“You don’t need to try so hard.”
“What do you think I’m trying hard to do?” I asked.
“Make me attracted to you.”
He hit the nail on the head on the first try, because of course he did. Emmett was the most intuitive of the group.
“Is trying making it less likely?”
“No. There’s just no point because the attraction is already present. I’ve known from the beginning you would be important in my life in one way or another, and when you made your nest around me while I was unconscious, it really clicked into place for me.”
“Why didn’t you let me ride you after you claimed me, then?”
“Because I’d claimed you without your permission and you were in heat,” he said. I couldn’t see his face from where I was tucked against his side, but I heard the eye roll in the words. “Besides, I prefer more one-on-one settings, and taking things a little slower even once the arousal exists.”
OK, those were some valid points. Ones I couldn’t fault him for. I understood in a way, too. I’d just taken things slow for a different reason. Trust was what I needed before sex and falling in love.
“When you’re ready for more, you’ll have to make the first move. I’m not sure I can trust myself to read subtle cues correctly,” I said.
“My cues won’t be subtle when I’m ready to fuck you, Freya, but I’ll be sure to say the words out loud.”
“For now we’ll have to find another way to strengthen the bond.” I lifted my wrist to show off the mark. “This throbs when you’re far away because our bond isn’t strong enough in the face of distance.”
“Cuddling will strengthen the bond, slowly but surely.”
“Torturewill strengthen the bond, you mean,” I said jokingly. “I’m used to cuddling after sex, not in the absence of sex.”
He chuckled, his chest rumbling beneath me as he pulled me closer. Em was purring, and I was soothed in a primal way I’d never been before. “You’ll get used to it. It won’t be as bad as any torture you inflicted earlier today.”
“How do you know about that?”
“The bond between us isn’tthatweak.”
“But you only get feelings, not circumstances. You don’t read my mind.”
“With the amount of sheer glee coming from you, I made an educated guess. Besides, I knew we had a captive from the attack. Is he dead now?”
I bit my lip. He would find out the answer eventually, but of all my men I was most worried about Emmett judging me. “Quite dead, yes.”
“Good. It’s better we don’t waste resources torturing a man who knows nothing. Do you know what security measures have been put in place since we were attacked?”
“We didn’t discuss it. Ama mentioned she wanted me to help with reinforcing her wards, though, so we can have a magical barrier up at all times.”
His grip tightened on me and he winced. I glanced down at his stomach wound, then brought up a hand to slip under the bandages. The skin was mostly knitted back together. “I can heal you, if you’ll let me.”
“You shouldn’t use magic so soon after being unconscious.”
No one was ever going to stop reminding me that I’d almost died of my stubbornness, apparently. I rolled my eyes. “Having your mark on me is making me stronger every minute. I get the feeling my magic will come back even faster when the others mark me, but either way I’m far from weak at the moment. Let me heal you.”
He didn’t answer for a moment, but I began to unwind the bandages regardless. When I urged him to sit forward, he sighed. “Fine. If you show a single sign of fatigue, I’ll make you stop.”
“Make me?” I asked with a laugh. “You’re too confident in your ability to stop a witch at work.”
Emmett gave me a look. “Be careful.”
“Careful is my middle name.”
“Don’t lie to me. I can tell when you are, because of the bond.”
