It’s about time she started feeling even a fraction of what I do every single time she looks at me. One day, she’s going to be just as obsessed with me as I am with her.
13. The fine art of bullshit
Dean
I’m still riding that high when the woman who was glaring at Hazel makes her way toward me, and I finally realize why she looked familiar.
Thellia. The succubus who lured Eros—the minor god of love—with her charm. He was so infatuated that he became her‘love pet’for weeks before his mother, Aphrodite, dragged him out of it.
Thellia bows before me. I wait for her to straighten, but when she doesn’t, even after several awkward seconds, I clear my throat, scratching the back of my head.
She blinks up at me like it’s deliberate, but I have no idea what she’s trying to achieve. I hate people bowing to me, and dragging it out for an uncomfortably long time only makes it weirder.
Hazel shifts beside me, her arm pressing into my side, and I forget how to breathe. I don’t hear a word the succubus says, and honestly, nothing is more important than my matewillinglystanding this close…touchingme.
Fates, I’m on fire today. Maybe I’m giving off some kind of pheromone only Hazel can scent, driving my usually stoic mate a little crazy.
Wait… what if this isn’t my grumpy siren at all but a shapeshifter pretending to be her?
I snap out of it when I catch Thellia reaching for me, but before she can touch me, Hazel grabs her wrist.
“Did no one teach you that touching someone else’s mate is disrespectful?”
I expect Thellia to pull back and apologize like a decent being, but I forgot to factor the succubus in her. Instead of doing the polite thing, she coos at Hazel like she’s a child, and I know she’s fucked before she even opens her mouth.
“It’s alright, silly. Dean knows who I am.”
Hazel’s sharp gaze snaps to me, and I’m already shaking my head like a maniac, hands up in surrender.
I quickly link my mate before she explodes.“I don’t know her. I’ve only heard about her and seen her at these meetings. From a distance. And I’ve never touched her. Hell, I haven’t touched a woman in ten years. Except you, of course.”
That’s when I see it, the barest hint of a smile, and I’m instantly tongue-tied. I should be convincing her or trying to save the poor succubus from death by a siren, but I’m too busy drooling over how possessive my mate looks. And how much I love it.
Before I can react, Hazel snaps Thellia’s wrist in one clean motion. The succubus shrieks in pain, but Hazel doesn’t even flinch; her expression stays cold as she shrugs.
“Consequences are a bitch.”
Khatri wedges himself between us and the wailing succubus, trying to smooth things over, but Thellia runs away with a cry.
I ignore Khatri’s glare and turn to Hazel. “That was so hot. Please don’t stab me, but I’m really hard right now.”
Hazel groans, her nose wrinkling. “You’re disgusting.”
She storms off, but this time, watching her leave doesn’t sting as much because my mate just broke a woman’s wrist for trying to touch me.
Hazel slips back to Anxo’s side in a practiced move. He checks in with her, probably asking about the commotion, but she brushes him off.
She’s definitely not telling him the truth.
I’m still staring at my mate, my cheeks aching from how hard I’m smiling, when Eijah steps up beside me, a teasing smile in place.
“She’s adorable.”
Khatri and I burst out laughing.
“Don’t let her hear you, or she’ll skin you alive and cook you for breakfast.” I shake my head, my smile refusing to fade. “But you’re right, she’s fucking adorable. I just want to wrap her up and hide her from the world… but I’m pretty sure she’d gut me if I tried.”
He nudges my shoulder. “Violent and beautiful. Exactly your type.”
