.”
The sentiment was sweet, but she’d never had trash thrown at her before while just walking down the street.
“Well, soon Lundaria will know enough of it that we should be okay. Hellmora’s going to frame the attack as a rescue mission. No details, just saying that Victor lied about the mate bond and was holding you against your will. I’ll probably give a statement too, since pictures of the two of us are eventually going to show up, and it’s better to get ahead of the news before people’s opinions are formed.”
The coffee machine sputtered, signaling it was done, and Sage kissed me on the cheek before leaving my embrace, going to fix her cup. “Look at you, Mr. Media Savvy Demon. Got your talking points all lined up, don’t you?”
I snorted, going to her side and adding more hot water from the kettle into my teacup. “I better, otherwise I’m just going to ramble on about how much I love you.”
She stilled beside me, and I started to panic.
“Shit, was that too soon? I’m sorry, you don’t have to say it back.”
She shook her head, the towel slipping slightly and allowing a few wet, curly pieces of her hair to escape. Then she looked at me, her green eyes glistening. “Not at all. I love you, too.”
I put down my tea and picked her up, her legs straddling my waist as I kissed her and took her back to the bed.
We still had several hours before we needed to leave, and I wanted—no,needed—to spend most of them inside her.
* * *
Once everything was haphazardly tossed into suitcases and bags, we took the private elevator down to the underground garage, safe from any reporters who might be staking out the hotel.
The grunt who’d driven us here was waiting with an armored SUV, the windows blacked out. Anyone with half a brain would know immediately who was inside, but at least they couldn’t get any pictures to confirm it.
“Hi, Kurai,” Sage said with a smile. “Thanks for picking us up.”
Kurai coughed nervously, his cheeks turning pink, and I stifled a laugh.
Yeah, Sage was definitely going to shake things up at the compound. Poor kid had probably never been thanked for anything since he was initiated in. Or been called by his name. They were all just nameless grunts until they’d put in a few years.
Kurai took care of all the luggage while we slipped into the backseat. “Any last words of wisdom before I meet your family?”
I hadn’t had a smoke all week, and normally by now I’d be lighting a roll. But for some reason my fingers didn’t twitch like they usually did when it had been so long without some vaporleaf.
Besides, the windows needed to stay closed for privacy, and there was no way I was subjecting Sage to the smoke.
“Yeah,” I replied, taking her hand in mine. “Don’t trust any of them.”
The trunk slammed shut and Kurai came back to the front, the engine starting with a quiet purr. “Any music, sir? Ms. Hexwood?”
I looked at Sage, raising my eyebrows. The radio was all hers.
“Um, can we listen to Sirena Murphy?” she asked.
