Page 49 of B Negative

It was cute, if not a little strange.

I never pictured B with such a girly girl. Not that I’d spent much time wondering about his preferences in women. But I had assumed he’d prefer a more athletic, physical woman than Sherrie seemed to be.

Long dark hair with so much volume it looked like she had a professional blow-out, a pencil skirt, and a silk top completed her look. She was every bit as feminine as her styling projected. B stood well over a foot taller than her, and I could only imagine the logistics of certain activities, given their height difference.

“Uh, I’ll just leave you two to yourselves,” I said and holed up in the bedroom.

Their budding coupling, however new, drew a stark contrast to mine and Julian’s.

In heels or boots, I was nearly as tall as Julian.

And with access to his power base, I was just as strong too.

Maybe stronger if I kept up my diet here.

A muffled squeal of delight came from the living room, followed by the unmistakable sound of lips smacking together.

I’d always wanted someone to be in this life with me. To have my back and I’d have theirs.

I’d thought it was Odette. I thought I’d have to settle for an equal who wasn’t also a romantic partner.

But Julian…

He’d shown me just how hard it was to find your match in everything.

Because Sunny was right about one thing.

Well, she’s usually right about lots of things, but that wasn’t the point. I was just as stubborn as Julian. Just as hot-headed. I let my temper sometimes get the best of me.

I don’t regret cutting the bond.

But I regret hurting him.

I regret that I put him in danger.

I scanned the room, looking for the tiny scrap of paper I’d forgotten about hours ago.

I spied it between the pages of the book Sunny had been reading, the corner just peeking out. I slid it out and opened the small envelope.

I miss you. Please come home.

I sighed. He’d written it before I told him I wanted an apology. Still, though, a part of me was rooting for him. Hoping he’d said it here, and I just hadn’t let him tell me so.

I flopped backward onto the pillows, trying my best to ignore the sounds of B and Sherrie making out.

My heart sank to my toes when I realized what I was going to have to do about the situation in the living room. I huffed, plodded over to the desk in the far corner and pulled out a sheet of Titus Tower stationary. I scrawled a few lines of legalese sounding text on it and very loudly made my way to the living room.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I started, just as uncomfortable as they were as they stared at me, flushed faces and clothes mostly gone. B still had his shirt mostly on, but Sherrie was down to her bra and pencil skirt.

“This needs to be taken care of before you two move any further.” I held the paper out to them, keeping well clear of all the pheromones they were throwing off.

Sherrie glanced at it, question clear in her eyes as she met my gaze once more.

“I must protect my city and my king,” I said. As uncomfortable as this was, I wouldn’t have Julian’s interests threatened just because I was too scared to step into my role. “You must sign or you’ll have to leave and your relationship will go no further,” I said to her and B.

She read it over once more, gestured to B to turn around, and signed my hastily drawn up, probably not even legally binding document on B’s back. “I’d expect no less from the new queen of Laurel Cove,” she said and handed the paper to her paramour.

“Let’s see, this says we agree not to reveal any pertinent details, secrets, or information regarding our respective cities to the other party. With an added clause that either king can disband our union should we break the agreement.”

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