‘It’s not funny,’ she pouted, and I wanted to nibble on her full bottom lip when she pushed it out.
I grinned. ‘I promise, there was no drool. You simply stared straight ahead and didn’t respond to any outside stimuli. You were just as breathtakingly beautiful then as you are right now.’
Her expression morphed into a tentative smile. ‘Really? I know it’s silly, but you’re one of the sexiest guys I have ever seen, and I’m… well, I was literally just mistaken for a child, which should speak for itself.’
My excitement over her admitting to her attraction to me so forwardly dimmed at the way she degraded herself, and I felt my brows dip low in a scowl. ‘You do not look like a child. Your curves are blatantly feminine, and your sexual maturity is obvious.’
She smirked down at her breasts and gave them a quick squeeze before turning serious once again. ‘It’s not these. It’s my height. Sometimes my clothes hide my figure.’
‘I see no issue with you removing your clothes if it makes you more comfortable and confident,’ I said in all seriousness. I wasn’t one of those men who would tell my woman how to dress, and if she preferred nudity, then I wasn’t going to complain.
She giggled and swatted me again. ‘Stop it. Okay, fine. I knew it was silly, but you asked.’
‘It is natural to feel insecure sometimes, and I am glad to have helped you overcome one of yours.’
Her arm snaked around my midsection, her fingers barely reaching around my other side, and I enjoyed how small she was. She fit perfectly against me, and I could shroud her with my body if the need ever arose. It settled something within me that I hadn’t even realised was there.
‘You’re pretty cool, Phenex. I like you.’
My heart swelled in my chest at her words, and nothing could wipe the beaming grin from my face in that moment. ‘I like you too, my soul flame.’
She hummed thoughtfully, the sound sending vibrations down my torso to my still-twitching cock. ‘You keep calling me that. What does it mean?’
‘It means you and I are written in the stars. Fate has intervened and deemed us worthy of one another.’
She pulled away, a pleased and slightly dazed grin pulling at her lips, and I fought back the primal urge to tie her to me so she couldn’t escape. Obviously, I would never do that. Unless she consented, of course. I knew a thing or two about ropes, and they would look lovely wrapped snuggly around her delectably soft body.
‘Well, damn. That explains a lot. My people call that soulmates.’
‘Soulmates. Soul flames. The terminology matters not. Our souls are tied either way.’
She giggled, and the bright sound filled me with warmth. Until she sighed and bent down to pick up her discarded clothing.
‘We should get dressed and try to find the others. I don’t like that we were separated,’ she said, and she had a point. ‘I wonder why we were transported elsewhere,’ she mused.
‘That would be the soul tie snapping into place,’ I explained. ‘When my people find their soul flame, the couple are transported to the closest place of privacy to give them a chance to cement it.’
‘And did we? Cement it, that is.’
I grinned, and even without a mirror, I could tell it was lascivious. ‘Of course. All it takes is an act of intimacy for both parties to consent to the binding.’
‘So… I’m guessing this is kind of a permanent thing, then,’ she surmised, and I was suddenly concerned she thought she had made a mistake.
‘Do you regret it?’ I asked her, bracing myself for an answer I wouldn’t like, but I needn’t have worried.
‘No! Not at all. Which should weird me out, but, strangely, it doesn’t.’
My fingers paused on the buttons halfway up my shirt. ‘Why would that be weird?’
‘My Coven doesn’t take mates. We choose a man to father our children for the sake of reproduction, but there’s no relationship there, because we’re exclusively women. Not that all Covens prescribe to that practice, though. It’s mostly just us. Our magic is matriarchal, and my Coven is one of the oldest remaining of the original bloodlines, so it’s a protective measure. Well, it is for them, at least. I was adopted, so I guess it doesn’t really apply to me.’
I mulled that information over as I pulled up my pants and resecured my weapons belt and decided to leave the questions of her parentage for a different time. We had a lot to talk about, but that could wait until we were safe.
My fingertips traced the hilts of my daggers, and I took solace in their presence. I felt better knowing I had a weapon should the worst happen. I could protect Juniper better with a blade than without.
I lamented the loss of visible skin as Juniper dressed, covering her stunning body from my view with the baggy clothes she was apparently so self-conscious of. I wondered why she wore them if she didn’t like the way they looked on her. I didn’t see an issue with them personally, but it wasn’t my opinion that mattered.
She didn’t look particularly bothered by her clothing choice as she strode confidently in a random direction. Or not so random, since she disappeared into the darkness without a single ounceof caution, and I hurried to catch up so I wouldn’t lose sight of her. The shadows surrounded us as we walked down a tunnel I hadn’t noticed, and I was curious how she knew it was there when I didn’t, so I asked.
