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“That’s a different kink entirely,” Necos replies before literally disappearing into thin air.
“What was that?” I gasp, looking around. “There was no light or—”
“He walked out,” Jasper explains, and I meet his hesitant gaze. He feels out of place being here with my other mates, so I hope to help with that.
I silently warn them to be nice to him, include him, and to not be mean. There are some snorts, but nobody says anything about it which is basically acceptance.
“What do you mean?” I ask, directing my words to Jasper. “We didn’t see him walk away.”
“Because he would’ve slowed down time to give him the dramatic exit,” Jasper says, and I giggle. That is something I wouldn’t have expected from Necos, but sort of fits him at the same time.
“Hilarious,” Ryes says sardonically.
“I’m heading to bed then,” Zohar says, and I lean forward to kiss his forehead before he rolls off the sofa and goes away.
“I’m going to shower, and then go do breakfast,” I say. “I love this dress, but I don’t think I should wear it again today.”
“Um, can I have a word before you do?” Jasper asks, hesitantly. I nod, and the others make their excuses to give us time.
That would be sweet of them, but I know that Ciar is hovering out of view but in hearing range,andall of them will be spying through the mental connection.
Only one person can do that accidentally.
“My head has been working in overdrive since last night,” Jasper says, and I nod slowly.
“I’m sorry, Jazz,” I murmur, his eyes flaring as I use his nickname. “I didn’t mean to pull you here.”
“You did,” he corrects. “But it was subconscious more than anything. I understand it, even if it unsettles me.”
“How can I help with that?”
I look him over, assessing how he’s feeling about everything. His light brown hair is a little greasy, likely from all the fighting they supposedly did, and maybe even from running his hands through it a lot. He smells divine, which is kind of strange since it’s post-workout.
Jasper isn’t overly muscular, but he’s definitely toned. His olive skin makes me look even paler standing next to him, but that doesn’t deny that everything about this just feels… right.
Well, at least on my side. He’s tense, his shoulders up at his ears, and all of his movements are rigid. I hate that I’m the one who has made him feel this way.
“I think I need some time,” he says. “I heard you warning your mates to be nice to me.”
I flush, I know I do, but I tense. “Um, that was—”
“Your tell is giving you away, sunflower,” he murmurs. He reaches out, his fingers gently trailing down my arm before he takes my hand in his. “I need to come to terms with our bond in my own way. I’m not like the others I need—”
“I feel the same way,” I say, cutting him off. His eyes flash to green, and he nods. But despite him being the one to ask for space, his thoughts are clearly showing he’s not happy. “Eirik, Ciar, Mael, Zohar, and Ryes have been in my lifefor years. Sure, we had a break—”
“A break?”
“When I was thirteen,” I say, and he nods in understanding. “Yeah. So we stopped seeing each other then, until my binding spell broke and I came here. We’ve fallen back into our old patterns, and things are really great with us.”
“I see.”
“Etrix and I… I understand him,” I say softly. I try to ignore the secrets Etrix is keeping, knowing that is something I need to handle, but it’s still irrelevant to how I feel about him. “We’ve bonded in a way I haven’t with you.Yet. But he’s been all in, mostly.”
“And I haven’t.” He sounds bitter about this, but he gently squeezes my hand. “I understand.”
“If the bond is something you want to explore…”
“It’s something I have to explore,” he says with a shrug. “I don’t get a choice.”
