Page 55 of Immortal Sins
Cole dashes up the stairs and clutches Flynn’s elbow. “Infernal magic kills Unseelies. I need some time to figure this out. You’re not going.”
Flynn’s nostrils flare, and he shakes himself loose in one quick, unapologetic motion. “You don’t get to make decisions for me anymore.”
Cole lifts his chin. “Are you really going to risk your life to spite me?”
“You’ve got some nerve…”
A nasty right hook slices the air, but Cole ducks at the last second. Flynn throws another punch, his fist colliding with Cole’s side. This is no longer a training exercise.
Cole spins around and gives his friend a forceful push.
Flynn staggers off to the side, but manages to stay upright. He expands his chest. “Oh, let’s go.” With a vicious snarl, he leaps into action.
Cole deflects another series of blows. Despite their obvious skills, both men grow breathless. Their impressive speed quickens my pulse.
Impatience builds in the bend of Cole’s brow. “You moron, picking a fight will not change my mind.”
Beads of sweat pearl on Flynn’s neck. “If you order me not to go, I’ll raise hell. You’re married now…don’t hold me hostage.”
Flynn summons a dimensional ring and attempts to surprise Cole from behind, but quick footwork allows my prince to immobilize Flynn in a rear chokehold. The arm braced around Flynn’s throat flexes hard, and the blond scratches at it with wide eyes before going limp.
Cole presses even harder. “Are you done?”
“Yes.”
Cole inhales deep, his steel grasp unwavering. “Punch me again, and I’ll throw you in a dungeon for a few days. That ought to bring some sense back into you.”
With a growl, he releases his friend.
Flynn twists around to face him. “I haven’t seen you with your panties in such a bunch over me in quite a while.” A hollow shade of bitterness colors his face, but he doesn’t walk away. Instead, he steps one leg between Cole’s and crushes his lips to his.
I expect anger. I expect jealousy. Anything but the boom in my chest and the red-hot, desperate ache in my belly. When I saw Cole kiss other girls at the Academy, it made me feel small and stupid. Seeing him kiss Flynn is different. Maybe because I also kissed Flynn—maybe marrying Cole made me more like the Fae than I realized.
Cole firmly pushes Flynn away. “I love Jules.”
My insides turn to mush. A ball of fire and nerves burns my windpipe. Love. He never said it to me, and yet the way it flows so easily out of his mouth steals my breath.
“I know, ” Flynn grits through his teeth. He doesn’t seem surprised by Cole’s candor. “It doesn’t have to completely erase us.”
“She’s anearthling,” Cole answers. The word doesn’t quite sound dirty, but apprehensive—and full of judgment.
“She would still love you.”
Cole pats down Flynn’s back in a soothing manner. “The prudish ways of humans have molded their views of our people and crystallized their prejudice… I will stay loyal to her if that’s what it takes.”
A sad smile glazes over Flynn’s lips. “How could she not love you? I never seem to be able to stop, no matter how difficult you make it.”
Cole squeezes his shoulder. “Come on, Verinos. Don’t force me to play the prince card. Give me a few more weeks. If you still want to leave then, I’ll let you go.”
Flynn rolls his eyes. “Alright.”
They head back down the stairs, and I tuck my curls behind my ears. A few feet more, and they would have caught me red-handed.
Cole and Flynn have history.
It was palpable in every angry spat they shared and every envious gaze Flynn ever sent my way. Written on that damn stela they used to communicate and in the bob of Flynn’s throat at our wedding. They were friends, colleagues, andloversbefore I came into their lives, and while that intimacy should threaten me—it doesn’t.
Cole’s offer to let Flynn into our bed still burns at the tip of my ears.
