Page 63 of Masked Fate

“Now eat,” he commands, and instead of serving his own food, he watches me carefully with a glass of wine in his hand as I lift my fork to my lips, chewing and swallowing a bite of chicken.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” I ask, and his eyes flicker with a different kind of hunger.

“What I want right now is going to have to wait,” he replies in a husky tone, his eyes roaming over my body. He picks up a piece of fresh buttered bread with his fingers and brings it to my mouth. He makes a low, deep sound when I take a bite, andI don’t miss the dominant gleam in his eyes as he continues to watch me eat.

“What’s with you and wanting me to eat?” I ask, taking a bite of potato.

“I like taking care of you,” he replies, running his teeth over his bottom lip. “I always want you full. Whether that be food or dick…” He pauses and then clarifies, “My dick.”

I shake my head at him. “Lucky I like to eat then, huh? And I’m not shy of an audience.”

The corner of his lips lifts. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Wait! What?

“I meant with eating. Not with sex,” I blurt out, and he laughs, finally picking up some food for himself.

“I’d never let anyone see you like that, little witch. You aremine, and I find myself feeling rather possessive over that fact.”

He has two cute nicknames for me now, and I have nothing for him. I decide to try one out, knowing he’ll enjoy it. I refuse to call him Master like all the others, but this one might work for me.

“I’m not yours just yet,Sir.”

I taste the words on my tongue.It was that or Daddy.

The thought of having him take control of me in the bedroom is fucking hot, but the idea of just being another one of his pets makes my chest tighten. I know I need to let go of that, even if it’s easier said than done.

Soren puts his fork down, turning his body to face me. His hungry gray eyes meet mine before he cups my jaw and squeezes. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, little witch.”

His gaze drops to my mouth. He looks a second away from laying me back right here on this table and having his way with me.

But then Bane steps into the room, and Soren turns his now-narrowed eyes onto him. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Yes,” Soren replies at the same time as I say, “No.”

I kick Soren underneath the table. This is a public room, and we are not in our kingdom. Soren is acting like Bane is storming into our private bedroom.

He takes a deep breath and picks up more bread to lift to my lips.

“Why are you force-feeding her?” Bane asks, sounding entirely too amused. He pulls out a chair to join us, smirking as he pours himself some red wine. My eyes linger on his tattooed hand. It’s going to make a pretty collar for someone one day. “Is this one of your kinks?”

It totally is.

“You worry about your own kinks, Bane,” Soren replies in a dark tone. “I just like taking care of my mate.”

Laughing, I accidentally drop my knife to the floor. As I’m bending down to pick it up, I notice Soren’s hand quickly reaching out and covering the sharp edge of the table with his palm so I can’t knock my head on it.

When I sit back up, his eyes are on Bane, but his hand is still covering the corner.

He’s so protective, and not just in his crazy I-want-to-kill-everyone-who-so-much-as-looks-at-me alpha male way.

He’s also fucking sweet.

And it’s in these moments I wonder why I still haven’t made him mine.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Pandora

---