Page 62 of Honorable Convictions
“I chose the color because it’s the opposite of green on the color wheel. It makes your eyes more extraordinary than usual.”
The husky tone of his voice had Pierson glancing at his mate. His other half—normally hardworking and aptly feared for his prowess in the courtroom—was practically starstruck, which made Pierson want to laugh and blush simultaneously. “You okay?”
Mitchell tugged him toward the bed, and Pierson didn’t fight as he was pulled onto the mattress over him. Their lips met, and Pierson surrendered once he’d rolled so Mitchell was on top, giving up everything of himself in their kiss. It was hard to believe that they were going to share this extraordinary space Mitchell had lovingly put together for not just himself but them both. Waiting for the fear of the future to clutch at his throat, Pierson pulled Mitchell tighter to him when the shadows didn’t arrive. Although he understood that he was conquered by the power of their bond, he was finally learning how to embrace it. There might still be bumps ahead for him, but Pierson was well on his way to keeping his mate fully and forever.
Chapter 31
Ripped from sleep, Mitchell’s heart was thundering, and fear clutched his throat. After throwing off the covers, he raced out of the bedroom and didn’t stop until he got to the kitchen. Slapping on the lights, he pressed his palms to the slick surface of the island as he tried to catch his breath. Unsure if it was a dream because he had no memory of any images, he’d awakened with such fear of losing Pierson, he was helpless to calm himself.
Shaking his head, he forced himself to think clearly. There was no question that he finally had what he’d wanted for so long. Under his roof was most of Pierson’s stuff, though they had more boxes to teleport in a few hours after the sun came up. It did nothing to help the terror choking him. What if they broke up? Could the old rivalry he nursed to guard himself from loneliness rear its ugly head again? If so, he’d push Pierson away and might never again convince him to give up the idea of separation papers along with the cursed demonic spell that would tear them apart forever.
A noise distracted him, and he glanced up to find a blond man shuffling toward him with his eyes squinted against the brightness of the room. The fallen knight had dragged on a pair of faded pants that belonged to Mitch, and his hair was sticking up in five different directions. There was a slight impression of the bedding on his cheek, and still, he’d never been so beautiful.
“What’s wrong?” Pierson asked. His voice was groggy, and a sigh escaped Mitch when Pierson wrapped his arms around him and laid his head on his back.
“I don’t know, I guess I had a bad dream.”
“Must’ve been bad to have you in the kitchen at three in the morning.”
“I can’t remember it.”
“Something’s wrong, though.”
“I figured out why you’re so scared of us.”
“Mitch, I don’t mean to be—”
Turning in his embrace, Mitchell shushed him and leaned forward until their foreheads kissed. “It’s okay. I get it. It’s not as easy as I try to make it sometimes. I finally realized forever isn’t really a promise, it’s a goal. If we fuck up, we lose each other. We already know how bad that sucks and how awful it is to be so alone.”
“Look at me,” Pierson demanded. Lifting his head, Mitchell did as he was told. There might’ve been fatigue in Pierson’s eyes, but he was alert now.
“I am.”
“This whole Fate thing is overwhelming, but I don’t lack confidence in how we feel about each other or what we’d like the future to be. Although I want to be with you, I’m not ready for the world to know because I can’t figure out what that looks like yet. How will it impact our jobs? How does it change our lives? How will we react to those changes?”
“I have no idea.”
“I care about you.”
“I can hardly tell,” he teased. “When I get up, you’ve baked me breakfast and brewed my coffee—that you searched for to make sure I liked it. I grin like an idiot at those little texts I get asking me how I’m doing or updating me on your day. I finally get to see you at night, where dinner’s waiting and we talk about everything. I hate it but I have to work, so you rub my shoulders, make me tea, and use that giant brain of yours to answer any question I throw at you.”
“That’s because I love you.”
Every knot in Mitchell’s belly disappeared with those words, and his lashes slipped to his cheeks. “Thank you.”
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘thank you’?” Pierson demanded.
It was probably evil, but Mitchell burst into laughter at the mix of shock and consternation on his handsome face. Pierson’s eyes narrowed and he sobered. “I love you too. I’ve probably loved you forever, idiot. I probably took such good care of you until you got us killed. It’s a good thing we had the Arch Lich around to resurrect us.”
“Something definitely went wrong during the spell that brought you to life. There’s some kind of weird connection in your brain that makes you say or do stupid shit. And you have no proof whatsoever that I did a damn thing to get us killed, and you never will since we won’t get our memories back.”
Mitchell lifted one shoulder and let it fall again. “You’re the one who loves me, so you’re just as crazy.”
“It was pretty fucking crazy to turn our matebond into a war of attrition.”
“There should’ve never been any kind of war. We were foolish to ever treat each other as rivals or purposely push buttons to hurt. I flirted with whoever was close when you walked into a room. It was a stupid way to get your attention and somehow, I convinced myself that it’d piss you off enough that you’d march right up to me to demand that I stop because I was your mate. You’d walk past, and it hurt to think you didn’t care.”
“It pissed me off enough that I wanted nothing to do with you.”
