“I like your instincts.”
I lightly smacked him on his chest.
He tilted my chin up. “Seriously, though. You can touch me anywhere, anytime, any way you want to. You can interrupt any meeting, shut the door, and have your way with me. I don’t care who I’m speaking to or what I’m working on. Shit. I don’t evencare if you turn my computer off. Let everyone else know how lucky I am.”
I smiled against his chest. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Rowan stilled. “Okay?” He didn’t sound worried, but what I was about to tell him was a little weird. “Is it about that other magic that keeps reaching out for me?”
I jerked my head up. “You feel it too?”
“How could I not?” His eyes crinkled with a smile. “Whatever it is has a serious crush on me. And your eyes get super weird, especially today.”
I groaned. “Are you familiar with fae mating bonds?”
Rowan went very, very still. “Some. They aren’t very common.”
“I think I’m experiencing one.” I cleared my throat. “With you. It’s a little disconcerting.”
His fingers stroked down my back. “Huh. How about that?”
I peered at him. “You aren’t even a little bit freaked out?”
His brow furrowed. “Why would I be? I didn’t think double bonds existed, but to have the opportunity to be mated on both sides of my nature is an honor few, if any people, ever experienced.” His chest lifted in a sigh. “I’m in love with you, Evie. I have been for a while.”
My heart stuttered. I suspected but hearing him say the words brought my world to a screeching halt. He loved me. Without conditions.
“I’m all in. I would never say no to this magic, or whatever it is that calls me to you. I feel it in my chest, but I also feel that strange tug. The magic feels like some sort of compulsion spell drawing us to each other. I can sense this intellect looking at me through your eyes sometimes.” He chuckled. “And every time I sense it, I can smell your desire kick up a few notches.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Gods.”
Rowan clicked his tongue. “Don’t be embarrassed. Desire for one’s potential mate is the highest compliment. There’s a period when the mating bond completes that turns a male into a complete rutting machine.”
He laughed at my expression. “If you let this happen between us, don’t be surprised if I’m jumping out of corners, reaching for your skirts.”
“I don’t wear skirts.”
“Just keep wearing no underwear in those joggers, and we won’t have a problem.”
“Rogue,” I said with a chuckle.
He brought me in for a tighter hug. “You have training this morning?”
I groaned. “Yes.”
He stroked a hand down my hair. “I have a few meetings later on. I’ll meet you outside in a few hours if you want.”
I nodded. “Sounds good.”
Rowan made no move to leave. “Bears have an inherent lazy streak,” he mused. “It can be quite problematic.”
I pressed a kiss against his chest. “Oh? How lazy?”
His fingers drifted down my back and cupped my rear end. “Never too lazy for that.”
My lips curved, but everything we’d just done sank in. I was playing with fire and gods, was it difficult to stop. “Rowan?”
“Hmm?”
