Page 35 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

Instead of speaking up after a few minutes, he stepped out of his shorts and boxers.

I glowered at him and his ridiculously massive cock and his perfect body. “What are you doing, Steam?”

“Spitting it out.” He stepped into the shower with me.

I took two big steps away, but he covered them in one large stride.

His legs were stupidly long. And strong. And sexy.

But dammit, I wasn’t supposed to be checking him out.

“The bond doesn’t just want you to orgasm, Clove. It wants you with me. In my arms. Connecting with me.” He closed the rest of the distance between us. I sucked in a breath, plastering my breasts to his chest as he pinned me to the shower’s wall with his body. His hands cradled my face, pulling my forehead to rest against his bare skin. My arms wrapped around him of their own volition.

The tension in my shoulders finally began to dissipate just a little. “Heat is ridiculous,” I mumbled against his skin.

“It is. And it’s happening faster than it should. Faster than it does for the dragons.”

I sighed. “Of course it is.”

“That could just be fate, though.”

“You said a bond would start with anyone you touched.”

“Theoretically.”

“What do you mean, theoretically?”

“I’m the only phoenix shifter. Who’s to say that there’s more than one female fate would be willing to let me pair off with?”

I scoffed. “If the dragons don’t have fated mates, I don’t see how you could.”

“I know a dragon who does have a fated mate. And I told you, I knew the moment I felt your magic that you were mine. Even if I hadn’t touched you, the mate bond would’ve eventually found a way.”

“It’s easy to say that now.”

“Maybe. I’m right about the touching, though, aren’t I?”

His hugwashelping. But I was awake, which usually seemed to help too.

“Too soon to say. And wehavebeen touching. Clearly.” I wouldn’t be forgetting the way it felt to have his hand between my thighs any time soon.

“Only where necessary. You always stay clothed.”

“To avoid making it any more intimate.”

“Right. But it seems like the bond can only be satisfied with intimacy.”

“Fuck that,” I grumbled against his shoulder.

“Just keep an open mind. If we take things further next time, I think it will help.”

I lifted my middle finger against his back, but he didn’t respond. Must not have noticed.

He finally nudged my ear with his nose, and my head tipped to the side without hesitation. “Are you feeling better, or do you want me to touch you again?”

My face flushed. “I’m fine.”

It was only half true. His hug was helping, but it wasn’t fixing me. Not enough.