Page 72 of Tangled Hearts

He pulled her against him, grunting, in what I imagine, was pain, but he had the most blissed out expression and that's when I felt it. Their bond had been brought back, maybe that's what was being hidden by Laima’s magic.

Ryder, Soren and I looked at each other. We should have been nervous about a new guy entering the group, and at first it was a knee jerk reaction to be suspicious and wary of him, but I saw how good he was for her. He had also helped her before she had even met us or before any of us had been born. He fit in with us effortlessly.

“Max, rest up. I need to get ahold of Addie and get us some food,” Ryder said, getting up looking exhausted.

“I’ll go with you.” Soren stood up too. “None of us needs to be alone right now.”

“I agree, don’t stay out too long,” I said, getting up too. “Come on, Maxy, let's get you back to bed.”

“I don’t want to move,” he said, still holding Oria.

“You need to sleep and eat to help with the healing process,” Oria said, getting up too.

“I’ll go only if you sleep with me,” he said, getting red. “I mean sleep in the bed with me, I don’t?—”

Oria laughed. “It’s ok, Max, I’ll do both, but I think you need to rest before we sleep with each other. Don’t want you pulling a muscle.”

She smirked as his blush deepened.

“Um… I…I?—”

“Dammit, Max, you're so adorable. Wait, are you a virgin?” Soren asked quickly, making Max grow even redder. “If you need sex advice, I'd be more than happy to give it to you or show you. You know, a live demonstration.”

“Not a virgin, but can we stop talking about sex?” he asked, looking away.

“Come on, let's get you upstairs before you turn into a tomato,” I said, helping him up.

“Are you going to lick his cherry tomatoes, Blondie?” Soren waggled his eyebrows.

Oria laughed again and I knew Max was embarrassed, but if it made her laugh, then he needed to make that sacrifice. She didn’t laugh nearly enough. I threw his arm over my shoulder, helping him walk.

“If it were up to me, I would do more than just licking,” Oria said, making Max lose his footing a bit.

I looked up at him, still red.

“Don’t,” he growled.

“You’re just so cute and innocent,” I teased.

He rolled his eyes as we climbed the stairs.

I chuckled. “I can’t imagine what dating looked like in your time, but I’m sure we are very crude compared to your time.”

“I've gotten used to it, unfortunately, thanks to my brother and you guys, but call me old-fashioned, I feel like she doesn’t get enough hearts and flowers.”

“I feel you and you’re right. She deserves all the hearts and flowers.”

21

MAXTON

The bond hummed in my chest as I laid next to Oria. It filled a void in me that I always knew was our bond had resided. It eased a part of me that had always been lonely. Now I wondered if that ache was because of having my mate so close to me, but having the bond subdued.

I was relieved we got it back and after she told me it was hidden under Laima’s magic; I knew she had to die. As much as I didn’t want to kill my brother, he deserved to suffer too. He started all of this, and we were all here for some dream of a god war and a power-hungry man.

It had been a day since we arrived and after another healing, I felt like my normal self again. Ryder was meeting Addie and grabbing a few things we needed to make our trip to the Fae lands tomorrow. We would leave in the morning to see if we could find any Fae. Soren and Gray ordered us to sleep, to make sure we were ready for tomorrow.

The never-ending need to look over our shoulders was weighing heavily on us.

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