Page 48 of Bound By the Sleeper’s Harp

She tutted. “Whatever. That’s everything—on the list I mean. I don’t know if it will have any significance. If it will help to locate her killer, I mean. Like I said, she could have gotten rid of any or all of them over the years. Or they could have been stolen by her killer just because they were pretty trinkets⁠—”

His lips were on hers before he realized what he was doing. It was just, she was so damn sexy when she was talking about shit like this. He could picture her with her hair in a messy bun atop her head, textbooks spread before her, chewing on a pencil as she studied for her exams.

She was probably the world’s sexiest student.

He told himself that’s why he was kissing her again. That he just wanted one more taste. He needed to cement her kiss into his memory so that he could start fresh tomorrow, put this behind him. He swept his tongue through her mouth, then pulled away, giving her bottom lip a nibble. “It’s fine,” he said, reassuring her about the list. “I’ll see if I can make anything of it. Let you know if I have questions.”

He backed the fuck up before he did anything else utterly stupid. Like carting her up the stairs to his bed. Seeing her hair fanned out on his pillows. Telling Christian to go fuck himself so that he could fuck her instead.

No.

He strode over to the mat by the door and slipped back into his boots, then shucked on his jacket. “I’ll be back later, sugar. Behave yourself. Get some sleep. Don’t go outside the house. Got it?”

She nodded, watching him.

He didn’t take the front door. Instead, he walked toward the garage, leaving Eleanor gaping after him in the entryway. With each step, her scent grew fainter, but it didn’t disappear entirely. As he rounded the corner, he didn’t look back over his shoulder, either. Couldn’t. If he did, he’d never leave her. He had work to do. So, he left her standing there, smelling like sin and sex and everything he wanted to devour, and told himself that he’d have better control next time. Only because he had to.

17

The roar of a motorcycle filled my ears, breaking the spell Bastian had over me. I’d let him…fuck! I groaned, banging my head against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut, then opening them and blinking, like it would change anything. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed that—couldn’t believe I wasn’t more angry at myself for it. If anything, my frustration stemmed from him running off, more than anything.

It was better this way. Better that I didn’t have to face him. That I didn’t have to talk to him or act like things had changed.

A goblin had just given me the best orgasm of my life, and he hadn’t even used his dick—or his freaking tongue, for that matter. Ugh. How was I supposed to put myself back together after something like that? How?!

The reverberations of his bike drifted through the walls from the garage, followed by the rumble of the house as the automatic garage door closed. I frowned, logic kicking in. Bastian’s motorcycle? But⁠—

I huffed and shook my head. I wasn’t sure why I was surprised. Sure, we’d left it back at the club. Now it was here, in his garage. Freaking magic. Somehow, he’d moved it through space, right back home.

Why did I find that so…appealing?

Ugh. I needed to go to bed. Get some sleep so that I could process everything that had happened in the last several hours.

I pushed off the wall and glanced at my phone, at his name in my contacts list. Bastian Croft. Posh as hell. Yeah, he looked like a Bastian Croft. I shivered, walking to my room. Teddy was curled on my bed, a divot in the middle of the comforter surrounding him, right where he’d been all evening. He looked up and gave a quiet meow.

“Hey cutie,” I managed, walking straight for my bathroom. I turned on the faucet, dampened a cloth, used my makeup remover to clean my face, then set about the rest of my bedtime routine. A few minutes later, I was in my PJs, pulling Teddy to my chest like a stuffed animal. He gave a loud purr and cuddled up against me.

“You won’t run off, will you?” I cooed, rubbing my face against his soft kitty fur. “No, of course you won’t. You’re a proper gentleman. Not like some people. I’d rather cuddle with you, anyway.” His purrs grew louder, then settled into silence.

In the dark of the room, I let my mind wander, listening to the sounds of the house, the creak of the wood as the temperatures outside changed. I tried not to flinch each time I heard a noise, letting my breaths deepen. I was safe in here, safe behind Bastian’s magical security system, safe from people like… No—I pushed Luke from my mind, forcing myself to think of Bastian, instead.

Bastian had handled me in a way Luke never had. Possessive, assertive, confident, and yet, he’d never once made me feel used or uncomfortable. The opposite, actually. Aside from grinding against me, he’d taken off before I could return the favor. He’d made my pleasure his priority, then vanished.

“Just like sugar…” Those words echoed in my head, paired with the sinuous smile while he said it, the hungry gleam in his goblin eyes. He’d promised there would be more, but there couldn’t be—shouldn’t be. I needed this to be a one-time thing, which I had no experience with. But I couldn’t make the same mistake twice. I’d let someone else get close to me, and they’d used that against me, waited until I let my guard down to hurt me.

I wasn’t ready to go through that again.

I brought my fingers to my lips. They were swollen, the skin around them mildly chafed from Bastian’s stubble. I squeezed my thighs together, then smiled. The minor ache there reminded me of just how good it had been. All passion and heat, no room for thought or logic. Maybe I could do this for a little while, keep things casual, enjoy Bastian as a fling, then move on once this case was solved.

Yet, a nagging feeling warned that once Bastian was done with me, I’d never be the same.

My phone chirped. I rolled over, groaning as the room came in and out of focus. My phone chirped again, another text. I glanced at the bedside clock. It was nearly 10:00am. Teddy had left the confines of my arms at some point during the night, getting comfortable on the other pillow. He meowed when he saw me awake.

“Hello to you, too,” I teased. Having him around meant I had someone to talk to. It made me feel less alone, too.

I rolled over and snatched my phone, quickly scrolling through notifications. Nothing from Bastian, but a handful of texts from Vivi, two from Tara, one from Eaden, one from Kaylee, and another from my freaking mother—which I promptly ignored.

I focused on Vivi’s first, which had come in a few hours after we talked on the phone yesterday.