The monster reached out. His soft knuckles grazed Rory’s stubbled cheek. Rory swallowed hard, trapped in the stormy gaze of theman he’d been kissing.
‘No chance,’ he said faintly, before stepping in and pressing his lips to Fionn’s.
Chapter Eight
Oh, this kiss wasdifferent.
During the first one in the club, Fionn hadn’t been thinking straight. He’d charged in, guided by instinct, and barely comprehended the messy clash of mouths as it happened.
This time, Rory led the charge, and Fionn wasn’t ready for it.
It was… deep and sensual. Rory clasped his shoulders like he was either trying to hang off him or force Fionn down to his level. His lips moved slowly, giving Fionn time to track their movements and the little tingles they sent running down his spine. The scrape of Rory’s stubble was strange and abrasive, but the strangeness only made it more exciting.
The longer it went on, the warmer Fionn felt. He just knew he was flushing a deeper shade of blue, perhaps even erring on purple. His cock seemed to be gaining a mild interest—Rory’s had already made its presenceextremelyclear, poking Fionn’s thigh through Rory’s boxers.
Rory finally broke away, eyes half-lidded, and muttered a simple ‘Jesus, fuck,’ against Fionn’s mouth.
It sent a thrill through Fionn.
That was a relief. At least he feltsomething.
Fionn was worried about his lack of instant attraction to Rory. Wasn’t he supposed to want to jump straight into bed with his soul mate the moment they met? So far, the most he couldsay was that Rory was aesthetically pleasing to look at. The kiss gave him something more tangible to hang onto.
Now they were separated again by air, Rory seemed to snap back into himself. He pushed Fionn away, eyes wide and fearful.
‘Didn’t mean to do that,’ Rory said hoarsely. ‘It’s your fault, isn’t it? How do I make this stop?’
Byyour faultFionn surmised he meant the soul bond tying them together. He’d heard there were ways of breaking a soul bond by ancient rituals and deep magics. But that wasn’t something he was going to divulge right now. Not while there was a chance that Rory might be the answer he was looking for.
‘We are meant for each other,’ he opted to say instead, rolling the idea around for himself. When said aloud, it felt a little more true. ‘The fates have decided our bond for us, and we should be grateful for it.’
‘No. No, no, no. Never in a million years would I go for you, mate.’ Rory scowled and crossed his arms. Completely ignoring the kiss he’d initiated not five seconds ago. His tone was downright insolent, like he didn’t care a jot that he was addressing royalty.
Fionn persevered, despite his growing irritation. Why couldn’t this be easy, like it was in the story for Nechtan and Bridei? ‘It is not about whether you would “go” for me, or not. We are soul mates, and that is that.’
‘What do you evenmean,soul mates? You’re off your head. And you’re feckin’ blue! An actual fishman. Why would the universe put me with you?’
‘You wouldn’t be my first choice, either,’ Fionn snapped back. ‘Do you think I, a Prince of the ocean, would choose a land-dwelling oik like yourself?’
If Rory’s reception had been cold before, now it turned icy. ‘Out,’ he demanded through gritted teeth. ‘Get your fishy arse out of my house and take your magic soul shit with you.’
Fishy?!
‘Gladly!’ Fionn gave a great huff and stormed out to the stairs. He was beyond stunned. No one had ever taken such a tone with him before. Who did this scruffy human think he was?
Neacel was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. His shoulders hunched up to his ears as Fionn stomped down and he turned away to hide a very guilty wince. Fantastic. Neacel had heard everything.
‘It’s time to leave,’ Fionn told him brusquely.
‘What about your mate?’
‘A lost cause.’
Fionn was done with this cruel joke. He couldn’t understand why he ought be attracted to this random human, let alone be a match so perfect that their souls apparently recognised each other.
He was halfway down the street when he realised that Neacel was struggling to keep up. The shorter Minchman hurried to his side but didn’t say anything.
‘Sorry about Seòras,’ Fionn muttered. ‘Maybe Iomhar can introduce you instead.’
