AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Finally, he spun around and put a hand on my hip, the way he did when he was about to transport us somewhere. I held my breath and closed my eyes just in time for the water magic to surround us. Thankfully, I was used to the feeling of flying through the water.
A heartbeat later, there was smooth tile beneath my bare feet. I was soaking wet, but the water vanished from my skin and hair instantly, the way it always did when Zoran was sane.
When I opened my eyes, they landed on Tariq and Ivy. They were in a massive bed, with blankets pulled up over their obviously-naked forms.
“Hey girl,” Ivy said with a grin. “No time to ring the doorbell?”
“We’re kind of in a hurry.” I released Zoran’s hand, but his fingers tightened on my hip.
I looked at him, and he finally released me so he could sign, “She can explain better than I can.”
I looked back at Ivy, who was waiting expectantly, and now covered to her chin with the blankets on their bed. Tariq looked slightly annoyed, and I caught him signing to Zoran.
“Flood’s eyes started glowing again,” I told Ivy. “But differently this time.”
Her lips stretched in a slow smile, and she looked over at Tariq. “Give us a minute?”
He scowled, but got out of bed.
Zoran stepped between me and the fire king, blocking the man from my sight before I saw him naked. My mate’s chest was to my face, and his hands carefully pulled the fabric up higher on my breasts. My nipples weren’t on show yet, but they were nearly there.
His touch was so light I would’ve thought I imagined it if I hadn’t seen his hands on my clothing and my skin. Zoran adjusted the bottom portion of the fabric too, and then stepped around to the back of me and retied the bit above my ass after Tariq was dressed.
When he was satisfied that he’d fixed that part too, he strode out of the room with Tariq.
They were signing too quickly for me to understand, which frustrated me. I could keep up with most of the water fae, but Zoran’s closest friends and family were more skilled and experienced than his people.
“So what happened before he started glowing?” Ivy checked, sitting up and pulling the blanket with her so she didn’t flash me.
My face was still red, so there was no real change to it as I admitted, “One of his guards cut me. I was already healed, so he was just checking me to make sure I wasn’t hurt anywhere else.”
She whistled. “If that’s all it took, you must be ignoring the physical side of your relationship completely.”
I bit my lip, but nodded.
“So, fae guys have instincts. You haven’t heard me mention them before?”
I shook my head.
“Damn. Sorry.” She considered it. “The fae have a lot more animal in them than humans, you know? The growling gives that away. But anyway, male fae have instincts that push them to claim their females in every way. It’s a matter of possessiveness—which I know you’re acquainted with, though Flood seems pretty good at hiding his.”
“I think he’s just not that possessive,” I countered. “Unless someone hurts me, he’s pretty much fine with me doing whatever I want.”
“Yeah, no. It’s just not possible. If you flirted with someone, you’d see. Try it, if you really don’t think he’s that possessive.”
I made a face, and Ivy grinned.
She added, “The instincts to claim his mate are beyond a male fae’s control. There’s literally no way for him to prevent them. Flood must be really damn good at controlling them if he’s lasted this long without letting them take over, because whew, those suckers are strong.”
“I don’t think he’s controlling them. We only see each other for a few minutes a week, so there’s not really anything to control. But whatarethey, exactly?”
“Oh, sorry. Male fae are driven to claim their female and mark us as theirs through sex. That connection settles the possessiveness threatening to drive them mad, and it combines your scents for days, which also calms them. The instinct is to make sure everyone else knows you’re off the market, in every way, by physically taking you off that market.”
My face flushed. “So my injury triggered his possessiveness, which triggered his instincts.”
Ivy grinned. “Nah. I think your cut probably just gave him a reason to get close enough to you that he couldn’t fight them any longer.”
I shook my head, wrapping my arms around my middle. “I don’t think so.”
