Blood Bonds (The Bonds that Tie Book 3)

“Did he just say ‘astral project’? I need a coffee,” North says in a sleepy rasp that does things to my body.

Gryphon starts cackling like an asshole and I shove my pillow in his face as I stomp off to the bathroom to pee. No one fusses over me walking, but they all watch me carefully, even Nox, though he’s got his usual, distasteful look on his face.

I move to get up and then realize I went to sleep naked after North had fucked me in his shower. I squint around the room, and while I could totally handle being naked in front of both of my Bonded at the same time, Gabe is sitting in one of the ornate chairs with his phone in his hands, and Nox is arguing with North over building schematics at a desk that has suddenly appeared while I was out cold.

I clutch at the duvet like some scandalized maiden, only to realize that I’m once again wearing silky pinstripe pajamas. North Draven is a sneaky asshole who takes the weirdest liberties while I’m passed out.

But when he spreads me out on his bed, his body immediately covers my own, and this time when his lips touch mine, I know that it’s all him in there and not his bond taking over.

They kiss differently.

His feet are almost silent on the wet tiles but not quite so when a huge, luxurious towel wraps around me, completely enveloping my small frame in its sheer magnificence, I’m not startled and I keep my eyes shut for another moment.

Then his lips brush over my bare shoulder and I let a single tear roll down my cheek unchecked.

No matter what else happens between us, I’ll remember this small gift of kindness he’s given me for the rest of my life. This will go down as the moment I let myself admit how much I want North Draven. How much I crave his domineering and assertive nature, how much I need him, even if he does act on my behalf without ever asking me what it is that I want.

That even while I was determined to hate him, he’s worked his way under my skin and I don’t want to dig him out.

North looks over at me and I know that it’s game over for him. That’s the last puzzle piece in the mystery that is his Bond. Now he knows everything he ever needed to know about her. He’s done for; hook, line, and sinker. He belongs to her now, whether he’s admitting it to himself yet or not.

“You’re going to just let her leave like that?”

Kieran grits his teeth at us both and then snarks back at the woman, “I’m not worried about my Bond’s safety. You should ask yourself why that is.”

He smirks at my distinction of the creature, enjoying riling me up on Oleander’s behalf, which is both new and completely typical of him.

He’s going to be a nightmare going forward, especially if he stays the only Bonded of us all.

Seeing Sage slit our first Shield, Dara’s, throat and then opening the gates to the Resistance, might not be one of them.

My palms break out in a sweat.

I can handle a lot of things.