“This bond is hilarious.”
Then she leaned toward my ear before whispering:
“Lucien.”
The entire room nearly exploded. Silver fire spiraled violently across the ceiling while I buried my face briefly in her chest with a low curse.
Nina laughed softly.
“There it is.”
“You are abusing sacred magic.”
“You gave me your soul. I’m using the benefits.”
My wife never played fair. So I grabbed her waist hard enough to flip us over onto the bed beneath tangled ceremonial fabricand silver firelight while her laugh dissolved into a sharp breath against my mouth.
Much better now . Nina’s hands dragged down my back afterward and my bond was eager to show her all my skills.
“You’re staring again,” she whispered.
“That is your fault.”
“Good.”
That one word nearly destroyed the rest of my remaining sanity. And Nina was entirely too pleased about it too.
She was still underneath me against tangled black sheets and silver ceremonial fabric while the bond burned violently between us every time she touched me. Which was constantly.
Her fingers slid through my hair again before she kissed me hard enough to pull another low sound straight from my throat.
Nina smiled against my mouth.
“There it is again.”
“You are enjoying this too much.”
“Yes.”
Minx.
Then she dragged me down against her completely, legs wrapping around my waist. In between the tangled sheets Nina pulled me closer every single time I tried to slow down long enough to breathe.
“You know,” she whispered softly against my mouth, “you talk significantly less when distracted.”
“That sounds manipulative.”
“It’s effective though.”
Then her hands slid beneath my shirt again and every jumbled thought disappeared completely afterward. The bond pulsed hard enough to make the shadows around the room shake violently while Nina laughed softly at my reaction.
“Oh my God. You’re so easy now.”
“You know my true name.”
“That is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Then she whispered it again. Soft. Deliberate. Directly against my ear.
