Page 83 of Queen of Spades

“Ward,” I caution.

“She’s good,” Ward growls, running his hand down her spine. “Aren’t you?”

“So good,” she agrees, shoving my hands away, so she can flatten herself on my chest once more. Even the slight change in the tilt of her body is enough to make my cock jump.

“Focus on the bond.” Ward grins, working deeper on his next stroke. “She’s blissed-out, but her body is quite literally made for this.”

“Yep,” Annika says, sounding slurred. “Great. Exceptional. Other words that mean, I feel fucking fantastic.”

I nod, exhaling in pure relief.

The bond will take some getting used to, but unless I’m focusing on her, it can be easy to miss. Or perhaps, I just haven’t got enough experience yet to figure out how it works.

Ward continues working in and out of her ass. He eventually settles inside her fully and grins. “All right, lass. Let’s see if we can make you scream.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Grady

Kane is more surly than normal when we meet to head to town early the next morning. Neither of us knows the area, so we’re trusting GPS on this little adventure. And come to think of it, I’m trusting him not to abandon me in town with no phone and only a brief understanding of how to get back to Cassian’s house.

Oh well, luckily, he hasn’t bonded Annika yet. If he decides to show his ass, we can see how that plays out once and for all.

The drive is exceptionally quiet, but his scent is sour, so I let him be. It takes the better part of fifteen minutes to make it to the closest town.

“I don’t know how you do it,” he growls, studying the row of businesses for the hardware store.

“Do what?”

“They didn’t shut the fuck up all night long. Hell, I’m pretty sure they were fucking when I got out of the shower this morning too.”

“Yeah, they definitely were,” I agree. “I spent half the night with a hard-on from spillover in the bond.”

“And yet you slept in the pack bedroom, not the nest.”

“Yup.” I point to the brick building on the left side of the street. “There it is.”

“Why?”

I almost snort.

Everyone underestimates me.

It’s a good thing.

The happy-go-lucky idiot with rocks for brains wasn’t a personality I pulled out of thin air. It kept me alive when I was younger, and I learned very quickly that you have an advantage if people don’t think you’re a threat.

I could tell him that, despite my attempts to settle him down by assuring him that we ended up in a safe place, I never actually let my guard down. Sure, he roamed the house until almost three in the morning, but I slept in the pack bedroom to keep watch. To make it to the nest, any adversaries would have had to go through me.

Kane, at least to my knowledge, doesn’t know that Anni bonded Cassian. Or rather, I guess, that Cassian bonded Anni. I’ve never known which way that goes, but the alpha does need to do the biting and have intent to form the link for it to work.

“Do you get off on sharing?” Kane growls, whipping the car into the parking lot.

“I don’t mind watching or participating, but no. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, you judgy bastard.” I laugh, squinting. “Well, as long as it’s all consensual.”

“Then, why let Cas stick with her in the nest while you slept alone?” He pulls into a spot and slams the gearshift into park.

He’s going to have a hard time adjusting.

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