Page 74 of Tortured Soul
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, lifting a playful brow.
My throat bobbed. “To get a coff—”
His hand trailed up my thigh, fingers featherlight against my skin, while his other one pushed a full cup in front of me.
“You wound me,lille fugl. When have I not prepared your coffee for you in all the mornings we’ve spent together?”
The hair rose on all of my body at the Danish words. Dimitri grinned, well aware of the impact the nickname had on me.
“I can make my own coffee, you know?”
“I like doing it for you,” he said, picking a piece of scrambled eggs and bacon from his plate before bringing the fork to my lips. “Did you sleep well?”
I nodded. He didn’t move the fork away, waiting for me to open my mouth with an expectant look. I rolled my eyes but obliged, catching Arc’s intense gaze. Dimitri smiled in satisfaction, kissing my temple. Was he trying to get a rise out of him?
“So, you were going to tell me about that binding promise you two made,” he said to Arc.
Great. I groaned and took the fork from his hand, helping myself to his food.
“She was being stubborn and putting herself in danger on a daily basis,” Arc answered casually, finally dropping his eyes away from us to his plate. “Refusing to refuel her already low and rapidly depleting energy.”
“I didn’trefuseto—”
“That measly encounter with the soldier outside the camp doesn’t count.”
“It does!” I gritted. That bastard was ratting me out.
Arc shook his head, releasing a long exhale, his eyes closed. “You said so yourself. You barely got enough to survive for a week and I doubt you used your shifting power more than a couple of times during that period. When Carter and I found you, you werethisclose to going dormant.” He showed his hand, a barely visible space between his thumb and forefinger.Drama queen…
My head was sharply turned to the side from Dimitri’s sudden hold on my chin. “Is that true?” he asked, a strange edge to his voice and his brows pulled down in a frown.
“He’s over-selling it. It was not—”
“It was,” Arc interrupted me, his tone harsh. “Her pheromones could be scented from miles away, and she was being attacked by a demon, almost too weak to fight back.”
Dimitri’s eyes started to swirl angrily, the depiction of what had happened probably fueling his madness. He knew that I’d been acting this way for decades. Centuries. He usually had a lot to say on the matter, but for some reason, decided to stay quiet right now.
“Where’s that demon now?” he asked slowly, his tone holding something deadly.
“Taken care of,” Arc answered, his eyes boring into my Nephilim.
Dimitri gave a sharp nod. “This doesn’t explain what your binding promise is about,” he said, satisfied.
“Yeah, I was getting to that. After rescuing her, I brought her here. She started to recharge just with contact, so I kept her in my arms during the night.”
Dimitri nodded, thoughtful.
“That’s what the binding promise is about. We do that everyday, and it’ll ensure she never gets as weak again while also reassuring her that I won’t try anything sketchy with her without her expressed consent.”
I grabbed the cup of coffee sitting in front of me and tried my best to ignore the goosebumps spreading along my skin as Dimitri caressed my naked thighs.What was he playing at?
“You know that’s not a long term solution, right?” he asked Arc, whose eyes were drifting from his face to the motions of his hands on me. “Even if you’re mates, what you’re doing is only a superficial touch. It’s strong for now, as your bodies and energies don’t know each other very well, but it will weaken over time.”
My eyes closed and I released a shuddering breath when Dimitri’s hand reached the hem of the shirt before going back down toward my knee. For fuck’s sakes, why was my body so responsive to him?
“It’s only a matter of weeks before your agreement turns out to be nearly useless.”
“Lola asked me not to touch her in that way, I’m only respecting her request.”Barely.“When the need comes, we’ll figure something out.”
