Page 87 of Savage Blood
“Do you want me to go?” Saint asked.
Instead of telling him to go, I pushed the covers down, inviting him to stay. Maybe I was angry at Fane. Or maybe I was just lonely.
Saint didn’t hesitate to crawl into my bed and curl up behind me. We were close but not touching. And then he did touch me.
His fingers danced lightly over the bruises Fane had left on my neck and shoulders. Saint probably smelled him and sex all over the room.
“Will it always be him, Tate?”
My throat tightened, and it took a moment to find my voice. “He’s my mate.”
“I can sense you opening up to me, though,” Saint whispered. “You feel something for me.”
Maybe I did.
“As pissed as I am at Fane right now, I don’twantto break our mate bond.” I traced one of the scars on my wrists, thinking of how many nights Fane had held me during my nightmares. “We’ve been through so much, and I can’t just give that up. I can’t givehimup.”
“Well, maybe I can’t give you up, either,” Saint mumbled under his breath.
My eyelids fluttered closed, but I said nothing else. Doing this, being with Saint so he could heal me, was wrong. It was screwing with his head, giving him hope for a future with me.
A low growl rumbled through my mind, and my eyes shotopen to find Fane’s incorporeal form looming in a shadowy corner of the room.
My heart thumped against my ribs. Hewashere when I woke up. And from the rage suddenly pummeling the bond, he’d heard Saint’s words.
Did Fane take them as a threat? Would he fight for me or simply let me go for good?
Chapter
Twenty-One
“How much hot sauce?”I lifted the bottle and shook it.
Dylan, standing next to me at the sizeable island in the Anderses’ kitchen, shrugged. “Whatever you want.”
Saint dropped me off in Mohan Wilds yesterday while he went to Blackwater Falls. Instead of leading his pack, he was spending all his time in Silver Ridge with me. We were becoming too close, and after the other night, when he slept in my bed while Fane seethed in the corner, I needed space to think.
To think about what, exactly?
Fane was bound and determined to make sure Saint healed me, if possible, and the young alpha was all too willing to try. That left me stuck between my fated mate and my actual mate.
“But you’re the master at these brownies.” I bumped my shoulder against Dylan’s—more like his bicep, since the kid was now taller than me. “How much doyouadd?”
Grinning, he plucked the bottle from my grasp and dumped several splashes into the glass bowl of chocolatebatter. Our eyes met, his shining with mischief, and he tossed in a couple more drops.
I bounced on the balls of my feet, imagining the sweet and spicy flavor. “These are going to be so freaking amazing.”
Nora chuckled as she stood at the other end of the island, seasoning a platter of meat. The afternoon sun streaming in through the window above the large farmhouse sink cast a golden halo around the caramel strands of hair framing her shoulders.
“Make sure you don’t mix those dangerously hot treats with the regular ones,” she said. “We don’t need people passing out at the bonfire from a spice overdose.”
“We’ll be careful,” I promised, stirring the batter with a wooden spoon.
The pack was hosting one of its regular bonfires tonight for the full moon. Even though some shifters would hunt for their food tonight, plenty would still enjoy the grilled and smoked meat, delectable sides, and desserts.
I, for one, could not wait for Dylan’s hot brownies with candied bacon and jalapeños. His spicy chocolate chip cookies were also on my list of must-haves tonight.
Dylan returned to chopping pecans as a smirk tugged at his lips. “It couldn’t hurt to slip a cookie in there just for Marissa.”
