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Tegan paused as he turned and went into the room. She remembered too well what happened the last time she had followed him into a darkened area.
“Scared?” his voice taunted her from the dimly lit room, and Tegan smiled at his cheek as she followed him.
“Another dark, secluded area, you keep finding them,” she said with mocking reproach.
Cord’s light laugh filled the empty training room, the echo of his laughter sounding around them. “Should we be concerned that I find the darkness so well?” he said with more bite than he intended.
“Cord, don’t,” Tegan said softly, her smile fading as she met his bitter stare. “What is it?”
“The bond,” Cord said as he looked away from her. “The Mark.”
“Which one?” Tegan said to him as she leaned against the wall, her hands behind her back, casually watching him. “Our bond or your Mark?”
“When I kissed you”—Cord met her gaze but looked away—“you know, the other night—”
“I remember when it was,” Tegan cut him off quickly.
“When I kissed you,” Cord started again, “I felt the binding, and I panicked.”
“It scared you?” Tegan asked curiously.
Cord rubbed his jaw as he thought about it. “Maybe? Yes. I don’t know.”
“Oh.” Tegan looked down at her feet. “But you knew we were bound.”
“I know.” Cord shook his head as he began to pace. “I knew what they said, I know there is a bond, I can see it for Arflyn’s sake, but then when I felt it,actuallyfelt it, I think I may have overreacted.”
“You could just say sorry,” Tegan said as she watched the unflappable male flounder in front of her. “I mean, I think that is what you are trying to say, horribly by the way, but I think that’s what you mean.”
“You’re enjoying this,” Cord said as he stopped and regarded her fully. Her eyes were dancing with laughter, and she shrugged. “I thought I upset you,” he muttered.
“You did,” Tegan told him easily. “That was my first ever kiss, with my bonded mate no less, and then he accused me of tricking him. A really special moment, ruined because my bonded is a buffoon.”
Cord lowered his head and exhaled heavily. “Harrian’s wrath, that was cold,” he said as he tilted his head to look at her. “Brutal even.”
“I agree, youwerebrutal.”
“Little tiger,” he began. “Tegan,” he corrected when he saw her arched brow. Taking a step forward, he closed the distance between the two of them. “I am sorry.”
“I wish I had a witness to hear that admission,” Tegan teased him.
“Stop,” Cord grumbled as he stepped closer still. “The Mark changed,” he told her. “Its colour has changed.”
“Changed how?”
“It has become shaded, in places. Shaded in indigo blue.” Cord reached out and ran a finger gently down the side of Tegan’s face before his thumb brushed over her cheek. “The same colour as your eyes.”
“How is that possible?” Tegan asked, her voice low and husky.
“Velvore was letting me know who I belong to?” Cord gave a slight shrug. “I don’t know, I only know it messed with my head more than I thought it would.” He moved closer to her, and he noticed her intake of breath. “And then I kissed you, and I felt the binding as sure as I felt the burn of the Mark.”
“You question whether what we may feel is real?” Tegan asked him softly.
“Don’t you?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “And no.” Her shy smile was intoxicating. “At times, I question whether I am responding to you or a bond placed upon us by the Ancients. And then you look at me like you’re looking at me now, or you brush your lips against my skin, or you kiss me...and I thinkhow can this be anything other than real?”
“Little tiger.” Cord dropped his head onto her shoulder.
