Stone quickly rallied, making Lysander proud. He held his arms up. “I’ll catch you.”
Lysander knew he would, but Lysander believed in full transparency. His wings unfurled and gently lowered him into Stone’s hold.
Stone smirked. “That was hot.”
Something stirred inside Lysander he hadn’t felt in years, real lust. Not just the need to energize himself, but pure desire and hunger. He would embrace it.
“I guess after I ran into a sexy Scot in the middle of the night, I didn’t want anyone else.”
“Holy shit, Lysander. Thatwasmonths ago. I know I was kind of out of it the other day when you were slipping away and didn’t firmly grasp a thing, but fuck. You never should’ve gone that long without feeding.”
A smile tugged at Lysander’s lips at Stone’s outrage. “At first, I had no plans to do so. Then we kept running into each other, and you infuriated me like no one ever has. But I couldn’t stop craving you, and I didn’t know why, and that pissed me off even more.” He shrugged. “I suppose I was obsessed.”
“We kept running into each other?”
Damn. It seemed they hadn’t. “I’m guessing you were possessed the entire time.”
Stone’s lips skimmed Lysander’s neck, making his breathing shaky. “Not the night we met. I was there for every earthshaking moment of that. Since then, it’s just the scattered and broken memory here and there.”
Lysander was torn between giving in to temptation and curiosity. “What’s the last clear memory you have?” Maybe they could retrace Stone’s steps.
He saw Stone flipping through the visions in his head, searching for the answer. “Walking through the woods the morning after we met. I didn’t want to leave, but it was time for my shift at Frost’s. My every thought was still with you. I don’t remember seeing any threats. All I could think about was how good you tasted, and I was dying to know how sweet your blood would be. I was plotting ways to see you again, and that never happens to me. Then Frost’s cabin came into view from the woods, and then nothing.” Stone held his silence. His frustration was crushing Lysander’s chest. “What have I been doing this entire time? It could’ve been anything.”
“I don’t know.” Lysander spoke the words quietly. Stone’s story cleared up nothing. All he had now was more questions. One of their run-ins had been at Aspen’s house. Lysander had flirted heavily with the bear and even had a date planned. When he had shown up, Stone had already been there. He had acted suspicious when he saw Lysander. At the time, Lysander thought Aspen was another of Stone’s conquests, and they had a heated argument. The memory deepened his confusion.
“Do you remember seeing me at Aspen’s place?”
“Aspen has a place in Wulfe?”
Damn, he really had missed a lot. “Yes. He’s Leif’s mate. That’s beside the point, though. We fought that night. When I showed up on his doorstep, you were there. We equally accused each other of sleeping with Aspen.”
“Why?” Stone sounded confused to the point of anger.
Lysander waved the question away. “It doesn’t matter now. The point is, you genuinely fought with me—ugly jealousy and all. Why would this entity do that? He could’ve just walked away from me and not engaged. Why hold that argument?”
He could practically hear the wheels turning in Stone’s head. Finally, he sighed. “I guess we’ll never know now. What did I say I was doing at Aspen’s place?”
Lysander shrugged. “You refused to tell me. You just kept repeating it was business. Obviously, that was so outlandish, Ididn’t believe you. We should question some people. Maybe we can figure this mess out.”
Stone kissed his shoulder. “Is it okay if we don’t focus on this anymore today?”
Lysander got it. They were newly mated. It was supposed to be their time to savor the blessing they had been handed.
I’m glad it’s you.
A smile touched Lysander’s lips as the words brushed his mind. “I’ll make you happy.”
He felt Stone smile against his shoulder. “Not even a concern of mine.” His hand slid down Lysander’s stomach. “I’ll make us both happy.”
Oh, Lysander knew that. He was already ecstatic.
With his gaze locked on the corner of the room, Frost ran through every second he had spent with Stone since he reopened the doors to his practice. He found it hard to believe Stone had been possessed the entire time. The guy had been right there, inches from Celina a dozen times. Anything could have happened. Obviously, Frost would have shredded him to pieces. But Stone could have killed her before Frost saw it coming. His heart couldn’t handle even the thought of it.
“I think the three of you should move here.”
At the suggestion, Frost tore his gaze away from the hole he stared into the wall. “What?”
Lucifer paced with Celina asleep on his shoulder. “My grandbaby isn’t safe with Bodhi on the loose. I should’ve known he would be back one day, especially since I found you. We need to be proactive. You should live here.”
