“I said I want to fuck, not be fucked.”
“Semantics.”
“You’re an ass,” he chastised, standing up and tossing his bottle into a nearby trash can. “I’m having a date with my hand tonight. You can fuck off.”
“Enjoy,” I murmured, not moving from the couch.
“You can go now.”
“I’m good.”
He shook his head and grumbled a curse under his breath, then focused on the kitchen. “Leftover pizza?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Sure.”
“Good.”
I watched as he worked, the banter between us reminding me of an easier time between us—a time I wasn’t sure we’d ever experience again. However, as he pulled a box out of the refrigerator and slid the contents onto a tray, I started to entertain the notion of a different kind of future. One where we were friends like before, only closer.
Because of Aflora.
Or maybe it would all go up in flames and burn us all to the ground.
I rubbed a hand over my face and shut my eyes, the vision of a dark-haired beauty with cerulean magic flashing in my mind.
What am I going to do with you?I thought at her, aware that she couldn’t actually hear me. That wasn’t how the initial bond stages worked. I could sense her and manipulate her dreams with magic, but I couldn’t yet access her mind.
Soon, though.
Soon.
Chapter Eleven
AFLORA
I staredat the black rose on my seat before glancing across the room at Shade. He winked and returned to his conversation with one of the other Death Bloods. Then the flower disappeared into a purple mist, the illusion gone.
“How romantic,” Emelyn drawled, having witnessed the entire exchange from her spot a few seats over. “He sends you dead flowers as gifts.”
“Shall I do the same for you,my beloved?” Kols asked as he took the chair beside mine.
Emelyn narrowed her black eyes at him and ignored the offer. “Why does your father still think we’re going to the Blood Gala together,darling fiancé?”
Blood Gala?I repeated to myself as I took my seat.
“I told you I’d handle it,” he replied with a hint of annoyance.
“Is that what you were doing while gallivanting all over the mortal realm, fucking everything with two legs?” she asked, her long lashes batting demurely at him. But the violence radiating from her dark irises told a very different story. One I understood very well as my stomach clenched with her words.
Murderous, I mused.Thatwas how I felt as a result of her statement.
I wanted to throttle Kols for being so disrespectful to our bond.
Which was ridiculous.
I had to get over this. We weren’t exclusive. We didn’t even like each other. Maybe I’d tell him later about my idea to use my Quandary Blood gifts to unravel the mating. He’d probably jump at the chance, what with all his other obligations. Including the female staring at him now, waiting for his response.
He didn’t give her one.
