Page 21 of Bind Me

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not a genie in a bottle granting wishes. Nice try, though. Think your grandfather spun you a lie.”

“He usually did.” I nod and grin, suspecting the story had been fabricated.

She wrenches herself upward once more, bending at the waist and reaching for her ankle.

I step toward her to help, but she jerks around to face me, sending herself into another spin. Something slips from her grasp and tumbles into the grass—a black object with metal prods at one end.

“Oh, look, you dropped your weapon. Was that meant for me?” I tease.

She narrows her eyes, gaze unwavering. “You can never be too careful. There’s a lot of psychos around.”

My curiosity is piqued. What makes her so afraid that she carries weapons around? And the fact that she does tells me she’s single—otherwise, her match would be around to protect her, and she’d have nothing to worry about.

“Hold on,” I say, grabbing a blade from the back of my belt. I reach up to the rope, keeping her tied up, and cut it quickly. Moving lightning fast, I drop the blade behind me into the earth and catch her before she falls headfirst. My arms wrap around her back and knees, bringing her head up, so she’s cradled securely against me.

She’s light as anything, but she wriggles in protest. Her face twists. Suddenly, she shoves against me, her hands against my chest, instinctively trying to get down. I release her legs from my grasp, and they fall.

When I don’t let her go completely, she knees me in the thigh, way too close to my precious jewels, and my knee wobbles. Before I know it, we’re both tumbling to the ground, her beneath me.

We land with a soft thud on the grass, her gasping while I have my elbows on either side of her shoulders, pinning her down. Face-to-face, she’s beneath me. Her eyes enlarge as she attempts to escape.

Me? I’m in heaven, lost in the way she looks up at me, her breaths coming in quick gasps. I smile, and it’s completely uncontrollable. Her cheeks flush as her gaze locks with mine, and for a moment, neither of us moves. The closeness, the undeniable connection—it’s electrifying. The instant my skin had touched hers, sparks flew. And she knows it, too. I see it in her eyes.

Adrenaline rushes through me, and every nerve in my body comes alive. Cock twitching, heart pounding, something inside me shifts… my shadow beast recognizes her instantly as ours. I must have saved up all my good luck by suffering the last thousand years in that hellhole prison to finally find her.

“Get off me!” Her voice is lined with venom.

I can’t help but smile, my heart racing in my chest. “You’re not making it easy,” I tease, refusing to release her just yet, rather enjoying the feeling of her soft body, those delectable breasts against mine.

“I swear if you don’t move…” Her hands press against my shoulders, trembling as she struggles to push me away.

From her quivering touch, the way her eyes dilate, and her intoxicating rising scent of roses, the ocean of nectar tells me all I need to know. The warmth that’s coiling around my heart, squeezing, embracing, and compelling me can’t be ignored.

“Mate,” I mutter, the word slipping out on its own.

“Excuse me?” she retorts, eyes blazing with defiance, despite her position beneath me.

I lean in closer, my voice soft but firm. “You heard me.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” she fires back, her tone sharp. “You’re not my mate. Hell no, I don’t have a fated mate. Not now or ever!”

“Maybe you’re not ready to accept it yet,” I say, smirking as I release her and roll off to the side. “But you know it’s real. You feel it deep in your soul, don’t you? And I’m willing to wait.”

She scrambles to her feet, brushing herself off, flicking the grass and dead leaves off her pants. Then she snatches her weapon out of the grass. I half expect her to use it on me, except she tucks it into her back pocket.

“You’re delusional,” she mutters, but the way she avoids my gaze tells me she’s not as sure as she’s pretending to be.

“Time will tell.” I get to my feet, my gaze never leaving her as I dust off my shirt.

“Time will tell that you’re an idiot,” she scoffs, clearly unimpressed.

I laugh, thoroughly amused by her feistiness. “Maybe, but I’m your idiot now.”

She shakes her head, incredulous. “Don’t say that.”

“And yet here you are,” I say, my amusement never fading. Stepping closer, I’m drawn to her. My head’s whirling with the high, with the notion that I found the one thing I left Tartarus for.

She backs away as her scowl deepens, and the fire in her eyes only makes my yearning for her stronger. She’s fierce, determined, and utterly intoxicating.

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