Page 33 of Exiled Prince

She might as well have given us all the finger.

Yeah, she did it.

And she’s not fucking sorry about it, either.

Two hours.

My mate is a fucking menace.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Saylor

“In my defense, it’s not okay to keep a female locked up against her will,” I argue, hands on my hips and fire in my eyes. “She wasn’t doing well, Bane.”

“I get where you are coming from, but it was August’s call.”

“And he was making the wrong one,” I snap, continuing to pace back and forth.

Bane watches me with interest, and I can see his mind working a hundred miles per hour. However, he never gets angry at me. He doesn’t raise his voice, and he doesn’t give me the silent treatment.

Instead, he snapped at his brothers and father, telling them to back off, and took me out of there.

Then, he softened his tone and told me to tell him what happened. It’s then I realize his voice actually changes when he speaks to me, becoming gentler and calmer than when he speaks to anyone else.

“Sunshine, come here,” he commands.

And he’s still calling me his sunshine, not his thunderbolt or his heavy rain with no umbrella.

I stop my pacing and sit next to him on the bed. He lifts me onto his lap and kisses my forehead. “I’m sorry I’ve put you in an awkward place with August.”

“Do you think you could come to me the next time?” he asks, kissing my neck. “I know you are impulsive, but we are a team now. What if Milana tried to hurt you? Or someone you love?”

I consider his words. “All the people I love are badass, so I don’t need to really worry about them.”

Except look what happened to Shadow.

I guess anything could happen. And although I have met Milana a few times, I don’t really know her.

“Okay, I’ll come to you,” I promise, wrapping my arm around his neck. “I love you, Bane.”

Yes, it’s soon.

Yes, I’ve never said those words to anyone other than my brothers.

But I mean them.

His eyes flicker to amber, and his strong hand cradles my jaw. “Say it again.”

That tone. Demanding. Hot.

My nipples pebble.

“I love you,” I repeat, softer this time.

His eyes search mine. The way he’s looking at me is almost unnerving like nothing can be hidden from him. He sees all of me, just like he can see through the illusion, and it’s a type of intimacy I’ve never experienced before. I know better than most that people see what you show them.

But Bane sees through all that.