Page 49 of Love Bites Extra Hard

“He’s a king. I’m not.”

“You represent your people just as much as he represents his.”

Talon made a noise of disagreement. “He asked for their names and hunted them down?”

“No. They sort of… stared at her. Flirted, too. One of them sat really close to her.”

Talon’s eyebrows shot upward. “And hedidn’tkill them? Kai? Are we talking about the same person?”

“All the kings are a little softer now that they’re mated. According to Blair, at least. I never really met them before. Luckily for you, I’m not looking for a bond. You can stay hard. No softening required.” I patted his chiseled abs for emphasis.

He snorted. “There’s no arguing that I’m hard.”

I laughed, and didn’t have to see his erection to know it was there. “What wouldyoudo if someone flirted with your mate?”

He studied me for a moment. “Do you want a lie, or the truth?”

“Both.”

“I’d either pin him to the wall and scare the shit out of him, or throw him out the nearest window.”

Goosebumps broke out on my arms. “Which is which?”

“You tell me, Ave.”

I watched him clean the rest of his plate, then set it on the nightstand. We’d deal with the dishes later. After he was done sleeping.

He leaned back on his pillow, and his eyes closed as he let out a slow breath.

“Feels good to be in bed again, huh?” I asked.

“Mmhm.” His voice was getting heavier already.

Just how tired was he?

I took another bite of my food before finally saying, “If someone flirted with your mate, you’d throw them out a window.”

“Fucking straight.” The words were barely more than a murmur. “Those perfect little tits better be bare against my chest when I wake up.”

“They will be.”

His lips curved, just slightly, but his smile vanished a moment later as his breathing levelled out.

I watched him sleep while I ate. My feelings were… messy.

I liked him.

I liked him a lot.

But he didn’t belong to me. He was waiting for his fated mate. I wasn’t the woman he would throw someone out a window for talking to, and I could never become her.

And if not never, pretty damn close to that.

I needed to regain control of my emotions. What we had wasn’t unique. It was just sex.

The best sex of my life, but still.

I was just warming his bed until some other woman came around to take over for me.

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