Page 26 of Threadbound

Anything other than the inevitable and indelible bonds of Fate.

“You came to my work. Four times,” Jamie pointed out, an edge to his voice that Bran supposed meant that half-breed was getting annoyed at his lack of answers.

Bran pulled at his fish, breaking it into smaller pieces. “Because I feel drawn to you,” he finally answered, then stuck abite of fish into his mouth, giving him an excuse to stop talking. At least for the amount of time that it took him to chew and swallow.

Jamie had no idea what to do with that answer. He couldn’t exactlyarguethe point, since he was drawn to Bran, too. Almost painfully so.

He wanted to ask why the hell, if Bran was so drawn to him, didn’t he want a kiss?

And then he second-guessed himself, wondering if maybe Bran was asexual or demisexual and that’s why he hadn’t made any sort of romantic or sexual moves. But he wasn’t sure exactly how to ask that without seeming rude, so he just ate another fry. Chip. Whatever.

And now he felt uncomfortable, and, if the expression on the other man’s face was anything to judge by, he’d made Bran uncomfortable, too. Jamie ate another chip.Fucking great. He’d met a hot guy who was actually drawn to him, and he had to pick the one who either wasn’t into sex or had a brick wall of baggage.

Or maybe Bran was actually a serial killer, and when he saiddrawn to, he meant for murdering purposes, not dating ones.

Jamie sighed. “I’m sorry I brought it up,” he mumbled.

Bran looked up at him. “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable,” he replied, his voice soft, but tight. Almost, Jamie thought, unhappy.

And then Bran stood up in one fluid motion, his hands closing the cardboard packaging around the rest of his dinner.

Jamie blinked, surprised.

Bran inclined his head. “I apologize,” he said, the words slightly clipped, although they didn’t sound angry to Jamie. They sounded… he honestly didn’t know. “I willna bother you again.”

And then he turned around and walked out of the park, leaving Jamie sitting dumbfounded, a fry still hanging from his fingers.

Bran was temptedto throw out the rest of his dinner, but he was still hungry and the fish and chips were good—and he knew he’d regret it later when his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t otherwise eaten that day. The impulse was born out of pure frustration.

He didn’t understand humans. Specifically, he didn’t understandthishuman.

Humans didn’t act like fae. They didn’t have the same ideas about how things worked. Jamie at least seemed to understand that a gift given meant a gift owed, but beyond that, Bran had no idea how to relate to the half-breed.

If they’d been in Elfhame, Bran would have known how to behave. He would have felt comfortable acting on the irritating desires that had been invading his sleep and leaving him writhing in the blankets in the morning, his body aching for a touch he’d never felt.

If Jamie had been fae, Bran would have undoubtedly taken him to bed long ago. Probably when they were still adolescents and just learning how they wanted their bodies to be touched.

Sex was simply a part of life among the fae, whether the Sunlit Court or the Court of Shades.

Humans, on the other hand, were disturbingly prudish.

Bran had heard about places and cultures where sex was more open among humans, but the humans he encountered on the other side of the Carraig Gate—the Gate that led to Edinburgh’s Greyfriars—were definitely not among them. Neither were the humans where Jamie was from. So Bran had kept his hands to himself, even though his fingers itched to touch the skin of Jamie’s arms, to run through the messy blond waves on his skull, to find out what the muscle of Jamie’s chest and back felt like under his fingertips.

But Jamie hadn’t once reached for Bran’s hand, the way he’d seen so many human couples do. He hadn’t put a hand on Bran’s back or shoulder, hadn’t brushed his arm or his thigh.

It practically felt like Bran’s skin was screaming every second he’d spent close to Jamie without touching him.

But it was clear to Bran now that Jamie wasn’t interested.

And that if he wanted to complete the threadbond, he’d have to do it against Jamie’s will.

He didn’t know if he could do that.

And he also didn’t know what would happen if he didn’t.

Chapter

Fourteen

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