Page 14 of The Syphon King

She shrugged with that fake smile. “Whatever you want.”

So, they were really gonna do things this way. But he needed to call her bluff. She had to feel every bit of what hefeltfor her, and he would take as many days as required to show her. She knew loss and pain. Suffering and betrayal. He would give her the opposite till it was all she knew, all she ever remembered. The fire he’d light in her would burn that hell she was trapped in to the ground.

ZENITH WASN’T SUREwhere to put or hide all her joy. She didn’t want to be a problem to her King, and it seemed everything she said and did was wrong.There is no joy like this in me to give.Never could there be sadder words. She wanted tocomfort him so badly. She remembered his admonishment when she mentioned liking his touch. How did this have power over him?

Her legs shook as she sat on the couch waiting for him, looking around the living room again. Where was Jinxxy? Was there a pet door? She remembered she’d get to sleep in his bed. Too bad he wouldn’t be in the same room at least. He’d moved himself into that office of all places. It wasn’t terribly small, but it wasn’t his room that she loved. She didn’t remember ever sleeping in anything like it.

He finally entered the living room, and her jaw dropped at what he wore. Faded black jeans and a black T-shirt with chains hanging everywhere still. She sat there, fighting to appear calm while sneaking peeks.Insanely beautiful!Those dark lenses over his eyes brought a chill tingling over her flushed skin.

He sat on the couch that was next to hers. “Are you okay?” His deep voice added an eargasm to the secret eyegasm still in progress.

She closed her mouth, panicking at the question. At any question. She always answered those wrong. “I’m fine. You just...”Stop there.“I was...Don’t say it!“Just...wondering where Jinxxy was,” she hurried, out of breath.

“Trixie took her out.”

Yes. “Trixie. She’s very nice to me.” She looked down at her dress, moving her hands over it.

“I meant to tell you the dress... suits you.”

She smiled at him.Just thank him. That’s enough.“Thank you.”Stop gasping!

“Let me know if there’s anything particular you want, and I’ll get it.”

Her guardian. Caretaker. “Will I be able to work and...pay you back?”

His lensed gaze moved before him. “Perhaps.”

Mature. Stay focused.“I’m ready to talk about my future.”

“No more questions for me?” he wondered.

“A million. But they can wait.”

Her heart thumped at the flash of his sharp teeth behind the barest smile. “I have a proposition for you.”

Her pulse tripled in excitement of gettinganythingfrom him. “Okay.” She stared at the chains on his hands and wrists, wishing she’d asked at least about that. She tried to raise her gaze only to get lost in the expanse of his endless torso. She made it to his lens, findingthem possibly aimed at her.

“I need to bind you to me so that I can always know you’re safe.”

Bind? What did this mean to him? “Are you proposing?” She covered her mouth. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”

“Iamproposing,” he said, his face so beautiful and distracting.

Wait. “What?”

“I’m proposing that you allow me to bind you to me.”

She was surely dreaming. She considered his words, or the order of them.Himbindhertohim. “Anything you need me to do, I’m happy to do it,” she said, fighting to keep the excitement from her voice. “That hasn’t changed.”

“I didn’t tell you yet what it is.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is. I’ll do it.”

He angled his head a little. “Under any other circumstances, that would be verystupid.”

She swallowed, sensing he was staring right at her. “I agree.”

The tip of his tongue peeked out and her stomach danced at seeing some kind of metal on it. Sweet heaven, where all did he wear these dangling things?

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