Page 74 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

He caught my hand and dragged it to his lips, brushing a kiss to my knuckles. “The pull of the bond is gone. I don’t feel it at all. And yet, I still want you. In my arms. In my bed. On my tongue. Around my cock, too.”

My face flushed, and I felt the heat spread down my neck, over my chest, and across my arms. “Technically, it’sourbed.”

A laugh escaped him—a loud, genuine one that made me smile.

“You’re fucking perfect.” He dragged my fingers back to his lips. “How much longer are you going to make me wait, Sunshine?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

He pulled one of my fingers away from the others, and slid the tip of it between his lips. My eyes widened and my blush spread over more of my skin as he sucked gently on the digit, dragging his tongue over the pad and slowly having his way with it.

It shouldn’t have been erotic.

It really shouldn’t have been.

Butdamn, it definitely was.

“We need to go,” I managed to say, probably squeaking again on accident.

“Mmhm.” He slowly finished what he was doing.

Somehow, I was already drenched and dying to let him take that tongue to other, more sensitive parts of me.

But I didn’t know if we were ready to reignite the bond yet. A few more days would make me more certain that his feelings were real.

He finally released my finger, nipping at it with his teeth before letting go altogether. “Can I fly with you for a bit?”

I blinked. “Youwantme to fly?”

“Of course I do. You’re a phoenix, Thorns.”

I knew that.

Ididknow that.

It just surprised me to hear him say it. To hear him not just reluctantly agree to let me take the lead for a while—but to hear himaskme to have a turn.

“Do you think it’s safe?” I checked, before committing.

“I do. Our friend must’ve sent his brothers away after he connected with you; they wouldn’t have left on their own. And that means he protected you. I trust he’ll continue to do so.”

Gratitude and pride warred within me.

“How do you do that?” I asked him.

“How do I do what?” He tilted his head to the side a bit, sitting up on his forearms.

“Make me feel strong, without even saying it.” I tossed a hand toward him. “You trust me, even when you don’t have to. It messes with me.”

He grinned at me—a full-on grin, gorgeous enough to stop my damn heart. “Youarestrong, Thorns. I’m not doing anything special. I just believe in you.”

My eyes stung, but tears didn’t fall. “Well, thank you.”

“Always.” He wrapped those gigantic arms around me and dragged me back to his chest, holding me tight until my emotions faded enough that I was no longer at risk of tearing up. “I love you, Dakota. I know you still think it might be because of the bond, but I swear to you that it’s not. I know myself—I know my emotions. I have for centuries, despite my bond with Naomi draining the life from me. I know that I love you, and I want you to trust that.”

“Well dammit, now you’re going to make me cry again,” I mumbled, eyes stinging once more.

He chuckled. “The way you feel everything so strongly is beautiful, you know.”

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