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“I know.” He frowns at her as Maxine hops up onto the bed and curls up beside her. “I know I shouldn’t… but I want to. The bond⁠—”

“I know.” I shut down anything else he might want to say.

Lux might be completely psychotic when it comes to the men that he drowns, but he’s not a rapist. He’s killed men for less. It’s just the bond messing with him.

“Let’s go. We’ll leave her to rest.” Father will be here soon, and we still haven’t set up the guest rooms for his prisoners and his whores. Lux knows just as well as I do how grouchy he’ll be if we’re not prepared. There’s a reason we clear out the manor every winter.

“I can’t.” He shrugs out of my grasp. “I have to stay with her. What if she wakes?”

“She won’t. The sedative will keep her under for at least the rest of the day. We’ll be lucky if she stirs enough to be fed tomorrow morning.”

“But she needs to eat. She hardly touched her breakfast.”

“She will survive.” I pat his shoulder, but I’m putting on a brave face. Deep down, I’m just as worried as he is. “If you’re so concerned about her eating habits then I’m sure she’ll be hungry enough to let you hand feed her once she recovers,” I joke, but Lux doesn’t laugh with me.

“She’s so beautiful,” he breathes.

She is, I want to reply, but I can’t let Lux hear the lust in my voice. Not right now.

“Even before the bond I couldn’t stop thinking about her, but now… to not touch her is torture.” His voice darkens. “And I hate knowing that she’s in pain. I’ll kill that damned healer if his herbs don’t help.”

“Go. Spend some time outside in the garden. It will help.” I steer him towards the door.

“I can’t leave her alone.”

“Then I will watch over her.”

He shoots me a look. “You let her escape from you last time.”

“She’s asleep now.”

“But can you keep your hands off her?”

My jaw tenses. “Lux, she’s your mate. I won’t touch her unless you ask me to.”

“You touched her before.”

“Yes, but that was for you,” I remind him. Maybe it wasn’t entirely for him. She was delightful to tease. Her little moans. The softness of her hips. The sugary taste of her kiss that lingered for far longer than I’ll ever admit to my brother.

Pleasure tingles inside me, but I force the memories away before I need to take myself for air too. Flexing my fingers, I clench my fists a few times.

“Forgive me.” Lux turns back to Eden, the afternoon light from her window dusting his sharp cheekbones. “I fear the bond is messing with my head...”

“It’s only natural.” I shrug. “She’s all yours until you tell me otherwise. You have my word.”

Lux and I have shared women before. Plenty of times. But never women that we’ve cared about. Eden feels different. No matter how much I might want to squeeze her soft curves again, she belongs to my brother.

For now, at least.

“Thank you.” Conflict touches his features, but before he leaves, he draws closer to her.

I’m about to stop him again when he takes her hand and slides a ring over her finger. It’s a gold band set with a dainty sapphire. The blue gem sparkles in the autumn sun.

Her engagement ring.

“I’ll prepare the rooms for Father, then I’ll come back and check on her once I’m finished.” He kisses her hand before tucking it under the blanket. “If she stirs, you may soothe her.”

“Of course.” I return to her chair while trying not to think about how much better that ring would look if there was a ruby beside the sapphire.