Bonds of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 2)

“So how does this work? What’s the plan?”

“Well, you need to mate with us in a genfin ritual,” Sylred explains.

“And you’ll need to confirm your bond with me separately,” Okot says.

I’m envisioning a lot of naked bodies pressed up against me and…yeah. It makes my blood pump a bit faster. Since Evert gave me my first ever orgasm, I’m totally ready for more.

“We will travel to our home island tomorrow, if everyone is agreeable,” Ronak says, looking around. Everyone nods. “We should complete our ceremony as soon as possible, since we can better protect you once you are our mate.”

Evert sighs. “Yeah. So go mate with the fucking lamassu. He can protect you better when your bond is confirmed, too. Then first thing tomorrow, we’re going home to our island to perform our mating ceremony. No way is the fucking lamassu getting you all to himself for very long,” he says, shooting a shit-eating grin at Okot. My bull guy just chuckles.

“Sounds good to me,” I say.

“We’ll go make arrangements for our departure tomorrow,” Ronak says. In a move that totally shocks me, he steps up to me and grips my chin with his fingers. The sudden contact makes heat flare inside of me. “See you soon,” he says, his voice low and growly and filled with hunger. Whoa nelly. He went from being unreadable to a being wide-open bodice-ripper book in the middle of a steamy scene.

Before I can even attempt to form a response, he steps away and walks out of the room. Good gods, Ronak has been totally holding out on me. Figures. It’s always the assholes.

Sylred comes up next, pulling me in for a hug and setting a kiss on the top of my head. “Have fun,” he says with a wink, before he strides out of the room to join Ronak.

Evert invades my space next. Unlike Ronak and Sylred, Evert doesn’t hold back. He grabs me by the back of my head, threads his fingers through my hair and pulls it back hard enough to make my face angle up to him. My breath catches in my throat at the pure want I see in his blue eyes.

Just when I think he’s going to kiss me, he leans in and presses his lips against my ear instead. “I had my hands on you, and in you first. Just remember that, Scratch,” he says in a low, sexy murmur. I gulp and find that breathing just got really difficult. “I might share you, but you’re still mine. You knew that the moment you landed on my island.”

With a nip on my ear, he pulls back, a cocky smirk in place when he sees whatever expression is on my face. “Lamassu. Take care of our girl,” he tells Okot before walking out, letting the door shut behind him.

I let out a shaky breath. Gods. Those three are intense.

I feel Okot come up behind me and place his hands on my shoulders to spin me around. He holds my face in his huge hands. “Are you sure? We don’t have to do this now if you don’t want to.”

I nod. “I’m sure. I want to. I knew as soon as I went invisible. Maybe I haven’t known you for long, but I do know you. I know what’s important. I’m lucky to have you as a mate, Okot. You’re loyal and kind and strong. And hot,” I add. “We can’t forget the hot part.”

He rumbles out a low laugh. “You are perfect.”

“So…” I say, looking around at the small bed, feeling suddenly nervous. I’ve gone decades wishing, wanting, and craving what’s about to happen, but now that I have it within reach, I’m panicking a bit. Oh gods, what if I’m bad at it?

“You could never be bad at it,” Okot says, still cupping my cheeks.

“I said that out loud?”

“Yes.”

I sigh and shake my head. “My mouth is so annoying.”

He grins. “I beg to differ.”

As if to show me, his mouth lands on mine for a slow, sensual kiss. He tilts my head and I part my lips for him, relishing the feel of his tongue as he sweeps in and chases my nerves away.

When we pull apart, I start heading to the bed, but he stops me. “I will not confirm our mating bond in a back-alley inn on a bed much too small for us. I have waited too long for you, and you are too precious for this room,” he says. “Put your wings away and follow me.”

“But someone might see us.”

“No one will see us,” he promises.

I quickly pull my wings in before following him out of the inn. It’s dark out on the streets of the city, but the moon gives off just enough light so that I don’t trip over my feet. I relish in the feel of the cool air sweeping around us and Okot’s warm fingers threaded through mine. There are plenty of other fae on the streets, but no one pays us any mind, and we’re careful to stick to the shadows.

Pulling me into a dark alleyway, he shifts into his bull form without warning. When he jerks his head to the side, I smile. “You want me to ride you?”

He nods and snorts through his nose. He kneels down so I can climb on, and when I have a hold of his thick, bright-red mane, he launches us into the sky. He flies higher and higher before veering west. We fly into the night, with me just enjoying the air and the stars, and him steadily flapping his strong wings.

After a while, he starts to slow, and I look around. It’s difficult to see at night, but as he brings us closer, I see that it’s an island full of flowers. Hundreds of thousands of white flowers practically glow under the moonlight. The entire island is covered with them. In the middle of the beautiful island curves a lazy spring of gurgling water.

Okot lands right beside it, kneeling on the grassy ground so I can slip off. The second my feet hit the ground, the sweet perfume of the blossoms surround me. I run my hands over the soft petals and breathe in deeply. I look over at Okot with my heart in my throat. First he gave me the stars, and now he’s giving me an island of flowers.

“This is…”

He’s back in his regular form and eyeing me carefully, running a hand through his mohawk. I realize that he’s nervous, and I melt a little bit more.

“Do you like it? Is this okay?”

I step into him and press my cheek against his chest. “This is perfect.”

“No, I told you. You are perfect, my beloved.” He brings his thick arms around me and I swear, I’ve never felt safer. He pushes my hair over my shoulder and fits his face against my neck as he breathes me in. “You smell sweeter than all the flowers in the realm.”

A shiver goes through me when he starts kissing his way down my neck, and my eyes flutter closed. With one hand, he starts kneading my shoulders, making my muscles melt under his touch.

With deft fingers, he loosens the ties of my dress until he can slowly pull the fabric down from my shoulders. He’s unhurried, like he’s allowing me to stop him if I want to. I don’t.

In his signature move, his other hand circles my neck, and his thumb gently caresses the base of my throat. It’s a hold that should make me feel vulnerable. With any amount of force, he could crush my windpipe. But the way he gently rubs his thumb over the spot while his palm cradles my neck makes me feel safe and grounded.

When he moves to kiss along my collarbone and over the swell of my breasts, I cling to him, my arms wrapping around his neck. He pushes my dress off my body in one smooth movement, letting it pool to the ground. He lowers me down against the flowers and my back hits the soft grass. I pull him to me, no longer willing to wait for his mouth to reconnect with mine. He obliges immediately, making a pleased sound low in his throat.

Keeping one hand around my neck, he moves the other down my chest. My nipples pebble from the attention and the night air, and he fondles each breast, making me whimper and arch against him. I can feel his erection straining against his pants, and I bring my leg up to press into it. A gravelly groan escapes him.

When his hand slips down from my breasts to the apex between my thighs, I shudder. He pulls my panties down, and I lift my legs to kick them off the rest of the way. Now that I’m completely bare, he pulls back and eyes every inch of my naked body in the moonlight.

He looks me up and down, and his red-ringed pupils flare. “Beautiful. So beautiful, my beloved.”

He is, too, in a masculine, super-hot way. His bulky, strong body, his bright-red mohawk, his intense eyes, and his pierced nose. But I want to see more of him. I want to touch him everywhere.

“Now you.”

He reaches behind his back, pulls his shirt over his head, and flings it away. He stands to unlace his pants next, and I sit up on my elbows, watching him hungrily. His chest is wide and muscled, with a few pale scars marring his otherwise perfect flesh. He kicks off his boots and drops his pants, kicking the fabric away in one fluid motion.

Then he’s bared before me, as much as I am to him. I stare up at him, blinking at the sight burned into my retinas. And suddenly, my body comes to a screeching, squealing halt as my eyes lock onto the python between his legs.

My vagina closes the curtains and pretends not to be at home. “Umm… No. That’s not gonna work,” I say, shaking my head while my thighs automatically close. ‘That’s your dick?’ I ask, as if I need to make sure first. I shake my head at myself. ‘I mean, I know it’s your dick. I can see that it’s attached to you, but…’

But nope. So much nope.