Page 39 of Shadow Bonds

He continues to tease and torment me with every stroke and caress of his lips until I melt into a puddle of heat beneath him.

But he draws back all too soon and presses his forehead to mine. “I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to fight this,” he breathes, his breaths ragged. He moves back, and his eyes slowly clear, revealing his normal indigo blue. But the heat in them is unmissable.

“From here on out you’remine,” he growls, and I feel the husky rasp of his voice right down my spine. “I’m on your side as much as I am theirs.”

My eyes drop to his lips, wanting to feel them again, to feel every part of him. But I shake the thought away to focus on his little vow.

“So, no more joining up and tricking me?”

My heart pounds as he dips down and nips my lip before licking the spot with a mischievous smirk. “No more games. At least not from me.” His shadowed tendrils slide down my body, making me shiver.

“What if the others act like dicks?” I ask while the possibility of him and me opens up in my mind. Even if it is just for now.

He chuckles and moves back to beside me, taking his shadows with him. “We can team up against them, and then I’ll come to your room and make sure your frustrations are thoroughly seen to.”

I turn on my side to look at him and narrow my eyes at his little promise. But pause when I realize that none of themactuallybelieve me. They still think I’m her. TheotherSena.

“I’m not lying when I say I didn’t know you before waking up here,” I tell him honestly and his eyes soften.

“I know that now,” he says.

I raise a brow. A little shocked that he so easily believes me now. “And all it took was you sleeping next to me to figure it out?”

He smiles and shakes his head. “I’ve been watching you for a while now.” He runs a finger down my cheek again, almost like he can’t help but touch me, his eyes following it. “You’re different from how you used to be.” His gaze finds mine, searching for something. “It’s like you’re another person.”

I clear my throat, hiding my shock while trying to quickly change the subject. “What was I like… before?”

“Stubborn,” he says immediately. “To the point of being reckless. Selfish and extremely impatient.”

A dry chuckle slips past my lips. “I’m sorry I asked now.”

“Deceptive,” he continues, and I pause to look at him. “But this version seems to wear her heart on her sleeve. She has kindness, pain, and sadness in her eyes. But I enjoy watching every emotion cross her face.”

“Even when I’m pissed off and angry?”

He gives me an easy smile. “Especiallythen.” Leaning over, he places a kiss to my head. “It’s time to wake up,” he whispers before pulling back.

I frown at him and then jolt, and I blink awake.

My eyes find his and the slow teasing smile on his lips.

Wait…“That was a dream?” I ask, glancing around the room as I try to figure out if this too is a dream before my eyes find his once more. “But it felt so real.”

I can still feel his feathery shadows that held my wrists and ankles. Still feel them as they brushed across my body.

I sit up, and he follows before moving in front of me and grasping my chin and tilting it up to him.

He drops a kiss to my lips. “Don’t worry. We can play as much as you like,” he promises with a hungry look in his eyes before getting up and heading out.

Shaking off my shocked and fizzled brain, I take a quick shower, more to cool my overheated body down than anything else before throwing on some clothes and heading downstairs.

As soon as I hit the bottom step, I spot Knox and his savage smirk and instantly want to turn back around.

“There she is. Ourtruemate,” he says with a chuckle, but there’s not an ounce of humor in it. “Whatever type of fates exist must fucking hate us to match us with you.”

I raise a brow and walk over to the lounge, quickly spotting Theon and Malakai on the sofa eating. “I’m not exactly over the moon about it either.”

Knox scoffs at me and opens his mouth to reply when Cyrus walks down the stairs, heads straight for me, and places a kiss on my head before heading to the coffee machine.

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