Page 67 of Of Gods and Pain

And he’s mine.

Mine.

I run my hands along his delicious chest—trying not to blush when he smirks knowingly at me—up to his wonderfully grab-able hair. I lean forward and press my lips to his, my senses instantly overcome with his floral, masculine taste. His grip tightens as he flattens our torsos together.

We explore each other’s mouths, taking our time with no intent of going further than the pure intimacy we’re falling into.

Something tugs at the base of my chest and I pull away from Cas, giving him a mischievous look. He opens his mouth to question, but I shake my head slightly, whispering for him to be silent.

“Love, I don’t thi—” Emrys walks around the corner, halting when he doesn’t see me standing here. I don’t look his way, though; I’m watching my prince as he realizes what I did, and a big grin spreads across his face.

I can feel Em’s confusion; he knows I’m here…courtesy of the extra tension I’m throwing down the bond. He’s always fucking around with one of us, so this is the perfect opportunity to get him back.

He squints his eyes into the darkness beyond Cas and me. When he sees nothing, he turns to check the other areas on the floor. I giggle against Cas’s chest; this is the most lighthearted I’ve felt in a long time.

My brain wants me to feel guilty for not using every second I have to look for answers, but I won’t let it convince me. We deserve to have a few minutes of fun, even amidst an oncoming battle.

I grab Cas’s hand, pulling him along with me as I try to find the best place to scare Emrys. We walk, laughing with each other as he continues to follow our direction. No doubt the bond tugging him our way.

We place ourselves at the head of an aisle, and I strip my magic from us, a wave of pleasure flowing through me as it caresses every part of Cas’s body. He shakes his head and rolls his eyes.

He can laugh all he wants. The male is a fae in a god’s body, and I will appreciate it whenever I please.

And lately, I always please.

“Looking for someone?” I make my voice innocent as I announce our presence directly behind Em. He jumps, spinning to face us, mouth agape.

His wide eyes shoot between me and the prince. “Wher—how—” His brows relax as he realizes what just happened.

“Are you okay, Em? You seem a bit flustered,” Cas doesn’t hide the smile in his voice, earning a pointed glare from his second. They remind me a lot of Calix and me, when we used to argue over the most ridiculous things.

I can’t hold back my laugh any longer, curling over on myself as I struggle to breathe. I grab my abdomen, muttering something about the pain but how I can’t stop.

After a couple minutes, I fill my lungs and will myself to stop; but a few giggles escape me and I slap a hand over my mouth, eyes watering as I try so hard to quit. That becomes easy as soon as I see Emrys’s face; he’s watching me in wonder, as if I’m a precious artifact he’s finally found after searching his entire life.

“You can fuck with my head as much as you want, if it will keep that smile on your face.” My vision blurs for a different reason.

The tension between us is so thick I could drown, so I change the subject before we all start fucking in the middle of the library. Clearing my throat, I say, “Did you find anything? Is that why you were looking for me?” He shakes his head, an apology written in his hypnotizing honey eyes.

“No. I came to tell you that I don’t think we’re going to find anything here.”

“We’re wasting valuable time going through texts that have been searched twice over already.” Casmir sounds defeated, and I lean my head against his shoulder, squeezing the hand I’m still holding.

“Where else do we look, though?”

“That’s the problem, love. I don’t know.” I groan and close my eyes.

I didn’t want to ask for her help if I could avoid it, but I don’t think I have a choice.

I can’t let my bonds know. Xamira wouldn’t dare tell, so she can come with me; but after what happened on the mountain when I got my memories back, I think it’s a terrible idea to tell Cas and Em about it. I don’t even know if she can help, so I would just worry them for no reason.

But I have to try.

I turn away from them, releasing Casmir and walking towards the stairs. I’ve been distracting myself, working nonstop so that the atmosphere in this place doesn’t remind me of the other one. Where he held me. Where the air was always too heavy and dark, leaving me to my waning imagination.

Fuck. Stop, Nell. Don’t think about it. Here is not there. He doesn’t have you trapped anymore.

Doesn’t he, though?

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