Page 199 of Fated or Knot

“P’nixie.”

When I tried to pull away to see his face, he wouldn’t budge. His thoughts had an oddly fragmented feeling to them.Warm. Soft. Mine.

“I missed you,”I said through our bond.

He made a feral sound, a gentle growl of agreement.

“Are you all right? I’ve been worried.”

He nipped my ear before nuzzling my neck, breathing in my scent intently enough that he stirred the little hairs on the back of my neck. “Marius?” I asked.

“Speak to me through our bond. Mate to mate.”

I nodded and repeated the question.“Worried? Why?”he asked.

He tasted my pheromones with a quick swipe of his tongue. I held in a moan with a sharp inhale.“You’re still in rut. I thought it only lasted a couple days. You know we can’t?—”

“I know. Don’t remind me,”he growled.“All it would take…”

One. Little. Push.One I sensed that he would be eager to supply, if the circumstances were different.

“I was losing it. So, I let Niall lead.”

“You wantedto stay in rut without me?”

“Not without. I wanted it for your estrus.”

“Marius…”

“It’s so close, p’nixie.”

“You didn’t have to put your body under that kind of pressure.”I could sense the echo of how painfully tight that pressure had become in the days we’d been away from one another. It was a full-body experience, though most intense in his back and groin. He absolutely should’ve let himself relax rather than endure this.

He released me with a snort.“Pain and I are close friends. This is nothing. The worst part was the waiting. Pacing, watching for your return.”

Catching my chin between his thumb and forefinger, he inspected my face while breathing shallowly through his mouth. As his eyes roved, the rim of yellow threw off the occasional shard of light; if Niall relaxed, Marius would still have the rut glow in his irises. And he had a new braid, my white hair standing out starkly woven into the blue and green of his.

“You’re in pain too.”His expression set into a worried frown.“Let me take care of you.”

I was about to tell him all I needed was a shower and a nap, when he rested his palm over the ache in my belly. The discomfort reacted to his presence, its dull throb fading like magic.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Wait. Stay? Shower? Nap?”I asked, deliberately fragmenting the thoughts.

And his considerations came through in snippets as well.Shower no. Naked mate. Will breed.

Stay. Nap. Aye. She needs it.

“But I smell,”I protested.

His ear flicked.“Apparently I do too.”

I tilted my head, confused, and he mirrored the movement in sympathy. The new braid slipped over his shoulder, and I gasped as I saw the end. It was capped with a silver bead and two metalark feathers, the filaments still starry and pristine.“I had a bit of help. Bought a spell to keep it nice. Do you like it?”

I really did. It was prettier than anything I imagined Marius would put in his hair, though. He caught that thought and laughed, though it was more of a rasp than his usual rich chuckle.“Come, mate. Time to rest. It’s going to be a long night.”

A chill creeped over my skin. That’s what Kauz had said, too.

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