Page 96 of Chaos At Second Sight

I moaned, eyes squeezing shut, trying to erase the image of her tiny frame under me.

The fact that I was burning myself alive, that my skin felt like it was crawling with a fucking ant colony, wasn’t a good enough reason to mate. I could never rush her.

With a lifetime of practicing self-control, or more like denial, I was confident I could keep these feverish needs in check. I only cracked under extreme situations—Yvaine running to another continent, Yvaine with another guy, Francisca in general, Lucien murdering my brother and damaging Killian’s hand. Those were situations that shall never be repeated.

I really, really didn’t want to screw this up with her, given how I’d almost lost her. Honestly, it was a miracle that she hadn’t rejected me, omissions or not. She was so much better than me. I was a full package of trauma, violence, and a shitload of problems; meanwhile, she was walking perfection.

And since I had absolutely no idea how to do it, I decided to let her choose the pace.

The iron groaned underneath my hands and I looked down, letting it go. The railing had bent inward, two cracks splitting the metal where my palms had been.

Without batting an eye, I slid the flowerpots over them.

My body heated again.

“Fuck…” Nausea folded me in half. I want to peel my skin away! Every inch of it.

So, I did just that. My claws dug into my neck, then my shoulders and my chest. Relief came for half a second. Then I clawed harder. Fabric tore, and warm blood soaked my skin. “God! What the fuck is happening?” I groaned, scratching harder.

“Logan?”

That angelic voice relaxed my whole body. Yvaine had gone to check on Lachlan, and within just twenty minutes of her absence, my temperature had climbed. I’d even stolen a few ice packs from the kitchen. They hadn’t done shit.

“There you are.” Her little arms slipped around my torso from behind—a feeling I’d never stop craving. The fever instantly eased.

Ah, she is my ice pack. As long as I had her close, I was going to be fine.

My hand covered hers while I marveled at how cute it looked. Her ring finger was almost the same length as her middle one. It’d look even prettier with my ring on it.

“Ready to go?”

My bliss evaporated. A night at the bar with the Islander and their father. Not my idea of fun.

“Can’t wait,” I lied. She walked around to face me. My eyes dropped to meet hers, and as usual, something inside me melted at the sight.

Her delicate brows furrowed. “We don’t have to stay long.”

I sighed, closing my eyes for a second. Anyone else inviting me to meet their family? I’d have laughed. But Bunny Doc loved hers.

“Nah,” I reassured her with a smile, though my nostrils flared—she smells delicious. “I’m ready.”

A grin brightened her face, and my heart with it. See? Totally whipped.

“Thank you, Rudolph!” She rested her chin on my chest, distracting me a bit. A lot.

Goddess. I was biologically incapable of saying no to this girl. I didn’t think it was a mate thing, just an Yvaine thing.

“You get to choose next weekend.”

That got my full attention.

“Hmm…” I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, biting back a smile when her heartbeat skipped. “You’ll come to my game wearing my jersey.” I paused. “That’s the first demand.”

A manic grin overtook me as I watched her reaction. She laughed and clasped her arms securely around my neck. “Deal.” She tilted her head. “Is…that an ice pack?”

I’d thrown the others into the bushes, too lazy to take them back to the kitchen.

“What did you do with it?” she asked.