Page 27 of Peacock Me Like a Hurricane

~Yep, and Wilde, too. ~

She changes the subject quite nicely by sending me another vision of her naked and I groan internally.~Minx, you’re going to have to stop that. I can’t split my focus with the bint because I’m afraid…~

~Oh! Sorry! ~

I feel her worry. There is something here I should talk to her about later. A sigh of relief escapes my lips as she sends me a horrifying image that turns off my arousal faucet like ice cubes in my lap.~Thank Hell. Now I can keep from letting something terrible happen.~

Turning back to Blondie, I listen to her still trying to convince me that I’m not old and out of touch. She’s right about the first and wrong about the second. The Minx sure as hell doesn’t mollycoddle me like Rhea’s trying to do. My mate lifts me up and shows me that I belong with her, regardless of what anyone else thinks.~ Blondie’s about to find out I’m in love with you. You know, unless she keeps trying to shag me. ~

~Oh, she’ll keep trying. ~The kitty’s voice is full of disgust.

I don’t tell her that her former mate just climbed up on my lap and is wriggling around. Not because I think she would be angry at me, but because I think it would hurt her to see the show being put on for my benefit. More to the point, Rhea not getting enough emotional validation from her friends has made her desperate. She'll get it from anyone she can get her hands on, even evil, non-cuddling me. I don’t know that my minx needs to see how low her friend is sinking.

~I love you, ~I whisper in her head.

~I love you, too. ~

~Stop imagining ripping her spine out. It’s making me antsy. ~I joke lightly, hoping to take the edge out of her tone. I realize now that I have to figure out how to untangle myself from this idiotic endeavor.

~ I’m not imagining that. ~

Her statement is clipped and hard, more so than I’ve heard from her before. It feels like I got mentally slapped in the kisser.~Then you might want to make sure your inner bitchy is under control. ~

~If you must know, I was finger painting a mural with the blood gushing from her jugular. ~

My eyes pop open. I have to stifle the laugh that is threatening to escape in front of Blondie. THERE’S the Minx I love.

~It seemed more artsy and creative. ~

The cat sends me a delicate sniff and I can feel my heart grow like that Seuss git in the cartoons. I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for a badass woman with a soft side. You wouldn’t know it from the way Talia and I fight like demons, but that woman has me licked. She’s probably feeling all of this and laughing herself around the house like a maniac.

~Blondie just told me that no one knows her like I do and no one’s ever made her scream like I did. ~The tension acrossour connection becomes thick and the minx goes eerily quiet. This game might be over. I don’t want it to hurt her, even if it is making me feel better about the betrayal of my ex-family member.

~Did she now? She mentioned how badly she missed Rafe in graphic detail in that stupid bloody letter. Yes, yes; I read the damned thing. I couldn’t stop myself! ~Her voice is frigid and tight, something I’ve not heard before.

~Shh, baby. She’s lying. She hasn’t looked me up in a year, so it’s not about me. It’s about needing a fix. ~

~It doesn’t matter. It’s always about her. Period. ~My mate snarls, a vein of hatred skating through our bond.

~Baby, are you okay? I think I should get out of here. I’m uncovering nasties that are better left buried. ~

~I’m fine. ~

Those words are the two biggest lies in the female universe. They never mean that, and what they do mean is nothing good.~ I’ll stop giving you a blow by blow. ~

~I’m going to take a shower. I feel dirty. ~

I feel her move off the bed and head into the bathroom. Hurt radiates off her in waves that drown me, even from here. I rarely feel emotions through the bond this strongly unless it’s the golden goddess. That’s only because she’s an empath. I don’t know why the minx has such a strong connection or how she’s emoting so fiercely through our bond.

What I do know is that I’m done here. I fob off Blondie like I’m on fire and apparate back to our place, worry clawing at my gut. Chucking the towel for a robe, I note that the bathroom panel is shut, and the water sounds like it's on full blast. I’m not sure what to do as I stare at it.

This is all my bloody fault. I pushed her to let me go after the bint, after feeling her unease and didn’t stop when she felt off. I’m not the one hurting her, but I sure as hell set her up to gethurt. Steam slips out from under the door and I wonder how hot she’s got it in there. Reaching out to her mind, I murmur~ Baby, can I come in? ~

She doesn’t respond and I start to freak out. I can’t even FEEL her now. My minx has been a presence in my heart since we mated, and now, there’s nothing. How in the HELL is she doing that? I knock on the door, trying not to panic.~Love? Sandwich? Answer me, baby, please? ~

~ Yes, love? ~

My eyes narrow on the door. Oh, hell no. She isn’t getting away with whatever that was. My sensitive, strong, passionate woman doesn’t shut down unless she gets really hurt or pissed. Either way, I’m getting to the bottom of it, sod it all.

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